Grating The Nutmeg

     On the 200th anniversary of the creation of the state Constitution of 1818, we remember one of Connecticut's least well known but most important events. Hear State Historian Walter Woodward's Old State House talk about the events that led to the Constitution of 1818, and all that document did and didn't do. Presented by Attorney Peter Bowman, helping the seriously injured and holding distracted drivers accountable for their actions. More at bowman.legal  

   When co-host Brenda Miller suggested we do a podcast with the authors of a new book about America's first (1796) cookbook, I thought a culinary episode might be a nice change of pace.     What we found, though, is that Keith Staveley and Kathleen Fitzgerald have not only written an extraordinary history of Amelia Simmons's  Hartford-published American Cookery, they've also written one of the best books about Connecticut history in a generation. This is an episode you don't want to miss. Presented by Attorney Peter Bowman, helping the seriously injured and holding distracted drivers accountable for their actions. More at bowman.legal .  

Americans moved out of the cities and into the suburbs in droves after World War II looking for single-family homes. In this episode, we talk with the experts about Connecticut’s history of steering certain people to certain neighborhoods through restrictive covenants, racial and religious discrimination, and federal housing policies—all of which helped determine where African American and Jewish homebuyers could purchase homes. Using West Hartford as an example, learn what some common real estate terms really mean—“redlining,” steering, and exclusionary zoning—and how they affected West Hartford’s neighborhoods. Please note that this episode contains outdated language used in historical context. Guests are West Hartford Town Historian Dr. Tracey Wilson and Trinity College's Dr. Jack Dougherty View Dr. Dougherty’s accompanying presentation at http://bit.ly/2017-11-02 and also visit his online book On The Line: How Schooling, Housing, and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and its Suburbs at OnTheLine.trincoll.edu.

      It's a brand new year, and what better way to start 2018 than with a Treasure Hunt.   Join Brenda Miller, Executive Director of the History Center at Hartford Public Library and State Historian Walt Woodward as they explore the treasures of the Watkinson Library at Trinity College with curator Rick Ring. 

     Archaeologists working at Wethersfield's Webb-Dean-Stevens Museum recently found something completely unexpected - signs of a 17th century palisade adjacent to the historic house where General Washington met with French Count Rochambeau to plan the campaign that won the American Revolution. Along with the soil stain that showed there was a defensive wall, they also found artifacts dating to the time of the 1637 Pequot War, which Connecticut declared after a Wangunk-Pequot attack on Wethersfield that left 9 people dead. Is this fort - as archeologist Ross Harper posits - possibly Connecticut's Jamestown?       Join Wethersfield residents at the Webb-Deane Stevens museum as the archaeologists provide a surface-to-paydirt - 20th to 17th century - description of what they've found so far. 

Conniving bosses, predatory slumlords, greedy industrialists and political intrigue abound in Steve Thornton’s latest history book, Wicked Hartford—but his take on this universal topic is not quite what you’d expect. Hear Steve tell us about the fascinating stories in “wicked” Hartford history.   Music by Hartford jazz artist Orice Jenkins from the album ‘SOAR’ available on iTunes now. Connecticut Explored is celebrating its 15th anniversary—and we’ve got a special offer for new subscribers. Subscribe before December 31, 2017 and receive 6 issues for the price of 4. Use coupon code “Nutmeg” when you subscribe at ctexplored.org/shop.

      In this special 3 Part series on Witch-Hunting in Connecticut, we investigate the surprising story of witchcraft in colonial Connecticut. Why did Connecticut execute New England's 1st witch? Why was it early New England's fiercest prosecutor of witches (Who knew?) And how did European witch-hunting affect the same practice in New England? We cover all this and more in an exciting three-cast.      Episode one talks about the European witchcraft tradition from witch Connecticut's witch hunts were derived. 

               In part two of our Special Series Witch-Hunting in Connecticut, you'll hear the sobering tale of Connecticut's rifle in New England witch-hunting, from executing the first witch, to the Hartford Witch hunts of the 1660s, to the trial of Katherine Harrison, arguably the most important witchcraft trial to take place before Salem.