Happy Halloween, all you goblins and ghouls. Prepare yourselves for a real spooky season treat as we traverse the gloomy annals of witch trials. Join us for our 12th episode this season as we dispel myths and shine a light on how and why these judicial proceedings played out across Europe and the United States. We're talking grand juries, indictments, spectral evidence and even acquittals in what were considered by the standards of the time to be fair trials.
There are no tricks here as we examine the chilling circumstances behind the notorious Salem witch trials and the ensuing paranoia that led to widespread accusations and tragic executions. How has Salem maintained its hold on the American psyche for more than 300 years?
Hold on to your broomstick as we ride through this spine-chilling side of the past.
Special guests:
- Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and author of “The Witches: Salem, 1692”
- Marion Gibson, Renaissance and magical literatures professor at the University of Exeter and author of “Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials”
Sidebar tackles the top stories you need to know from the legal world. Join reporters Hillel Aron, Kirk McDaniel, Amanda Pampuro and Kelsey Reichmann as they take you in and out of courtrooms in the U.S. and beyond and break down developments to help you understand how they affect your day-to-day life.
This episode was produced by Hillel Aron. Intro music by The Dead Pens. A transcript is available.
Editorial staff is Bill Dotinga, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross. Special thanks to Thomas F. Harrison.
For more legal news that goes bump in the night:
- Massachusetts grants absolution to its last remaining witch
- Modern views on women absent in draft that would overturn Roe
- Halloween approaching, Vermont judge dispels goblins attacking First Amendment
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