How did New Yorkers beat the heat before air conditioning?

In the season finale of Memories of Water, we travel back to the sweltering summers of New York City’s past. “Postcard Memories” pairs newspaper coverage of historic heat waves — including those of 1896, 1911, and 1936 — with handwritten postcards capturing how ordinary New Yorkers sought relief by the water.

Drawn from Queens Public Library’s James Supple Collection and read aloud by Queens Memory volunteers around the world, these postcards offer intimate glimpses of beach excursions, family traditions, vacations, and everyday life. 

“Postcard Memories” concludes Season Four of the Queens Memory Podcast, exploring Queens’ changing relationship with water and extreme weather.

In this Season 4 Finale, "Postcard Memories" travels back to the deadly heat waves of 1896, 1911, and 1936 — pairing newspaper headlines with handwritten postcards from Queens Public Library's digital archives. Written in English, German, and Czech, these century-old messages reveal beach excursions, family traditions, and the everyday ways New Yorkers sought relief from the heat.

Full episode premieres September 2 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

In "Rockaway Memories," Queens residents share personal stories of summers by the water, from moments of joy and belonging to memories of finding relief from the heat. This episode was recorded in the Far Rockaway and Broad Channel and produced by Queens-based audio producer, Rebecca Seidel, in collaboration with the Queens Memory Project and Melting Metropolis.

In "Rockaway Memories," Queens residents share personal stories of summers by the water, from moments of joy and belonging to memories of finding relief from the heat. This episode was recorded in the Far Rockaway and Broad Channel and produced by Queens-based audio producer, Rebecca Seidel, in collaboration with the Queens Memory Project and Melting Metropolis.

In this fourth episode of Memories of Water, Flushing teens meet theater artist and urban planner Sabina Sethi Unni to discuss Flood Sensor Aunty, a musical performance that turns flood sensors and emergency preparedness into community-centered storytelling. This episode was recorded at Edgemere Farm and the Flushing Library and produced by Queens-based audio producer, Rebecca Seidel, in collaboration with the Queens Memory Project and Queens Public Library's Teen Services team.

Flushing teens interviews a theatre artist about her musical journey of bringing "Flood Sensor Aunty" to communities affected by climate change. This episode, titled "Live from Flushing: Flood Sensor Aunty," was recorded at Edgemere Farm and the Flushing Library and produced by Queens-based audio producer, Rebecca Seidel, in collaboration with the Queens Memory Project and Queens Public Library's Teen Services team.

Four years after Hurricane Ida’s deadly floods, reporter Yiyan Zheng returns to Flushing — and finds the most vulnerable are still being left in the dark, cut off from life-saving information.

本集由陽邊（Sunnyside）居民及社區記者鄭怡嫣製作。她在災後四年重返當年因洪水罹難的冷鴻升一家所在社區以及東法拉盛，走訪當地租客與房東，記錄他們對那一夜的回憶與反思，並探討洪水帶來的持續性衝擊。節目同時納入非營利機構、氣候專家與政府官員的深度訪談，呈現移民社群在資訊不平等與氣候風險夾擊下的脆弱處境。

Here's a sneak preview of Episode 3 - "After Ida: Left in the Dark." Four years after Hurricane Ida’s deadly floods, reporter Yiyan Zheng returns to Flushing — and finds the most vulnerable are still being left in the dark, cut off from critical information.

In this special episode of the Queens Memory Podcast, local teens take the mic to ask questions about climate change. Recorded at the Flushing Library and produced by Queens-based audio producer, Rebecca Seidel, the episode features youth-led interviews with staff from the Queens Botanical Garden, uncovering the roots of flooding in Queens and what we can all do to build a climate-resilient future.

In this sneak preview of a very special episode, local teens take the mic to ask their questions about climate change. 

This second episode, titled "Live from Flushing: Teen Voices on Climate" was recorded at the Flushing Library and produced by Queens-based audio producer, Rebecca Seidel, in collaboration with the Queens Public Library's Teen Services team.