Best Connecticut Explored Magazine Podcasts (2024)

1
198. Entwined: Black and Indigenous Maritime History 43:23

4h ago43:23

43:23

We all know a little about New England and Connecticut’s European maritime history. Dutch traders came to North America to trade for beaver pelts and English colonists came to start new communities such as Hartford. But a new exhibition at the Mystic Seaport Museum doesn’t rehash this history - it looks to reveal African and Indigenous perspectives…

1
197. Mark Twain and the American Presidents 43:56

13d ago43:56

43:56

Early voting has already started in the 2024 presidential election and I just couldn’t resist the suggestion by my guests to explore what Samuel Clemens alias Mark Twain, Hartford’s greatest Gilded Age humorist, had to say about the United States presidents. Was Twain the John Stewart or John Oliver of his day? Known for his sharp wit and scathing …

1
196. Connecticut Body Snatchers: Merchandising the Dead in the 19th Century 43:00

1M ago43:00

43:00

Have you got your Halloween costume ready? Been on any graveyard tours this month? Well, this story for you! I’d never thought of body snatching as having anything to do with Connecticut but as this episode proves, the disappearance of a young women’s body lead to a New Haven riot. I’ll get the details from Richard Ross author of the new book Ameri…

1
195. George Griffin: Revealing the Life and Likeness of Mark Twain’s Butler 47:20

2M ago47:20

47:20

Most people know something about Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Clemens. After all, he wrote his most famous books while living in Hartford, Connecticut. His 25-room house on Farmington Avenue cost over $40,000 in 1874 dollars. Raised as a child in Missouri, he became world famous for his wit and humor both in print and on stage. But what if th…

1
194. Revolutionary War Hero Lafayette Makes a Triumphal Return Tour 37:22

2M ago37:22

37:22

In this episode, you'll hear about the remarkable life and legacy of the man that Lin-Manuel Miranda called "America's favorite fighting Frenchman," the Marquis de Lafayette. This month marks the 200th anniversary of Lafayette's visit to Connecticut, part of his so-called "Farewell Tour" of America in 1824. Natalie Belanger of the Connecticut Museu…

1
193. Radical Connecticut: Labor Strikes! 44:56

3M ago44:56

44:56

Author Steve Thornton asks “Who really makes history”? In his new book, Radical Connecticut: People’s History in the Constitution State, co-authored by Andy Piascik, guest Steve Thornton tells the stories of everyday people and well-known figures whose work has often been obscured, denigrated, or dismissed. There are narratives of movements, strike…

1
192. More than Dinosaurs: The New Peabody Museum of Natural History 33:30

4M ago33:30

33:30

Have you ever discovered that one of your favorite places is being renovated? Like your grandmother’s kitchen, your favorite restaurant, or even a museum, and you worry that the charm or the appeal of the place might be gone after the renovation? Podcast editor Patrick O’Sullivan and Producer Mary Donohue went to just such a place, the Peabody Muse…

1
191. The Hartford Circus Fire Tragedy 31:47

4M ago31:47

31:47

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Hartford Circus Fire. In this episode of Grating the Nutmeg, Natalie Belanger of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History tells the story of the deadliest man-made disaster in Connecticut history. On July 6, 1944, the Big Top of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus caught fire during a …

1
190. Phyllis Zlotnick, Disability Rights Activist 46:26

5M ago46:26

46:26

July 1990 marked the passing of a landmark piece of federal legislation, the Americans with Disabilities Act, known as the ADA. To recognize this event and to celebrate Disability Pride Month, we are uncovering the legacy of disability rights leader, Phyllis Zlotnick (1942-2011). Zlotnick was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at birth. Beginning in…

1
189. Sherlock Holmes and William Gillette's Castle 42:14

5M ago42:14

42:14

We love a Sherlock Holmes "who done it" whether it's Basil Rathbone from the 1940s, Benedict Cumberbacth from the 2000s, or Millie Bobby Brown as Sherlock's sister Enola Holmes from the 2020s. But it was a Hartford-born actor who gave Sherlock Holmes his signature look - his curved pipe, deerstalker cap and magnifying glass. William Gillette was bo…

