The Salem Witch Trials Podcast

By Greg HouleSociety & Culture Documentary History

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Typical duration
21 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

The Salem Witch Trials Podcast episodes

October 08Believing in Witches
What did it mean to be a witch in 1692?

In this episode, we explore how the Puritans understood witches, satan, and the supernatural. And we address why those beliefs were so central to the tragedy.
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Join host Greg Houle in Owensboro, Kentucky!
He'll be at Owensboro Community and Technical College for two special events:
October 19, 6:30 p.m. CT: Talking about his family's connection to the Salem witch trials.
October 20, 12:30 p.m. CT: A panel discussion with OCTC students.
Both events are free, open to the public. If you can't be there, join the livestream: https://www.facebook.com/OwensboroCTC
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Learn more about Greg Houle's book, The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials
31 min
August 27 Ordinary Lives
What was everyday life like in Salem in 1692?

In this episode, we look beyond the witch crisis to explore the work, routines, and relationships that shaped the people at the center of the storm.
27 min
June 19 Who Owns Salem?
The Salem witch trials ended more than three centuries ago, but the story has never truly stopped. This episode explores how the legacy of this historical crisis has been claimed, reinvented, memorialized, commercialized, and contested across generations.
29 min
May 05 The Man Who Put Salem Back Together
When the witch crisis of 1692 faded, Salem Village was left to live with what it had done. This episode examines how Reverend Joseph Green guided this damaged community through its long and uncertain aftermath.

Joining us is Dan Lipcan, the Ann C. Pingree Director of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, which has in its collection the diary of Reverend Green.
26 min
February 27Tituba and the Fear That Made a Witch
WE'RE BACK!

In the first episode of our second season, we trace the story of Tituba, an enslaved Indigenous woman and the first person accused of witchcraft in 1692. With the help of historian Matt Alschbach, we examine her story within the broader context of seventeenth-century folk medicine, race, and Puritan theology, exploring how fear breeds suspicion, and how suspicion so often settles on the margins.
If you’re interested in joining host Greg Houle for his live online course, The Salem Witch Trials: Fear, Myth & Meaning, you can register here.
You can also explore Greg Houle’s historical novel, The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
24 min
November 27, 2025Welcome Back to Salem: Season 2 Preview
Season 2 of The Salem Witch Trials Podcast is coming. We go beyond the timeline of 1692 to explore the deeper forces that shaped the crisis. From war to religion to community tensions to psychology to power, join us as we further uncover the reasons why this tragic event took place, why it mattered then, and why it still matters today.
Learn more about host Greg Houle's novel: The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials.
4 min
October 10, 2025BONUS: The Putnams of Salem: The Audiobook
Experience The Putnams of Salem in a whole new way. Narrated by author Greg Houle and his daughter Addy, the audiobook brings to life the haunting and twisted tale of Thomas and Ann Putnam Jr. who are Greg and Addy's real-life ancestors at the heart of the Salem witch crisis.
Get The Putnams of Salem on Audible

And stay tuned for Season 2 of The Salem Witch Trials Podcast is coming very soon!
15 min
March 27, 2025A Reflection on Our First Season
In the last episode of season one, we reflect on what we've learned so far. And look ahead to season two.
You can contact host Greg Houle at [email protected]
Learn more about host Greg's novel: The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials.
10 min
March 03, 2025 Suspicion and Fear Consume Wilmot Redd
Long the subject of whispers and suspicion, Wilmot Redd lived miles from the witch hysteria’s epicenter in Salem Village. Yet, as paranoia spread in the spring of 1692, she got caught in its grip, condemned not by evidence, but by growing fear.
21 min
February 18, 2025The Patriarchy Takes Down Ann Pudeator
Ann Pudeator was a twice-widowed caregiver whose independence and outsider status made her a target during the Salem witch trials. We explore how this elderly, independent woman stoked societal fears, and reveal how deeply the patriarchy influenced the witch hysteria in 1692. As well as how courageously Ann stood her ground until the end.
Learn more about host Greg Houle's novel: The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials.
17 min

About The Salem Witch Trials Podcast

From the publisher's feed

The Salem Witch Trials Podcast takes a fast-paced and episodic examination of the witch hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The brief yet insightful episodes harness the knowledge of experts to…