Videos

1. Videos from TPHA Board Members

TPHA President and Editor of the Collected Writings Project Gary Berton

• TPHA President Gary Berton discusses ““Thomas Paine, New Jersey and the Crossroads of the Revolution” at the Atlantic Cape Community College published on July 31, 2025. See the video.
• Gary Berton and Co-President of The Club of Rome + Project Lead for Earth4All Sandrine Dixson-Declève meet for the first time to converse with the Silo Solving podcast host Danelle Marqui Brown, on the topic of “Transformational Economics, Ecology, & Equality.” Published on February 8, 2023. See the video.
• Gary Berton discusses “Thomas Paine and Peaceful Political Revolution in America” on the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast hosted by John Mulkins published on November 9, 2022. See the video.
• Gary Berton discusses “Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man” on the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast hosted by John Mulkins published on December 14, 2022. See the video.
• Discussion at the Iron Age Theatre with Gary Berton, TPHA Board Member Dr. Frances Chiu of the New School, Karen Thorsen Producer/Writer and Director of the film: “The Thomas Paine Project“, William Hollenbach Author of “Citizen Paine“, John Doyle, Director of “Citizen Paine” and Adam Altman who plays Thomas Paine in “Citizen Paine“. Moderated by Thomas Donnarumma of Iona College and published on March 30, 2012. See the video: Part One and Part Two.

TPHA Board Member Dr. Francis Chiu

• Frances Chiu discusses the history of inequality on the Peaceful Political Revolution in America podcast hosted by John Mulkins published on March 15, 2023. Francis (A.B. Smith College, Ph.D. Oxford University) has taught history and literature at The New School (SPE and Eugene Lang) since 2002. Her courses include The Age of Paine (arguably the first course in the US to focus on Paine), Women and the Gothic Novel, Introduction to Literary Studies, Demons, Doppelgangers, and the Living Dead, and Ranters, Levellers, and Luddites. In 2009, she organized a colloquium, “A New Era for Politics: Thomas Paine and the Rise of Modern Liberalism.” See the video.
• On December 7th, 2020, Ed Dodson spoke with TPHA Board Member and professor of history and literature at the New School of Social Research in New York Frances Chiu, for Smart Talk about a her newly released book – “The Routledge Guide to Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man“. See the video.

TPHA Board Member Greg McMurray

• Greg McMurray, writer and historian, asks “Why Isn’t Thomas Paine Cool?” during a discussion at the TPHA Paine Symposium from June 28,, 2022. Greg lives in Brooklyn and received his undergraduate degree in History from Nazareth College, and has a Masters in Library Science from Long Island University. See Part 1 and Part 2 of the video.

TPHA Board Member Paul Myles

• Paul Myles, an engineer-turned-businessman, historian, and writer, discusses his 2018 book “The Rise of Thomas Paine and the Case of the Officers or Excise” for the Thomas Paine Society, UK Publications, 2018 and the American Philosophical Society. Paul Myles was an active member of the Thomas Paine Society UK, that merged with the Thomas Paine Historical Association in 2025, and helped develop the Society’s public reach and relationship with the University of St. Andrews. He is also the co-author of “Thomas Paine in Lewes 1768-1774, A Prelude to American Independence” (PM Trading, 2009). He is also a lecturer at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. See the video.
• Paul Myles and the late historian Bill Speck contributed to this Bald Explorer mini-series documentary as to “What Thomas Paine was doing in Lewes (East Sussex)?”, published July 19, 2013. See the video.
• A separate Paul Myles on his book “The Rise of Thomas Paine and the Case of the Officers or Excise” from the Thomas Paine Society UK Summer Symposium held in London in 2015. See the video.
• This film “The Case of the Officers of Excise” was written, directed and filmed by Mick Hawksworth for Artemis Arts. Filmed in Lewes in 2009 it is based on the book “Thomas Paine in Lewes 1768-1774: A Prelude to American Independence” by Colin Brent, Deborah Gage and Paul Myles with a foreword by Seth Gopin. It tells the story of what was the first national unionisation in the world. Each Officer of excise, some 3000, contributed a sum for the printing and distribution of 4000 copies of “The Case of the Officers of Excise“. See the video.
• A traditional street performance of a “Sussex Mummers play” written and directed by Mike Turner and filmed by Mick Hawksworth. Based on the stories in the book “Thomas Paine in Lewes 1768- 1774 A Prelude to American Independence“. See the video.

