The Thing About Witch Hunts

Come explore a forgotten witch panic that happened before Salem. This episode visits Springfield, Massachusetts to discuss a groundbreaking museum exhibit that brings the 1650-1652 Hugh and Mary Parsons witchcraft case to life. Curator Elizabeth Kapp explains how "Witch Panic: Massachusetts Before Salem" immerses visitors in this early witch panic through interactive elements that put visitors in the role of jury members....

Dig into the Salem witch trials with playwright Matt Cox, whose play Witches?! In Salem!? offers a fresh perspective on one of history's most tragic episodes. This isn't your typical historical drama – Cox has crafted something that's both rigorously researched and surprisingly funny, managing to honor the victims while illuminating the very human motivations behind the 1692 tragedy.

Matt spent eight years developing thi...

Why does a 72-year-old play about 333-year-old witch trials still feel urgently relevant today? Arthur Miller's The Crucible has become theater's ultimate evergreen story, because it captures something timeless and terrifying about human nature—our willingness to destroy each other when fear takes hold.

When Miller's play premiered on January 10, 1953, audiences immediately understood it wasn't really about Salem. Th...

Join Josh and Sarah as they explore one of Scotland's most notorious witch trials - the Paisley Witch Trials of 1697 (also known as the Bargarran or Renfrewshire Witch Trials). This case represents a major witch hunt and mass execution in late 17th century Europe, where seven people lost their lives in Paisley after being accused by eleven-year-old Christian Shaw.

What You'll Learn: • How eleven-year-old Christian Shaw's...

Hosts Josh and Sarah welcome back author Beth Caruso to discuss Alice Young, New England's first documented witch trial victim, executed in Hartford, Connecticut in 1647. Beth shares her groundbreaking research that led to Alice's official exoneration by the Connecticut legislature in May 2023, after centuries of her story being nearly lost to history. The conversation explores how Beth pieced together Alice's life thro...

Welcome back to the Witch Hunt Podcast. This is the final episode in the four part series: The Evolution of Diabolical Witchcraft Belief.  If you're just joining us, we recommend checking out the previous series episodes first, though this episode can certainly stand on its own.

This completes our Evolution of Diabolical Witchcraft conversation with Professor Richard Raiswell of the University of Prince Edward Island, expert on ...

Today we conclude our series: The Evolution of Diabolical Witchcraft Belief with Professor Raiswell of the University of Prince Edward Island, an expert in medieval devil lore, with another double episode release. If you're just joining us, we recommend checking out the previous series episodes first, though this episode can certainly stand on its own.

In this episode, part 3 of the series, Dr. Raiswell takes us into the min...

Welcome back to the Witch Hunt Podcast. This is episode 2 in The Evolution of Diabolical Witchcraft Belief.  If you're just joining us, we recommend checking out Part 1 first, though this episode can certainly stand on its own.

This marks the continuation of our conversation with Professor Richard Raiswell of the University of Prince Edward Island, who previously joined us for our fascinating "Speak of the Devil" episo...

We have a special treat for our listeners this week - not one but two new episodes dropping simultaneously! Today marks the return of Professor Richard Raiswell of the University of Prince Edward Island, who previously joined us for our fascinating "Speak of the Devil" episode where we explored Satan as one of history's most enduring and complex figures.

In this two-part special The Evolution of Diabolical Witchcraft B...

Are you curious about the Salem Witch Trials? Fascinated? Intrigued? Maybe even fully obsessed? Josh and Sarah from Witch Hunt podcast bring you The Thing About Salem, a podcast dedicated to uncovering all things about the Salem Witch Trials. Each week, in 15 minutes or less, we go through all the feels as we share a story and a discussion. Together, we will cry, rage, and even laugh a little about some of the silliness, like the w...

In his return to Witch Hunt Podcast, Antonio Stuckey joins hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack to discuss his research and book "Sober and Civil," chronicling the remarkable life of Salem witch trials survivor Sarah Cloyse. As the younger sister of executed victims Rebecca Nurse and Mary Esty, Sarah Cloyse's nine-month imprisonment represents a powerful chapter in Massachusetts witch trial history—one with personal s...

Anthropologist Dr. Nora Groce from University College London discusses the troubling connection between disability and witchcraft accusations. Dr. Groce shares her research on why people with disabilities are targeted, including her study on the experience of persons with albinism in East Africa. We explore how traditional beliefs create stigma, discuss the global disability rights movement, and examine community-based solutions to...

In this scholarly episode of Witch Hunt Podcast, hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack welcome historian Dr. Michael Ostling to examine one of witchcraft history's most persistent legends: the hallucinogenic flying ointment.

Dr. Ostling carefully separates historical evidence from modern misconceptions, revealing how contemporary interpretations often reflect our own misogynistic projections rather than the experiences of those a...

In this powerful episode, Josh and Sarah welcome Peter Ogik, Executive Director of Source of the Nile Union of Persons with Albinism in Uganda, who shares his personal story and advocacy work.

About our guest: Peter Ogik was born and raised on an island in Lake Victoria, Uganda. As the first person with albinism in his community of about 600 people, Peter faced discrimination from birth but was fortunate to have supportive parents w...

Discover the once-overlooked story of Elizabeth Johnson Jr., the Salem witch trial victim finally exonerated after 330 years. At just 22, this young Andover woman was pressured into falsely confessing to witchcraft in 1692. She narrowly escaped execution when Governor Phips ended the Salem witch trials. However, she was unjustly left out of the 1711 mass exoneration that cleared many others' names. Our guest, podcast regular Ma...

En el episodio de esta semana del podcast Witch Hunt, Josh y Sarah traducen al inglés cuando el invitado habla en español. Disfruten de esta nueva experiencia como nosotros. Damos la bienvenida a la fotógrafa documental y cineasta española Judith Prat. Con formación en derecho de los derechos humanos, Judith examina con contundencia la persecución de las mujeres acusadas de brujería en los Pirineos durante la Edad Moderna.

Judith ha...

In this week's episode of Witch Hunt podcast, Josh and Sarah translate to English when the guest speaks in Spanish. Please enjoy this new experience like we have.. We welcome Spanish documentary photographer and filmmaker Judith Prat. With a background in human rights law, Judith powerfully examines the persecution of women accused of witchcraft in the Pyrenees during the early modern period.

Judith discusses her documentary fil...

In this powerful episode, we explore the discrimination faced by persons with albinism across Africa through conversations with two remarkable advocates from the Sierra Leone Association of Persons with Albinism (SLAPWA).

Join us as we welcome back Jay Kamara, a familiar voice to our listeners, alongside Daniella Garrick, a model, youth leader, and advocate who is representing Sierra Leone in the upcoming Miss Albinism Africa pagean...

In this compelling episode, we welcome back returning guest  Dr. Govind Kelkar.  Building on her previous insights about women's experiences in India, Dr. Kelkar shares her recent groundbreaking research across eight northeastern Indian states, examining the complex interplay between traditional beliefs and modern pressures.

Dr. Kelkar's fieldwork reveals how patriarchal systems have intensified within these communities, fueling the...