The last episode of this season features two guests: Peter Fay and Victoria Johnson. I invited them on the podcast because they led the effort to construct the Newport Middle Passage memorial. It was a pleasure to talk to them about their advocacy and work.
This episode was brought to you in part by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. Please support them in these insecure times: https://rihumanities.org/
Visit the website of the Newport Middle Passage Project: www.newportmiddlepassage.org
This episode's guest is Charlotte Taylor, the principal archaeologist for the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission. We discussed what archeology is, what she does for the commission, and how you can get involved if archeology interests you. Charlotte lists many ways to help and maybe websites to visit, but most importantly, she invites listeners to email her with anything they discover.
https://preservation.ri.gov/
Don't forget to visit the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities for more information on supporting the humanities in RI. https://rihumanities.org/
Nobody should be surprised to learn that Newport has a troubled history, and that many relics of that history populate its landscape. The Redwood Library is one of those places that was founded for good intentions on money that was accumulated through the slave trade. Yet, it would be erroneous to dismiss such buildings for their troubled past. Instead, a more constructive option is to turn these relics into socially and culturally constructive institutions that serve the community. Reclaiming their legacy, if you will. This is precisely what my guest this episode, Benedict Leca, is doing with the Redwood Library.
If you are interested, please visit the library! https://redwoodlibrary.org/
This episode is brought to you in part by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. Find out more here: https://rihumanities.org/
This week I am joined by Bradly VanDerStadt, who runs the Providence Tour Company. We discuss guided tours and the type of research and historicism that goes into making a tour.
If you are interested in what he does, feel free to reach out! You can also take one of his tours if you'd like a new perspective on the city: https://www.pvdtourco.com/
This season of the RI History Podcast is brought to you in part by the RI Council for the Humanities. Check out their website for more information and other great humanities-focused projects: https://rihumanities.org/
I had CJ Martin on to talk about his recent book, “The Precious Birthright: Black Leaders and the Fight to Vote in Antebellum Rhode Island.” We discussed many things including the content of the book, the process of researching and writing, and more.
This season is brought to you in part the the RI Council for the Humanities.
During this season's premiere, I am happy to have Lorén Spears, the executive director of the Tomaquag Museum in Exeter, RI. It was a pleasure to have Lorén on the show to talk about Indigenous material culture, preserving historical memory through material culture and oral histories, and what goes into curating a powerful museum. Please find links to the museum and more information below.
https://www.tomaquagmuseum.org/
The reading group Lorén mentions can be found here --> https://www.tomaquagmuseum.org/bookclub
This season is brought to you in part by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. https://rihumanities.org/
Season three will begin airing the first week of February. The first episode drops Sunday, February 9th.
This season is brought to you by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities! For more information visit this page:
https://rihumanities.org/four-mini-grants-awarded-in-november-cycle/
Buy me a coffee -- > buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast
Music this season is provided by Ryan Jackson. Find his wonderful music at @ryan.jacksonmusic
In this finale of season 2 I talked with Michael (Mike) Simpson about his social media page "On This Day in Rhode Island History." We talked about the role of social media in popular history today, what goes in to running such a page, and much more.
Buy me a coffee--> buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast
Mike's page:
X - @OTDRhodeIsland
Instagram - @otdrhodeisland
In this episode, I discussed history writing with Chrisitan McBurney, who edits the online review of Rhode Island history, a resource that I use and frequently cite in show notes! We talked about what goes into operating the site, and some of the many books he's written on Rhode Island.
Buy me a coffee--> buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast
Christian's links:
Personal website --> http://christianmcburney.com/
Small State, Big History --> https://smallstatebighistory.com/
In this episode I talked with Anne D. Holst, a historian, preservationist, environmentalist, and so much more. We discussed her work on water rights and dams in Rhode Island, and I got to ask whether the Clouds Hill Museum is haunted.
Buy me a coffee--> buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast
Anne's links:
Clouds Hill Museum --> https://www.cloudshill.org/becauseofthem
Some of Anne's articles --> https://smallstatebighistory.com/author/annedholst/
In this episode, I chatted with John Linton, a retired school teacher, photographer, and historian documenting the history of Smith Granite.
Buy me a coffee---> buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast
John's pages
https://smallstatebighistory.com/author/johnlinton/
Babcock-Smith House Museum --> https://babcocksmithhouse.org/
In this episode, I talked to Ashley Selima, an archivist at the Rhode Island State Archives. We talked about what an archivist is, and some of the ways the state archive engages with the community and serves more than just historians.
Buy me a coffee--> buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast
Ashley's links:
State Archives homepage: https://www.sos.ri.gov/divisions/state-archives
Digital Archives to browse online resources: https://sosri.access.preservica.com/home
In this episode, I talked with historian John Landry about Roger Williams and his commercial legacy. We also talked a little about the larger work he's writing on the commercial history of Rhode Island from its inception to the present.
Buy me a coffee--> buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast
John's work:
Articles --> https://smallstatebighistory.com/author/johnlandry/
Co-authored book --> https://a.co/d/2pOxm4d
In this episode, I talked with Professor Christy Clark-Pujara, an expert in the history of slavery in the North and the author of "Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in RI." We also talked about researching in the archives, CRT, and writing history.
If you like what you hear and want to support the podcast, please share the episode, subscribe to the podcast, and review it!
Professor Clark-Pujara's book ---> https://nyupress.org/9781479870424/dark-work/
In this special episode, Professors Kabria Baumgartner and Jim Casey are joined by John H. Muller and I to talk about the colored conventions of the 19th century, and Rhode Island's place in those events.
Here is the link to their ongoing project: https://coloredconventions.org/
If you like what you hear please share and subscribe!
In this episode, I talk with historian and writer Gloria De Paola about the coal mine that used to exist where Garden City in Cranston currently sits. Did you know that in 2001 a giant hole opened up in the parking lot? Neither did I, but this explains why.
Rhode Island dodged a major bullet when they found out that the coal was inferior and wasn't capable of sustaining an industry, despite the plethora of efforts.
You can read Gloria's original article here ---> http://smallstatebighistory.com/how-curious-a-coal-mine-in-cranston/
In this half episode, I talked to Jane Lancaster, a distinguished alum of Brown about the history of women in Rhode Island in the late 19th century, Charlotte Perkins Gillman, and being a graduate student.
Welcome back!
For this episode I invited Keith Stokes on to talk about his notion of "American Irony." By this, Mr. Stokes is referring to the ironic position of Newport, RI as one of the country's most religiously tolerant settlements while it participated in the slave trade more than any other New England port.
https://newportartmuseum.org/events/newport-gilded-age-in-color/
In this episode Alex talked to author and former city councilman of North Providence, Paul Caranci. Paul became known nationally as the individual responsible for one of the largest corruption cases in North Prov. Listen to him talk about here, and consider picking up his book "Wired" which can be found here: http://www.paulcaranci.com/wired-a-shocking-true-story-of-political-corruption.html
As always, if you like this podcast please consider subscribing and sharing with friends and family.
In this episode, I went to Dr. Conley's office to talk to him about the deep history of the Fabre line and State Pier #1, which is now a scrap metal yard.
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