Professor Ed Larson Interviewed on the Scopes Case for NPR Nationwide and WBUR On Point

Professor Edward J. Larson was interviewed on the case Tennessee v. Scopes for the nationally syndicated programs NPR Nationwide and WBUR On Point. Professor Larson is the author of Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion, which won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for History.

Excerpt from NPR: 100 Years After Evolution Went on Trial, the Scopes Case Still Reverberates

The trial resembled a staged public debate, with Darrow and Bryan — two of the nation's most renowned orators — volunteering to take part as the town sought publicity. Vendors sold refreshments while crowds gathered on the courthouse lawn.

Bryan "believed it was essential that humans were created in the image of God — and that's where he staked his cross," according to historian and author Edward Larson, a professor of history and law at Pepperdine University.

The complete program may be found at NPR

Excerpt from WBUR: How the Scopes "Monkey" Trial Echoes Today

As your earlier speaker mentioned, what's happening in Tennessee now is an echo of what's happening nationally. It was the same way back then. This law had only been passed because of William Jennings Bryan's national crusade for laws against teaching evolution. And he'd come to Tennessee and spoken in Nashville in January. And that had led to the introduction in ultimate passage of the law.

 The complete program may be found at WBUR