The Professor Liberty Podcast

Greetings and hello to all you die hard Professor Liberty Loves. On today's "this day in history" episode Mr. Palumbo dives into the "Splendid Little War" AKA the Spanish-American War on this splendid little episode. How did America come to blows with one of Europe's aged empires and why did the American republic suddenly become a world superpower? How was the media involved? Your favorite obscure...

On this episode, with probably too much sarcasm seeping through, Mr. Palumbo decries the affirmation frenzy overtaking our society. Also in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day this week, our favorite obscure social studies teacher gives us a quick look into the history and reason for the holiday.

One student's profound comment in 6th period US History coupled with a word never heard before sparked a Professor Liberty Podcast episode that may go down in history as one of the show's most consequential. With 24/7 news and 24/7 internet access mental health is at an all time low is there a connection? On the first Motivational Monday of 2023 Mr. Palumbo discusses a new harmful activity spawned...

For the first episode of 2023 we dive headlong into the history of American war fighting and mobilization. How have things changed over the near 250 years of American history? How are American citizens affected by the governments foreign endeavors compared to their ancestors? This episode covers topics like standing armies, empires, conscription, war rationing, the military-industrial complex and...

For the last episode of 2022 our favorite obscure social studies teacher discusses the growth of Professor Liberty, ideas of next year and gives some thoughts on being an active parent in a culture of nothingness. 

On this Motivational Monday (probably the last one of the year) Mr. Palumbo talks about an influential man who died over two thousand years ago. No it's not who you think. The man is Julius Caesar. Why do people still talk about and study this Roman general today? Well sit back, press play and watch out for some Latin usage as Mr. Palumbo discusses the life and times of the man whose name became s...

The 16th and 17th amendments as well as the creation of the Federal Reserve all happened in 1913. Talk about a bad year for liberty. In this episode your favorite obscure social studies teacher fights against rising depression and holds back his dark thoughts in order to discuss two of the worst amendments to the U.S. Constitution. In his humble opinion of course. The 16th and 17th amendments, as...

Today our favorite obscure social studies teacher Mr. Palumbo dives into the history of the Progressive movement in America. Our host makes the point that what ties all progressives together (and something strangely absent in most definitions of the movement) is the fact that they see the government as the best vehicle for the social and political change they desire. Mr. Palumbo argues that progre...

There's a lot packed into these 20 minutes folks as your favorite obscure social studies teacher discusses the right to peacefully assemble and petition. What is the difference between protesting, petitioning and riots? Mr. Palumbo attempts to address that question in today's episode. 

On this Motivational Monday Mr. Palumbo leans on the Stoic titan Seneca as he discusses what it means to live a life of purpose.

Continuing the discussion of Ben Franklin's 13 Virtues Mr. Palumbo discusses concepts like Justice, Cleanliness and Frugality. However seeing that Mr. Palumbo is an obscure Social Studies teacher and not a Health teacher we do want to mention that Chastity is also mentioned so listener discretion is advised. 

Ben Franklin was one of America's Founding Fathers and a bit of an 18th century celebrity. He was a man known for his many vices and yet even he strove for virtue. In his autobiography Franklin explains that after stumbling into his local church one Sunday he was inspired to attempt "moral perfection" by living out 13 virtues. What is a virtue? What virtues made Franklin's list? Why aren't we conc...

On this Motivational Monday episode Mr. Palumbo talks about how most young people lack basic problem solving skills and have no self-reliance because they're too dependent on technology.

Continuing our "what is?" series we ask the question: What is a recession? With all the talk about whether the US is heading for a recession it would be good to know just what exactly that is? Is it a bad thing? Are there benefits to a recession? How does a recession relate to the business cycle? All this and more...

On this first Motivational Monday of the year (in May) Mr. Palumbo has a message for parents fighting the good fight. Life is about expectations, consequences and merit. Because of this all parents should place expectations on their kids and there should also be consequences in relation to breaking those expectations. Why? Because that's how life works. If your child (especially teenager) hates yo...

On a special Friday episode we continue our analysis into the First Amendment and the importance of free speech with a look at Freedom of the Press. What do we do about crazy stories, lies and rogue journalism? According to Alexis de Tocqueville....nothing! That and much more check it out.

What is free speech and why is it so important to a free society? Your favorite obscure social studies teacher comes with a soapbox a littler larger than normal on this episode of the Professor Liberty Podcast as we continue to learn about the first amendment to the Bill of Rights.  

Because Russia and Ukraine keep pushing this series to the side, Mr. Palumbo will address a question he received about sanctions, but then undeterred, he jumps right into the first component of the Bill of Rights, freedom of religion. Enjoy!

Why did Russian invade Ukraine? Putin claims it's NATO's provoked expansion. What is NATO? Continuing the "what is?" series Mr. Palumbo attempts to give some historical context to what is happening in Ukraine. 

How do you give just enough power to a central government that allows it to properly function without sacrificing liberty? That was the question the Framers of the Constitution struggled with in 1787. Ultimately its through compromise between the two major groups that brought us what we now call the Bill of Rights. 

When asked to raise their hand if they know the name Hitler, the entire class raises its hand. When asked to do the same if they know the name Stalin, only a few raise their hand. Why does everyone know who Hitler is, but no one knows who Stalin is? Especially since Stalin killed at least 5X more people? Don't even bring up the heavyweight Champ of mass murder Chairman Mao who's death toll is more...

We deep dive into political philosophy today as Mr. Palumbo asks the question do humans yearn for freedom or security? 

In this first episode of the new year our favorite obscure social studies teacher discusses some similarities between WWI and WWII. One of those similarities was the use of Propaganda. What is propaganda? How can we identify whether the information we're receiving is propaganda? All this and more on today's show.

On this final episode of the 2021 Mr. Palumbo looks back on the year and shares his thoughts on starting a podcast. What was the most listened to episode? Which one got the least amount of downloads? Finally your favorite obscure social studies teacher discusses why you don't have to be religious to say Merry Christmas. Peace, hope and goodwill towards men isn't political nor religious. One of the...

Your favorite obscure social studies teacher shares about how the study of the past helps us to predict the future by pointing out how relevant situations that happened 60 or even 100 years ago still are today. Mr. Palumbo discusses how censorship is constant (Scopes Monkey Trial) and how one act of civil disobedience can change the world (Rosa Parks).  So buckle up and push play as we journey int...