New Netherland Praatjes

Historian Joyce Goodfriend chats with NNI's Steve McErleane about Goodfriend's career as a leading historian of New Netherland and early New York. Topics include the origins of Goodfriend's interest in Dutch New York, the evolution of New Netherland studies and the waning infatuation with the English, the persistence of "Dutchness"——including the role of language and religion——from the seventeenth century through the American Revolution, the nuances of cultural authority and how historians have written about the levers of power, and some potential future paths for New Netherland scholarship.

Historian Peter Van Cleave chats with NNI's Steve McErleane and Russell Shorto about nineteenth-century scholar Francis Adrian van der Kemp and Van der Kemp's much-maligned attempt to translate the records of New Netherland ca. 1820, with Van Cleave offering a novel response to Van der Kemp's critics. In many ways a bridge between the 18th- and 19th-century worlds, Van der Kemp's life as a religious dissident and learned scholar help illuminate the complexities of the age. Other topics include New York's tumultuous political climate, the widespread ignorance of the history of New Netherland, and the seemingly impenetrable satire of Washington Irving.

Author and museum curator Steve Jaffe chats with Steve McErleane and Russell Shorto about Jaffe's work on the "New York at its Core" exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, a new installation that attempts to answer the question "What makes New York New York?" Topics include the challenges of presenting history to the public, the role of technology in museums, and how museum professionals have dealt with the death of the so-called grand narrative.

Best-selling author, and usual host of this podcast, Russell Shorto sits down with "Praatjes" producer Steve McErleane to discuss Shorto's latest book, Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom. The conversation also covers Shorto's insights into the interpretation of historical evidence, his thoughts on the craft of writing, and his experiences as an author.

New York State's Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education and Director of the State Museum Mark Schaming chats with Russell Shorto about Schaming's three decades of work at the State Museum and his new position overseeing the Office of Cultural Education, which includes the State Museum, State Archives and State Library. Among the topics are, of course, the role of New Netherland in the State Museum, the changing face of the museum (and museums in general), and Schaming's documentation of the massive recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 attacks.

NNI’s Senior Historian and Education Director Dennis Maika chats with Russell Shorto about Maika’s work on 17th-century New Amsterdam/Manhattan merchants and his work promoting the importance of the seventeenth-century Dutch colony to the New York State Education Department. Topics include the economic structure of the colony, including the role of the Dutch West India Company, and the role of state regulation in the economy.

Crailo State Historic Site Director Heidi Hill chats with Russell Shorto about the history surrounding the settlement of the 17th-century Dutch patroonship of Rensselaerswijck, the history of the building itself, and the evolution of the site as a museum. Heidi also answers the burning question "Were the words to Yankee Doodle actually written at Crailo?"

Archaeologist Paul Huey, who has more than four decades of experience excavating sites across New York State, chats with Russell Shorto about Huey’s long and rewarding career. Huey explains the process behind archaeological excavations and the evolution of the excavation process over the centuries. Some of the archaeological digs he details are Schuyler Flatts, the Van Curler house, and Fort Orange.

Versatile scholar Jeroen Dewulf chats with Russell Shorto about Dewulf's article "Emulating a Portuguese Model: The Slave Policy of the West India Company and the Dutch Reformed Church in Dutch Brazil (1630-1654) and New Netherland (1614-1664) in Comparative Perspective." The main topic of the chat is the influence of Portuguese policies on New Netherland's system of forced labor.

Historian Susanah Romney, author of the award-winning book New Netherland Connections: Intimate Networks and Atlantic Ties in Seventeenth-Century America, chats with Russell Shorto about Romney's research on intimate networks in the 17th-century Atlantic world and the ambiguities of Dutch translation.