Flames of Freedom

Flames of Freedom

Flames of Freedom is a docudrama chronicling how forty-two courageous Jews risked their lives in 1733 to cross the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to settle in the American colony of Georgia. They were fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition, murderous pogroms of Eastern Europe, and antisemitism in England to build a future with religious freedom and economic opportunity. They gambled with their lives and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on the slim chance they would be allowed to settle in the new American colony of Georgia to be founded by James Oglethorpe. Nothing about this journey from oppression to liberty was easy, nor was the desired outcome certain. Given the Georgia Trustees’ blatant objections to Jews settling in the new colony, the possibility that Oglethorpe would reverse course and accept them seemed nearly impossible. But an unforeseen epidemic threatening to wipe out the budding colony would completely change that calculus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

September 10, 2024 4 mins
Flames of Freedom is a podcast that tells the incredible story of a Jewish family's journey to Savannah, Georgia, to escape oppression in Europe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
The story opens in 1790 as Zipporah Jacobs, the daughter of Samuel Nunes, feels called to share with her grandson, Benjamin Phillips, the tale of her ancestors as they traversed a world hellbent on eradicating Jews from Spain and Portugal, the forced conversions of her ancestors in 1497 in Lisbon, and her parents’ torture by the Inquisition for the crime of Judaizing.

Hosted on Acast. Se...

Mark as Played
September 19, 2024 41 mins
In today’s episode, we start with part 1 of a 3-part conversation with Dr. Eliezer Papo, senior lecturer of Hebrew Literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva, Israel. He serves as Chairman of the Moshe David Gaon Center for Ladino Culture and is the chief editor of El Prezente – Journal for Sephardic Studies. In this first episode, Dr. Papo unravels the story of the Jews in the period leading up to the expulsio...

Mark as Played
September 24, 2024 26 mins
Beginning with the ruination of Diogo Nunes’s reputation after losing all of his possessions when he and his wife were arrested by the Portuguese Inquisition and tortured in 1703 for Judaizing, we trace the slow rehabilitation of his career culminating in his appointment as the physician to the new Inquisitor General as well as Portugal’s king, a position that Diogo uses to his advantage to assist other Conversos to escape the grip...

Mark as Played
September 26, 2024 24 mins

Our guest today is Dr. Eliezer Papo, who is senior lecturer of Hebrew Literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva, Israel. He serves as Chairman of the Moshe David Gaon Center for Ladino Culture and is the chief editor of El Prezente – Journal for Sephardic Studies. In the previous segment of our interview with Dr. Papo, we explored several issues related to the world of the Jews of Sefarad, and the many who con...

Mark as Played
October 1, 2024 41 mins
With the family’s rearrest on charges of Judaizing and aiding other Conversos to escape, Diogo confronts the Inquisitor General, who is also his patient. The Inquisitor General is faced with a dilemma—he needs Diogo’s medical care and can’t afford to jail him, but his reputation is also on the line if word gets out that he is being too lenient with apostates. His solution is to place two Inquisition priests in Diogo’s home to keep ...

Mark as Played
October 3, 2024 34 mins

Dr. Eliezer Papo is a senior lecturer of Hebrew Literature at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva, Israel. He serves as Chairman of the Moshe David Gaon Center for Ladino Culture and is the chief editor of El Prezente – Journal for Sephardic Studies.

 

We concluded the last episode by discussing the distinctions between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish traditions. This highlights an exciting development in o...

Mark as Played
October 8, 2024 34 mins
After the family’s daring escape from Lisbon aboard a British frigate, they face a host of unknowns upon their arrival in London. They have fallen from the pinnacle of society to become indigent. Not only are they facing economic ruin, but they must now face the gap between their expectations of what it means to revert to Judaism and leave the strictures of Catholicism behind and the reality of assimilating into a faith that is for...

Mark as Played
October 10, 2024 25 mins
Dr. Ariel Hessayon is an early modern historian who is a faculty member at Goldsmiths, University of London. Dr. Hessayon discusses the increasing number of pogroms directed against the Jews before their expulsion from England in 1290, traces the history of the Jews in England up to and after their expulsion, and details the events that led to their absence from England for over 350 years.

Mark as Played
October 15, 2024 26 mins
As Samuel’s sons Moses and Daniel confront the ugly face of antisemitism that is rife throughout English society, Gracia, who adopts the Jewish name Rebekah, confronts the fact that Orthodox Judaism makes her feel like a second-class citizen. The men must confront another stark reality. To become fully recognized as Jews, they must be circumcised. To complicate their lives, Rebekah, who is now in her fifties, announces that she is ...

