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Mother Ann Lee is one of the most consequential (and least understood) figures in early American religious history.

In just ten years in the colonies, during the chaos of the American Revolution, she helped give rise to a movement that would shape communal life, labor, design, music, and belief across America (and even Europe) for generations.

This episode of The Jiffy traces Ann Lee's life from industrial Manchester to upstate New York, from persecution and imprisonment to the founding of the Shakers' first American settlement near Albany and across New England.

With guidance from Kathleen Lynch, curator and director of collections at Hancock Shaker Village, we examine what can be known about Mother Ann, and what survives only as testimony, memory, myth, and legend.

As renewed attention turns toward Ann's life, this episode offers the long view that intends to place her where she belongs: not as an abstraction or aesthetic, but as a human being whose convictions helped shape a country still defining itself.

By the way, Kathleen took me on a tour of the 1830 Brick Dwelling in 2024 for my series, "This Old Vibe," and showed me the Shaker concept of borrowed light. You can watch that video here.

You can visit Hancock Shaker Village at: https://hancockshakervillage.org

Here's more info on "Ann the Word: the Story of Ann Lee, Female Messiah, Mother of the Shakers, the Woman Clothed with the Sun," by Richard Francis

This is part of my series throughout 2026 looking at how New York looks at itself during the Semiquincentennial: The Jiffty250. 

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"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

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In the first episode of the New Year, we get as close to the concept of time as possible: by climbing into Chatham’s 1872 clock tower with village timekeeper Stephen Piazza.

Here are some things we learned:

• It's very steep to the top and hard to do with a microphone and really large headphones.
• Don't touch the pendulum.
• Why heat and cold change a pendulum’s pace
• How gravity pulls on the gear train differently from 12 to 6
• And why a tiny turn smaller than a 64th of an inch can mean minutes gained or lost. 
• We talk through the choreography of daylight saving, from stopping the clock to avoid “fall back” confusion to advancing the hands ever so gently in spring so the village sees the new time without phantom bells throwing everything into disarray.
• We also made it into the Village Timekeeper's Logbook for all of time to see!

Here's more on "Selling the True Time," by Ian R. Bartky

Here's more on the Chatham Clock Tower from the Chatham Village Historical Society

Here's my previous "Guide To The Many Chathams" episode

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"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave

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Dylan Tupper Rupert joins the show today in my first-ever feed drop to take us on a ride-along with her podcast "Music Person!"

It's the first part in a three-part series for her show, dedicated to mapping out how the Hudson Valley’s history, density, and seasons shape a vibrant indie music scene today. In part 1, which we feature here, Dylan visits Hannah Cohen, Sam Evian, Flying Cloud Studios, and Big Pink (and Jenn Pelly and Olivia Bee make some cameos).

Go check out Dylan's full series here: https://www.talkhouse.com/artist/music-person

Listen ad-free and support her show here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/musicperson

And follow Dylan on Instagram here! @yaydylan

Support the show

"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave

Subscribe to the newsletter here.

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While on a holiday break in December, I'm sharing this special episode featuring local news and gossip from the Rhinebeck Gazette of the 1800s, available through the Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers Archive.

I'll be back to normal programming soon. In the meantime, be sure to stock up on your boots, shoes, and rubbers!

These news items are from the following issues:

• Rhinebeck Gazette: Dec. 1, 1857
• Rhinebeck Gazette, Dec. 8, 1857
• Rhinebeck Gazette, Dec. 22, 1857
• Rhinebeck Gazette, Dec. 21, 1858
• Rhinebeck Gazette, Dec. 27, 1859
• Rhinebeck Gazette: Dec. 5, 1865

To support my end of year fund drive and keep The Jiffy going into 2026, you can become a sustaining member, or (and??) make a one-time donation here:

• Become a sustaining member here
• Donate here

Support the show

"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is a small adventure, told with curiosity, humor, and the occasional text message from a stranger.

New episodes drop every other week. Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Support the show

"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave

Subscribe to the newsletter here.

Send us a text

What is the job of a County Clerk? In Ulster County, it can mean managing DMV processes, preserving 300-year-old land records, and keeping the legal paper trail of everyday life in order. But earlier this year, that job landed one local official, Taylor Bruck, inside a national constitutional standoff.

Only a few months into his role as Acting County Clerk, Taylor received something unusual: a legal judgment from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, asking him to accept and process it in New York. The judgment involved a New York doctor, telemedicine, abortion medication, and a question that reaches beyond healthcare: Can one state make another enforce its laws?

In this episode, I visit Taylor in his Kingston office to talk about how a routine administrative role quickly became a test case for New York’s brand-new shield law. We talk about constitutional boundaries, state identity, what it means to uphold local law in a national dispute, and how it felt to go from archivist to defendant in a case that could one day reach the Supreme Court.

Support the show

"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave

Subscribe to the newsletter here.

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Sometimes things get too stressful here at The Jiffy, a podcast about upstate New York that really takes you places.

And when this happens, I lace up my hiking boots and guide you on a restful Sleep Hike, where I do the hiking, while you do the sleeping.

I've been told that my methods could use some training, so in this episode we visit Anna Yang and Alex Artymiak, the co-founders of Empty Space.

