# Before the First Amendment: The Trial of John Peter Zenger

An episode of [Government That Doesn't Suck](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1896938110), 31 Aug 2026, 1 h 03 min.

Audio: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/serve.castfire.com/audio/8461228/8461228_2026-06-17-212228.256.mp3?rssID=6570

In 1735, a colonial printer named John Peter Zenger spent nine months in jail for printing someone else's criticism of a corrupt governor, and his trial helped plant the seeds of a free press in America decades before the First Amendment existed. This episode, we trace the origins of press freedom, why "fake news" is a much older problem than you'd think, and why the Constitution protects the printer, not the truth — plus a conversation with historian Mitchell Kramer on what Benjamin Franklin really thought about truth and partisanship in the press. Head over to our Government That Doesn’t Suck YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@GovernmentThatDoesntSuck If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Government That Doesn’t Suck to never miss an episode! Government That Doesn’t Suck is a Rewind Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios Follow us on Social • Instagram: @RewindStudios • TikTok: @RewindStudios • YouTube: @GovenmentThatDoesntSuck

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