The Rhode Island History Podcast

The last episode of this season features two guests: Peter Fay and Victoria Johnson. I invited them on the podcast because they led the effort to construct the Newport Middle Passage memorial. It was a pleasure to talk to them about their advocacy and work.

The "Middle Passage" refers to the middle point of the transatlantic trade between Africa and North America, where people were forcefully taken from Africa and transported to the United States, especially Newport, RI.

This episode was brought to you in part by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. Please support them in these insecure times: https://rihumanities.org/

Visit the website of the Newport Middle Passage Project: www.newportmiddlepassage.org

This episode's guest is Charlotte Taylor, the principal archaeologist for the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission. We discussed what archeology is, what she does for the commission, and how you can get involved if archeology interests you. Charlotte lists many ways to help and maybe websites to visit, but most importantly, she invites listeners to email her with anything they discover.

https://preservation.ri.gov/

Don't forget to visit the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities for more information on supporting the humanities in RI. https://rihumanities.org/

Nobody should be surprised to learn that Newport has a troubled history, and that many relics of that history populate its landscape. The Redwood Library is one of those places that was founded for good intentions on money that was accumulated through the slave trade. Yet, it would be erroneous to dismiss such buildings for their troubled past. Instead, a more constructive option is to turn these relics into socially and culturally constructive institutions that serve the community. Reclaiming their legacy, if you will. This is precisely what my guest this episode, Benedict Leca, is doing with the Redwood Library.

If you are interested, please visit the library! https://redwoodlibrary.org/

This episode is brought to you in part by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. Find out more here: https://rihumanities.org/

This week I am joined by Bradly VanDerStadt, who runs the Providence Tour Company. We discuss guided tours and the type of research and historicism that goes into making a tour.

If you are interested in what he does, feel free to reach out! You can also take one of his tours if you'd like a new perspective on the city: https://www.pvdtourco.com/

This season of the RI History Podcast is brought to you in part by the RI Council for the Humanities. Check out their website for more information and other great humanities-focused projects: https://rihumanities.org/

I had CJ Martin on to talk about his recent book, “The Precious Birthright: Black Leaders and the Fight to Vote in Antebellum Rhode Island.” We discussed many things including the content of the book, the process of researching and writing, and more.

This season is brought to you in part the the RI Council for the Humanities.

During this season's premiere, I am happy to have Lorén Spears, the executive director of the Tomaquag Museum in Exeter, RI. It was a pleasure to have Lorén on the show to talk about Indigenous material culture, preserving historical memory through material culture and oral histories, and what goes into curating a powerful museum. Please find links to the museum and more information below.

https://www.tomaquagmuseum.org/

The reading group Lorén mentions can be found here --> https://www.tomaquagmuseum.org/bookclub

This season is brought to you in part by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. https://rihumanities.org/

Season three will begin airing the first week of February. The first episode drops Sunday, February 9th.

This season is brought to you by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities! For more information visit this page:

https://rihumanities.org/four-mini-grants-awarded-in-november-cycle/

Buy me a coffee -- > buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast

Music this season is provided by Ryan Jackson. Find his wonderful music at @ryan.jacksonmusic

In this finale of season 2 I talked with Michael (Mike) Simpson about his social media page "On This Day in Rhode Island History." We talked about the role of social media in popular history today, what goes in to running such a page, and much more.

Buy me a coffee--> buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast

Mike's page:

X - @OTDRhodeIsland

Instagram - @otdrhodeisland

In this episode, I discussed history writing with Chrisitan McBurney, who edits the online review of Rhode Island history, a resource that I use and frequently cite in show notes! We talked about what goes into operating the site, and some of the many books he's written on Rhode Island.

Buy me a coffee--> buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast

Christian's links:

Personal website --> http://christianmcburney.com/

Small State, Big History --> https://smallstatebighistory.com/

In this episode I talked with Anne D. Holst, a historian, preservationist, environmentalist, and so much more. We discussed her work on water rights and dams in Rhode Island, and I got to ask whether the Clouds Hill Museum is haunted.

Buy me a coffee--> buymeacoffee.com/rihpodcast

Anne's links:

Clouds Hill Museum --> https://www.cloudshill.org/becauseofthem

Some of Anne's articles --> https://smallstatebighistory.com/author/annedholst/