2. Other recommended videos

• C-SPAN’s American Writers Series: Thomas Paine — Two and a half hour broadcast from the TPNHA Building in April, 2001.
• Panel Discussion on Thomas Paine at the Left Forum
• American Freethought has a four-hour documentary film series on the history of secularism and censorship in America.
• Freethinker UK webinar published on May 28, 2025 about “Thomas Paine’s Relevance in the Gilded Age” with Dr. Dermot Trainor, Assistant Professor of History of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Hosted by Daniel James Sharp, the editor of the Freethinker magazine. See the video.
• Freethinker UK webinar published on September 10, 2025 about “Thomas Paine, the Freethinking Democratic Hero Cancelled from Popular History” with Paul Fitzgerald, aka Polyp, a radical cartoonist and author of “Paine: A Fantastical Visual Biography” (2022), a graphic novel about Thomas Paine. Hosted by Daniel James Sharp, the editor of the Freethinker magazine. See the video.
• In this August 13, 2021 video, titled “Thomas Paine’s desk and The Rights of Man, 1792“, Steven Franklin from the People’s History Museum in Manchester, UK examines the desk upon which Thomas Paine wrote the second part of The Rights of Man, sometimes described as the bible of British radicalism. See the video.
• Jacobin magazine interviewed historian Harvey J. Kaye in Aug 24, 2020. A professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and the author of “Thomas Paine and the Promise of America: A History & Biography“, about the radicalism espoused by Thomas Paine, who later became an inspiration to abolitionists, suffragettes, labor organizers, and socialists. See the video.
• A 2013 talk titled “Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man: A Biography” by Christopher Hitchens, the #1 New York Times best-selling author of “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything“, vividly introduces Paine and his Declaration of the Rights of Man, the world’s foremost defense of democracy. See the video.

TPHA Paine Symposium from June 28, 2022

• Part 1: Lyne Hervey-Passée, PhD candidate from the Université de Limoges & Université Paris at 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis discusses the topic “The Writing Actions of Thomas Paine: Using the Theory of Geocriticism“. See the video.
• Part 2: Lyne Hervey-Passée answers questions about “The Writing Actions of Thomas Paine: Using the Theory of Geocriticism“. See the video.
• Part 3: Gary Berton answers questions about “The Writing Actions of Thomas Paine: Using the Theory of Geocriticism“. See the video.
• Part 4: TPHA Board Member Greg McMurray, writer and historian, asks “Why Isn’t Thomas Paine Cool?” – Part 1 of Greg’s talk. See the video.
• Part 5: TPHA Board Member Greg McMurray, writer and historian, asks “Why Isn’t Thomas Paine Cool?” – Part 2 of Greg’s talk. See the video.

The Freethought Society’s Thomas Paine Birthdate Celebrations

Annual Thomas Paine birthday celebrations from TPHA’s friends at The Freethought Society.

• 2022 – The event was presented by the newly-formed Thomas Paine Memorial Association (TPMA), a 501(c)3 organization, with the purpose of educating the public and installing statues of Thomas Paine in Washington, DC, and other places of significance to the life of Thomas Paine. The American Humanist Association, Center for Inquiry, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Freethought Society, the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, and the Thomas Paine National Historical Association were cosponsors. See the video.
• 2023 – Sponsored by the Thomas Paine Memorial Association , Freedom From Religion Foundation, Secular Student Alliance, Center For Inquiry, and The Freethought Society. U.S. representative for Maryland’s 8th congressional district Jamie Raskin shared updates on the Congressional front along with a heartfelt welcome. See the video.
• 2024 – The Thomas Paine Memorial Association, Black Nonbelievers, the Secular Coalition for America, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Center for Inquiry, and the Freethought Society sponsored this special event focused on Thomas Paine’s significant anti-slavery efforts. See the video.
• 2025 – Sponsors of the event were Thomas Paine Memorial Association, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Center for Inquiry/Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science (CFI/RDFR&S), Black Nonbelievers, American Humanist Association (AHA), the Freethought Society, and the The Secular Coalition for America sponsored a Zoom webinar. Congressman Jamie Raskin was the welcome speaker. See the video.

The 2015 Thomas Paine Society UK Summer Symposium

Some brilliant discussions from June 11, 2016 in the Royal Society of Medicine at 1 Wimpole Street London W1G 0AE.

• Professor Jonathan Clark – Interpreting Thomas Paine
• Professor Steve Poole – Paine: History as Burden?
• Professor Doug Eveleigh – The Microbiology of Thomas Paine
• Paul Myles – Thomas Paine The Case of The Officers of Excise
• Professor Richard Whatmore – Thomas Paine, What Happen Afterwards?

The Thomas Paine Interviews – 1992 to 1993

In collaboration with The Thomas Paine Society UK, the Institute of Intellectual History presented a series of interviews with leading scholars and politicians on the political thought of Thomas Paine. The interviews were conducted by Ronald H. Blumer between 1992 and 1993.

• E. P. Thompson (1924-1993), the great historian of the English working class, was interviewed about Thomas Paine in his library at his home in England on July 1, 1992. See the video.
• The former Labour MP Tony Benn, who was also an active member of the Fabian Society, was interviewed on July 1st, 1992 about Thomas Paine and his opposition to the British class system. See the video.
• The former leader of the British Labour Party Michael Foot was interviewed about Thomas Paine on June 30th, 1992 at the bank of the Thames across from the Palace of Westminster. See the video.
• An interview published on July 31, 2021 about Thomas Paine with political theorist Benjamin Barber, author of the 1984 book “Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age“. See the video.
• A 1993 interview with American poet, editor, professor, translator, and human rights advocate Carolyn Forché about Thomas Paine. See the video.
• 1993 Ronald H. Blumer interview of Sean Wilentz, Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Professor of the American Revolutionary Era at Princeton University, at Thomas Paine’s Cottage in New Rochelle, New York. See the video.
• American historian Isaac Kramnick was interviewed in 1993 in what seems to be his office at Cornell University, where he arrived in 1972, having received his PhD at Harvard University in 1965. See the video.