Empty Space is a sound studio in Old Chatham, New York, with ancient singing bowls, gongs, sansulas, harps, and more, and in this episode, we learn how we can perhaps tune out the noise by listening to the sounds within.

You can find Anna and Alex at @emptyspace.sound.

Some previous Sleep Hike episodes:

The Jiffy Takes A Sleep Hike

A Sleep Hike Through Mud Creek

Support the show

"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave

Subscribe to the newsletter here.

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It’s a brisk October afternoon in Kingston, New York, for the final game of the Vintage Base Ball 2025 season between the Kingston Guards and the Ulster Nine.

We're at Herzog Field, beside the Catskill Mountain Railroad Station and the  Hannaford parking lot, to watch two teams play baseball by 1864 rules.

From “ballists” and “muffins” to hand-caught fly balls and gentlemanly arbitration, this episode dives into the language, spirit, and spectacle of vintage base ball culture.

We hear from:

• Dan Torres, co-founder of the Kingston Guards
• Jon Palmer, team historian and player
• Brady, youngest ballist
• Holley Boncek, vintage baseball umpire
• Max, musician and Kingston Guard
• Brock, and additional members of the Ulster Nine and Kingston Guards

We get to know about:

• The rebirth of 19th-century baseball in the Hudson Valley
• 1864 rule differences: no gloves, fair/foul quirks, gentleman’s umpiring
• The community appeal of vintage sports

Music played:

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (1908) — Edward Meeker, Edison Records
 Digitized by the Internet Archive. Public Domain (U.S.).

Links & References:

• Kingston Guards — kingstonguards.com
• Instagram: @kingstonguardsbaseball + @ulsterninebaseball1864
• Vintage Base Ball Association: vbba.org
• Rules of Base Ball (1864 edition) — Library of Congress archive
• Jon Palmer’s photography: @joninthewoods

The Kingston Guards are a nonprofit organization. Donations help fund their community outreach, education programs, and historical research. Visit their website to join, volunteer, or contribute.

Conan Plays Old Timey Baseball

Inside Conan: Kevin Dorff Revisits Old Timey Baseball

Support the show

"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave

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It’s peak leaf peeping season, and I'm bringing this episode to you from The Leaf Watch Desk deep in the Woods of the James Cave Instagram Feed. This year’s official Leaf Watch Leaf, as voted by listeners, is the Northern Red Oak, and it’s putting on quite a show.

In this episode, I hike the Windham Path in the Great Northern Catskills with Francis X. Driscoll, a 12-year veteran “leaf spotter” for I LOVE NY’s Fall Foliage Report.

Together, we talk about how New York’s iconic fall color forecasts are made, what it takes to predict “peak,” and how one storm – or one weekend – can change everything.

Follow the journey of this year’s fall foliage and see real-time updates on The Jiffy’s Leaf Watch Cam as the season moves toward its final hues.

Support the show

"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave

Subscribe to the newsletter here.

Send us a text

What does it mean to belong to a place? Standing in the famous gazebo at the intersection of multiple boundaries – the village of Chatham, the town of Chatham, and perhaps even the town of Ghent – this question feels especially important.

This rural upstate New York community actually comprises numerous Chathams: Old Chatham, North Chatham, East Chatham, Chatham Center, and the village itself. And, of course, Malden Bridge.

Through conversations with lifelong residents and relative newcomers, we get to know the layers of identity that define this rural community: Melissa Davis, who recently opened a boutique on Main Street with Sherri Marton (Marton & Davis), lovingly compares the village to Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls, complete with quirky characters and a strong sense of community.

Meanwhile, Jeanne Veillette Bowerman, who manages an antique shop in the oldest building in the village (reportedly inhabited by 19th-century spirits), sees the ghosts of a Chatham that no longer exists.

The community stands at a crossroads of preservation and change. The historic Crandell Theater is being restored to its 1920s glory, though not to the version most longtime locals might remember. The Shaker Museum recently broke ground on a new headquarters. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail will soon connect Chatham to Wassaic, 46 miles away, and all the while, the Chatham Dirt Road Coalition fights to protect the town's 50-plus miles of unpaved roads from the pavers, seeing them as essential to maintaining rural character here.

Hidden histories emerge at every turn – from the modest farmhouse where the Three Stooges once lived to avoid the World War I draft to the 153-year-old clock still keeping time above Main Street. Each story reveals how communities navigate the delicate balance between honoring the past and embracing the future.

To hear my previous episode in Chatham, featuring our anonymous food critic The Hungry Eye and the Great Chatham Bake-Off, click here.

Support the show

"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave

Subscribe to the newsletter here.

Send us a text

While on a holiday break at the Columbia County Fair, I'm sharing this special episode featuring local news stories from the Chatham Courier newspapers of the 1800s, available through the Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers Archive.

I'll be back to normal programming in the next episode. Watch out for the horse thieves!

Support the show

"The Jiffy Audio Newsletter Podcast" is an audio documentary zine – the official podcast of The Jiffy – exploring the odd histories, cozy mysteries, and surprising characters of upstate New York. Each episode is an adventure, and new episodes drop every other week.

Subscribe, share, and take the scenic route with us.

Follow James on Instagram: @jamescave

Subscribe to the newsletter here.