1
188. Revealing Queer Lives: Connecticut’s LGBTQ History 50:39

6M ago50:39

50:39

June is PRIDE month and we’re celebrating by bringing you an episode about efforts to bring LGBTQ+ history to light. As one guest, historian William Mann writes, “Throughout its history, Connecticut’s LGBTQ population has moved from leading hidden, solitary lives to claiming visible, powerful, valuable, and contributing places in society.” In this …

1
187. Derby's Charlton Comics: "No Other Place Like It" 33:12

6M ago33:12

33:12

Did you know that comic books were invented in Connecticut? Well, sort of. There are lots of precedents for printing texts with images. But the origin of mass market comic book printing is 1930s Waterbury, where Eastern Color printing began by re-publishing comic strips from newspapers in magazine form. Eventually they partnered with Dell publishin…

1
186. New Haven’s Pioneering Grove Street Cemetery 41:01

7M ago41:01

41:01

It’s Spring in Connecticut and this episode is part of our celebration of May as Historic Preservation Month. Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven is the first planned cemetery in the country. The design of Grove Street Cemetery in the 1790s pioneered several of the features that became standard like family plots and an established walkway grid. It i…

1
185. Connecticut Industries Unite for WWII Victory: Pratt, Read & Co Gliders 39:40

7M ago39:40

39:40

In this episode, we uncover a Connecticut World War II story that features airplanes without engines. Sound crazy? You’ll learn how these engineless gliders helped beat the Nazis. Executive Producer Mary Donohue will also talk to the author of a new book that details the role that over 45 Connecticut companies played in producing the ammunition, we…

1
184. The Borinqueneers: Puerto Rico’s Men of the 65th Regiment 30:32

8M ago30:32

30:32

In this episode, we celebrate and commemorate National Borinqueneers Day coming up on April 13th. It recognizes the bravery, service, and sacrifice of the 65th Infantry Regiment, a United States Army unit that consisted mostly of soldiers from Puerto Rico and the only segregated Latino unit in the United States Army. But the honor and fidelity of t…

1
183. Margaret Rudkin of Pepperidge Farm 26:05

8M ago26:05

26:05

One of the most recognizable food brands in the world got started in a kitchen in Fairfield, Connecticut. In this episode, Natalie Belanger chats with historian Cathryn J. Prince about Margaret Rudkin, the woman who founded Pepperidge Farm. Read Prince's full-length article about Rudkin on the Connecticut Explored website here: https://www.ctexplor…

1
182. Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution 50:00

9M ago50:00

50:00

Are they pirates, profiteers or legitimately authorized extensions of George Washington’s almost non-existent American Navy? We’ll find out with guest historian Eric Jay Dolin, author of Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American RevolutIon. Dolin will underscore an element missing from most maritime histories of the American Revolution: a ragtag …

1
181. Hartford and the Great Migration, 1914-1950 28:56

9M ago28:56

28:56

181. Hartford and the Great Migration, 1914-1950 In the February 4, 2024 issue of the New York Times, journalist Adam Mahoney describes the Great Migration as a time when millions of Black people left the South to escape segregation, servitude and lynching and went North in search of jobs and stable housing. In this episode, host Mary Donohue will …

1
180. Colonial Connecticut: Sugar, Slavery and Connections to the West Indies 40:59

10M ago40:59

40:59

Although Connecticut sometimes seems like such a small, isolated place on the map, it was connected to the far-flung, complex, cosmopolitan British empire even in the 17th century. This year on Grating the Nutmeg, we’re going to explore Connecticut’s maritime history with episodes on Colonial Connecticut’s trade with the British colonies of the Car…

1
179. Connecticut’s Benedict Arnold: America’s Most Hated Man 36:30

10M ago36:30

36:30

179. Connecticut’s Benedict Arnold: America’s Most Hated Man This is our first new episode for 2024 and we’ve got some big news! Thanks to you-our listeners-we had 30,106 downloads in 2023! That’s our best year ever! We have brand new Facebook and Instagram pages under Grating the Nutmeg-please follow us and you’ll get behind the scenes photos, sne…

