ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
The Man Who Shot The Pope - DAY BEFORE:
Dynasty's Flamboyant Finale - DAY BEFORE THAT:
The Return Of 'The Scream' - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Duran Duran's James Bond Banger
ON THIS DAY
America's Last Witchtrial
Can ‘mesmeric’ mental powers harm you from afar? Well, no. But that didn’t stop Lucretia L. S. Brown accusing fellow Christian Scientist Daniel H. Spofford of ‘malicious animal magnetism’ in court; a case that concluded on 14th May, 1878.
No doubt bolstered by the fact it took place in Salem, Massachusetts – home of the historic American witchcraft trials, in the 1690s – the case aroused public interest with its judgements on mind control and spiritualism.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the gender politics of witchcraft trials, examine the enduring popularity of folk magic in rural communities, and uncover the surprising rise of witchcraft in the 21st century…
Further reading:
• ‘The Other Salem Witchtrials’ – a blog-post from the Oxford University Press:
https://blog.oup.com/2013/04/the-other-salem-witch-trials/
• Brian A. Pavlac investigates the ‘original’ Salem witch trials for TED:
• ‘The Long Lost Friend’ by John George Hohman (1820):
https://archive.org/details/0223252.nlm.nih.gov/page/n5/mode/2up
ON THIS DAY
America's Last Witchtrial
Can ‘mesmeric’ mental powers harm you from afar? Well, no. But that didn’t stop Lucretia L. S. Brown accusing fellow Christian Scientist Daniel H. Spofford of ‘malicious animal magnetism’ in court; a case that concluded on 14th May, 1878.
No doubt bolstered by the fact it took place in Salem, Massachusetts – home of the historic American witchcraft trials, in the 1690s – the case aroused public interest with its judgements on mind control and spiritualism.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion consider the gender politics of witchcraft trials, examine the enduring popularity of folk magic in rural communities, and uncover the surprising rise of witchcraft in the 21st century…
Further reading:
• ‘The Other Salem Witchtrials’ – a blog-post from the Oxford University Press:
https://blog.oup.com/2013/04/the-other-salem-witch-trials/
• Brian A. Pavlac investigates the ‘original’ Salem witch trials for TED:
• ‘The Long Lost Friend’ by John George Hohman (1820):
https://archive.org/details/0223252.nlm.nih.gov/page/n5/mode/2up
ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
The Man Who Shot The Pope - DAY BEFORE:
Dynasty's Flamboyant Finale - DAY BEFORE THAT:
The Return Of 'The Scream' - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
Duran Duran's James Bond Banger
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OLLY MANN
Olly Mann made his name with another trivia-wielding podcast, Answer Me This! with Helen Zaltzman – and now presents The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped, and Four Thought for BBC Radio Four. He also has an A-Level in History, so Dan Snow beware.
REBECCA MESSINA
Rebecca got a passion for podcasting working at The Week magazine and a passion for trivia appearing on University Challenge in 2011, making The Retrospectors her natural home.
ARION MCNICOLL
Arion started out in satirical news in Australia, then moved to the UK to work for ostensibly serious publications including The Times, CNN, and The Week… before realising that since around 2016 the news has all been satire really.
Do you have a day of note that we should cover? Or would you or your business like to support the podcast? Get in touch!