Mark as Played
October 17, 2024 29 mins

Dr. Hessayon explores the economic, social, and religious forces that led to Oliver Cromwell's re-admitting Jews to England in 1656 and the dynamic political forces that followed his death and King Charles II’s taking back the throne, all of which could have easily led to a second expulsion of the Jews from England.

 


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
October 22, 2024 23 mins

Samuel confronts the hard reality that his medical skills and reputation mean little within London’s physician community and is forced to open a practice serving mainly indigent refugees. Daniel and Moses continue to struggle to find meaningful employment, and tragedy strikes when Rebekah goes into labor prematurely, leading to a crisis in her commitment to the Jewish faith.

 


Hosted...

Mark as Played
October 24, 2024 32 mins
Dr. Jessica Roitman is a Professor of Jewish Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is a historian of early modern and modern Jewish History, and her research focuses on Jews and Jewish communities in the (Dutch) Caribbean. In this episode, Dr. Roitman explores the dynamics of the growing Amsterdam Jewish community in the 16th Century as New Christians, also known as Conversos, began finding refuge there and revertin...

Mark as Played
October 29, 2024 25 mins

Moses’s arrest for a gambling debt leads to his incarceration in Marshalsea Prison. Samuel’s quest to free him results in two significant encounters—one with Antony da Costa, one of the wealthiest Jews in England, and one with James Oglethorpe, who discovers that his best friend has died in the same prison after being thrown into a cell with forty other prisoners with smallpox. Both meetings foreshadow significant turns in the live...

Mark as Played
October 31, 2024 24 mins

Dr. Roitman delves into the growing role of Jews in trade in Europe and the Caribbean and explores how economic pressures on the Jewish community of Amsterdam drove many Jews to depart, seeking their fortunes in the New World.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
November 5, 2024 32 mins

James Oglethorpe sets out to win parliamentary approval to change the laws related to the incarceration of people for the mere crime of owing someone money. This move leads to his pursuit of an idealistic dream of creating a colony where the poor can have a fresh start and where slavery is prohibited. Oglethorpe’s dream becomes the perfect vehicle for the wealthy Jews of London to solve a problem of their own—ever-escalating charit...

Mark as Played
November 7, 2024 30 mins
Dr. Diego Lucci is a professor at the American University in Bulgaria and has previously been a research fellow at the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London and the Maimonides Center for Advanced Studies at the University of Hamburg. His book on the Enlightenment debate on Jewish emancipation is essential to studying Jewish-Gentile relations in 18th-century Europe.

...

Mark as Played
November 12, 2024 41 mins

Daniel and Moses become enamored with the idea of a clean start in America, an idea that their father, Samuel, rejects out of hand. When King George approves the new colony, the Trustees are faced with a thorny dilemma—what to do with the efforts of the richest Jews of England to send their fellow Jews to Georgia? Their debate and subsequent decision have unexpected consequences that will echo throughout the history of the fledglin...

Mark as Played
November 14, 2024 28 mins
Dr. Lucci explores the roots of antisemitism in early Christian thought and looks at how John Toland's writings completely changed the conversation around the equality of Jews in English and European culture.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
November 19, 2024 33 mins
Samuel Nunes agrees to lead the Jewish settlers to the Georgia Colony, and they depart some weeks after Oglethorpe on a ship requisitioned and paid for by London’s wealthiest Jews. But the ship encounters turbulent weather, an omen for what will be a nearly disastrous journey across the Atlantic Ocean, foreshadowing the loss of life. While they faced horrendous trials at sea, Oglethorpe and his settlers arrived safely at Charles To...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage

    Rewarded for bravery that goes above and beyond the call of duty, the Medal of Honor is the United States’ top military decoration. The stories we tell are about the heroes who have distinguished themselves by acts of heroism and courage that have saved lives. From Judith Resnik, the second woman in space, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice, these are stories about those who have done the improbable and unexpected, who have sacrificed something in the name of something much bigger than themselves. Every Wednesday on Medal of Honor, uncover what their experiences tell us about the nature of sacrifice, why people put their lives in danger for others, and what happens after you’ve become a hero. Special thanks to series creator Dan McGinn, to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Adam Plumpton. Medal of Honor begins on May 28. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear ad-free episodes one week early. Find Pushkin+ on the Medal of Honor show page in Apple or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.