1
178. Mark Twain, Spiritualism and Ghost Stories 39:19

12M ago39:19

39:19

Did you ever think the universe was trying to tell you something? I just finished reading Anderson Cooper’s book on the Vanderbilt family. In it, he describes family patriarch Commodore Vanderbilt’s interest in Spiritualism and clairvoyance. Cooper writes “Evidence suggests that the Commodore had begun attending seances as early as 1864, but given …

1
177. Murder on Prospect Street 39:12

1y ago39:12

39:12

In this episode of Grating the Nutmeg, Natalie Belanger sits down with acclaimed crime writer M. William Phelps to get to the bottom of a notorious early 20th century Connecticut murder story. In the 1910s, Amy Archer Gilligan operated an innovative business in Windsor: a convalescent home for the ill and elderly. Her benevolent facade, however, hi…

1
176. Witchcraft Uncovered: New Discoveries and Exonerations 33:21

1y ago33:21

33:21

Witchcraft accusations began in Connecticut in May, 1647, with the trial and execution of Alice Young of Windsor, 45 years before the better-known witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Connecticut had witchcraft accusation outbreaks in the early 1660s in Hartford and again in Fairfield in 1692, with criminal trials ending in 1697. In colonial Conne…

1
175. Sleeping with the Ancestors in Connecticut 42:49

1y ago42:49

42:49

Podcast host and historic preservationist Mary Donohue started following a project on Facebook four or five years ago. It was based on a very simple idea-sleeping overnight in historic buildings-but it was also genius. The project was the Slave Dwelling Project. Joseph McGill,Jr., a Black historic preservationist and Civil War reenactor based in So…

1
174. Asher Benjamin, Connecticut’s Early Builder and Architect 1773-1845 33:35

1y ago33:35

33:35

From the rural backwater of Hartland, Connecticut in 1773, Asher Benjamin would rise to become one of the most important figures of early American architecture. In addition to training as a skilled finish carpenter, he published the first architectural guidebooks-how-to books by an American-born author. These went through many editions and left a l…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Connecticut Explored Magazine Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Grating the Nutmeg

Connecticut Explored Magazine

1
198. Entwined: Black and Indigenous Maritime History 43:23

1
197. Mark Twain and the American Presidents 43:56

1
196. Connecticut Body Snatchers: Merchandising the Dead in the 19th Century 43:00

1
195. George Griffin: Revealing the Life and Likeness of Mark Twain’s Butler 47:20

1
194. Revolutionary War Hero Lafayette Makes a Triumphal Return Tour 37:22

1
193. Radical Connecticut: Labor Strikes! 44:56

1
192. More than Dinosaurs: The New Peabody Museum of Natural History 33:30

1
191. The Hartford Circus Fire Tragedy 31:47

1
190. Phyllis Zlotnick, Disability Rights Activist 46:26

1
189. Sherlock Holmes and William Gillette's Castle 42:14

1
188. Revealing Queer Lives: Connecticut’s LGBTQ History 50:39

1
187. Derby's Charlton Comics: "No Other Place Like It" 33:12

1
186. New Haven’s Pioneering Grove Street Cemetery 41:01

1
185. Connecticut Industries Unite for WWII Victory: Pratt, Read & Co Gliders 39:40

1
184. The Borinqueneers: Puerto Rico’s Men of the 65th Regiment 30:32

1
183. Margaret Rudkin of Pepperidge Farm 26:05

1
182. Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution 50:00

1
181. Hartford and the Great Migration, 1914-1950 28:56

1
180. Colonial Connecticut: Sugar, Slavery and Connections to the West Indies 40:59

1
179. Connecticut’s Benedict Arnold: America’s Most Hated Man 36:30

1
178. Mark Twain, Spiritualism and Ghost Stories 39:19

1
177. Murder on Prospect Street 39:12

1
176. Witchcraft Uncovered: New Discoveries and Exonerations 33:21

1
175. Sleeping with the Ancestors in Connecticut 42:49

1
174. Asher Benjamin, Connecticut’s Early Builder and Architect 1773-1845 33:35

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