Introducing Across from Jericho

Listen to the trailer.

An Activist History Podcast

Freedom is the watchword of America. But many of her own citizens have had to struggle to get it, often at great personal cost. Emma Goldman rose up and resisted the notion that patriotism meant women, immigrants, and the poor staying quiet about their places in American life. Listen how in the early twentieth century, one woman galvanized the underclass while striking fear in the hearts of law enforcement and the federal government. Narrated by Jeff Grossman, and starring Sarah Natochenny (Ash Ketchum, Pokémon), Spencer Fox (Dash Parr, The Incredibles), Roy North, and Nathan Repasz.

Recent Episodes

  • Photographic portrait of Ben Reitman, circa 1910, wearing a hat, bow tie, and a heavy coat

    Episode 8: Hobo

    Emma Goldman falls in love with Dr. Ben Reitman, who breaks her heart and forces her to examine her commitment to her anarchist principles. The federal immigration authorities detain her at the Canadian border and begin to review her citizenship status.

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  • A black and white photo of Becky Edelsohn, dressed in black, addressing a large crowd at Union Square. There are many wreaths and a pile of bricks behind her.

    Episode 9: Sangre de Cristo

    During a murderous coal strike in Colorado, Alexander Berkman leads protests in John D. Rockefeller’s hometown. Three of his friends are killed when a bomb they’re building explodes in their apartment, and Emma Goldman is furious at him over his management of Mother Earth while she was away.

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  • A guard with his baton raised and an NYPD officer holding a baton stand in front of a registration place for the World War I draft

    Episode 10: The No-Conscription League

    Emma Goldman and Ben Reitman are arrested all over the country for telling people about birth control, while Alexander Berkman stands up for two men framed for a bombing in San Francisco. The U.S. government decides to crush resistance to the WWI draft, especially by Goldman and Berkman.

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  • Cover page of the federal indictment charing Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman with conspiracy, June 1917

    Episode 11: The Trial Begins

    Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, facing federal conspiracy charges for their work with the No-Conscription League, decide not to use a lawyer. Prosecutor Harold Content questions their friend Fitzi Fitzgerald and an NYPD officer who may or may not be lying.

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  • A photographic portrait of U.S. District Court Judge Julius M. Mayer

    Episode 12: "No Place in This Country"

    Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and prosecutor Harold Content make their final arguments in Goldman and Berkman’s conspiracy trial - and the jury comes back with its verdict.

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  • A photographic portrait of Alexander Berkman, in profile

    Episode 13: Epilogue

    We look at crucial questions lingering after Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman’s conspiracy trial, and examine their legacy following their deportation to Soviet Russia.

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Meet the Host

Jeff Grossman is a freelance journalist and editor, specializing in taking complex subjects and turning them into gripping stories.