Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society29 Okt 2024

Inside the Witch Trials: Salem | Fear In A New World

We often think of the witch trials as something in the deep and distant past.

But, as we'll hear in today's episode, the attitudes and behaviour that led to witch trials is as present today as it was then.

In this third and final episode of our limited series, Inside the Witch Trials, we go back to Salem, Massachusetts, to find out how colonialism, racism and a radical ideology created a witch trial that's as relevant today as it was in the 17th century.

What was life like for Puritans in this new and unfamiliar land? Why did so many people willingly admit to being witches? And what became of Tituba, the enslaved woman whose testimony sparked panic in this remote village?

Kate is joined by Professor Marion Gibson, author of Witchcraft: A History in 13 Trials, to find out.

This episode was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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