In October 1942, a string of devastating arsons shook Providence, Rhode Island — including the destruction of the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. This episode examines a forgotten newspaper report detailing the arrest of Donald Bennett, a 23-year-old former resident of the Ladd School, and the deeper questions his case raised about institutional failure, public safety, and how society defined and managed “defective delinquents.” Based on a 1942 article from the Providence Journal and archival research from the Ladd School Historical Society.

Music: “Endless Nightmare” by Oliver Garcia, licensed via Motion Array.