Librarians by the Sea

Swampscott Historical Society President Molly Conner shares some of the history of the Humphrey House, which dates back to 1637 and was built by Sir John Humphrey, Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Lou Gallo, our unofficial Town Historian, discusses Swampscott's Fish House and our early fishing industry.  We learn why the Fish House was built and what is unique about it.  And did you know that several important firsts happened right here in Swampscott's fishing history? Read the transcription here.

Nia Keith is the statewide Climate Change Education Manager at Mass Audubon and an advocate for climate justice and action. We discuss the successes and challenges of climate advocates during the coronavirus pandemic and the different ways the environment has been impacted by COVID-19. Also, she shares tangible actions that you can take to fight climate change, resources to learn from, and organizations to donate to. 

Swampscott’s Gilded Age is brought to life in this discussion with Historian Mary Cassidy. Mary highlights the Era of the Summer Estates as she discusses the homes and lives of the wealthy Boston families who summered here in the 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Read the transcript here.

Today’s interview is with journalist, Ian Thomsen. We discuss his background in sports journalism, his book, The Soul of Basketball: The Epic Showdown Between LeBron, Kobe, Doc, and Dirk that Saved the NBA, and the future of the NBA given our current situation. Find out more about him here.

Read the transcription of this episode here.

Today’s interview is with local author, James Hankins. He is a USA Today bestselling author of numerous thrillers, mysteries, and suspense novels, each of which spent time in the Kindle Top 100 and became Amazon #1 category bestsellers. We discuss his career transition from working in Hollywood, to law, to writing, and he gives a lot of insight on how fiction authors can break into the industry through the self-publishing process. You can find out more information about him or order his books here.

Today on the podcast, we have an interview with reference librarian, Caroline, about a book she finished recently, Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw. Spoiler alert, she didn’t like this one! Tune in to find out why she thinks it’s difficult to tell a good story about magic and why more adults should read YA.

Julie interviews Alex and David Townsend, hosts of the podcast My Comical Romance. During their podcast, they read and analyze romance comic books from the 1950s to the 1970s. In this episode, they explain what draws them to these stories and what we can learn about the social and cultural norms of the time period in which they were written. Check out other episodes of their podcast here.

On today's episode, Julie interviews the Library Director, Alyce Deveau about a recent book she read, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. They get into a discussion on the importance of access to information, particularly during quarantine.

Today on the podcast, Julie interviews award-winning history author Eric Jay Dolin on his path to becoming a writer. His new book A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America’s Hurricanes comes out on August 4, 2020. Check out his website for more information about all of his work, or find him on Facebook.