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Burning Gotham

Burning Gotham

The WallBreakers

New York 1835: A City at its tipping point. It’s ten years since the completion of the Erie Canal. New York City’s population is now over 270,000. Most of these people live below Fourteenth Street in wooden or brick buildings no taller than five stories. The gap between rich and poor is rapidly expanding as each week thousands of new men and women pour onto New York’s dangerously overcrowded streets. Many come to earn an honest living. Others for more nefarious reasons. Several historical lives converge in this scripted audio fiction series about the fastest growing city in the world, and the opportunists who shaped it.
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Top 10 Burning Gotham Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Burning Gotham episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Burning Gotham for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Burning Gotham episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Hey everyone, James Scully here. This Saturday, December 16th, is the 188th anniversary of the Great Fire of 1835. It burned the entire financial district in New York City to the ground. The fire was so big it could be seen from Philadelphia, 90 miles away.

I’m doing two walking tours, one at 12PM and one at 4PM on the anniversary in conjunction with the audio fiction soap opera set in 1835 NYC I've developed called Burning Gotham — http://burninggotham.com/. Burning Gotham was a 2022 Tribeca Film Festival audio selection.

Join us as we explore lower Manhattan and the notable sights and scandals of 1830s New York, with a close look at 1835 and how a single year forever changed New York City in big ways.

Included here are links where you can buy tickets to both — https://linktr.ee/thewallbreakers

I hope to see you there!

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Burning Gotham - Burning Gotham 006: I Pray For You Too
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12/13/22 • 8 min

BURNING GOTHAM 006: I PRAY FOR YOU TOO

Aaron Columbus runs a big errand for John Jacob Astor. It takes him to a rectory north of town. There, Brother Basil gives Aaron a tip on where to find genuine $2 Second National Bank plates.

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Download Episode Transcript

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Written By:
Olga Lysenko & James Scully

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Cast:
Alain Laforest
Roland Lane
Nancy Pop
Gustavo Rodriguez
James Scully

___________

Engineer:
Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio

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Director & Post-Producer:
James Scully

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Support Burning Gotham on Patreon

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Burning Gotham - Burning Gotham 001: Moving Day
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11/27/22 • 18 min

BURNING GOTHAM 001: MOVING DAY

May 1st, 1835 — It’s a cold and rainy Moving Day. Every renter in New York is out on the street looking for lodging. Most of the city’s quarter-million live below Houston Street in buildings four stories or smaller, but construction is booming.

New people are pouring onto New York’s dangerously overcrowded streets by the thousands. Rich and poor, many come to earn an honest living. Others for more nefarious reasons. It’s the perfect place to begin.

Aaron Columbus is an illegitimate son, desperate to make his fortune. Together with Aaron’s brother Wyndham Bowen—an African man born in Europe—they involve themselves in backroom deals, Abolitionism, potential war with France, and City politics.

Aaron has struck an illegal import deal with John Jacob Astor, America’s richest man. The import? Two exiled Russian Countesses; Sorina and Raisa Zubov, and their inheritance—eleven pounds of diamonds.

The two women have just arrived in New York.

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Download Episode Transcript

___________

Written By:
Olga Lysenko & James Scully

___________

Cast:
Eirik Gislason
Kacie Laforest
Roland Lane
Mary Murphy
Anna Pirogov
Nancy Pop
Matt Roper
James Scully

___________

Music:
The Hesperus Early Music Ensemble
The Itinerant Band

___________

Engineer:
Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio

___________

Director & Post-Producer:
James Scully

___________

Support Burning Gotham on Patreon

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Hey everyone! James Scully here. I’m doing a webinar and walking tour this week in conjunction with the audio fiction soap opera set in 1835 NYC I've developed called Burning Gotham — http://burninggotham.com/
The walking tours have been very popular. I'm doing one this coming Saturday 12/09/2023 in Lower Manhattan with Eyes on Manhattan at 1PM — https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/eyesonmanhattan/items/506819/calendar/2023/12/?flow=no&full-items=yes
And for those who can't come and are interested in this wild period of U.S. and NYC history, I'm doing a webinar with the New York Adventure Club this Friday 12/08/2023 at 5:30PM eastern time — https://www.nyadventureclub.com/event/1830s-nyc-a-decade-of-social-political-geographical-upheaval-webinar-registration-752806914747/
Also, next Saturday, December 16th, is the 188th anniversary of the Great Fire of 1835. It burned the entire financial district to the ground under very interesting circumstances. I’ll have two tours that day.
Included here are links where you can buy tickets to all of these. This week’s webinar is $10 and Saturday’s walking tour is $35 — https://linktr.ee/thewallbreakers
I'd love to see you there!

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Burning Gotham - Burning Gotham: Out Now
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08/25/23 • 1 min

Right now, experience New York City like you’ve never before. Will you make the right deal? Or fall to greed? But whatever you choose, just make sure you get out in time.
Out now on your favorite podcast app, Burning Gotham — The 2022 Tribeca Select audio soap opera about the fastest growing city in the world, and the opportunists who shaped it.

Find out more at BurningGotham.com

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Burning Gotham - Beyond Burning Gotham: Episode 4
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12/23/22 • 24 min

Beyond Burning Gotham: Episode 4

These episodes are the history compendium for the preceding Burning Gotham chapters. They’ll help paint the picture on what was really going on in 1835. Our characters live in a New York rapidly becoming the most important city in the western world.
In this episode we’ll wrap up the first eight Burning Gotham chapters. Burning Gotham Chapter seven is called: Welcome To Hell Gate.

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Download Episode Transcript

___________

Featured interviews:

Greg Young
Daniel Levy
Glen Umberger
Jeff Broxmeyer
Gary Urbanowicz
Carol Ward
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Important Links
New York Landmarks Conservancy
Greg Young & Tom Myers’ Bowery Boys Podcast
Electoral Capitalism: The Party System in New York's Gilded Age — By Jeff Broxmeyer
Manhattan Phoenix: The Great Fire of 1835 and the Emergence of Modern New York — Daniel Levy
New York City Fire Museum
The Morris-Jumel Mansion

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Director & Post-Producer:
James Scully

___________

Support Burning Gotham on Patreon

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Burning Gotham - Burning Gotham 008: Midnight On South Street
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12/20/22 • 17 min

BURNING GOTHAM 008: MIDNIGHT ON SOUTH STREET

Aaron and Sorina have a tense meeting with Captain Jones. Chaos and violence soon erupts as Aaron receives bad family news.

___________

Download Episode Transcript

___________

Written By:
Olga Lysenko & James Scully

___________

The Entire Cast:
Eirik Gislason
Alain Laforest
Kacie Laforest
Roland Lane
Mary Murphy
Anna Pirogov
Nancy Pop
Gustavo Rodriguez
Matthew Roper
James Scully

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Music
Thank you to both The Hesperus Early Music Ensemble and The Itinerant Band. They were gracious enough to allow their music to appear in Burning Gotham. I’ll have a links for both in the show notes.

___________

Engineer:
Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio

___________

Director & Post-Producer:
James Scully

___________

Support Burning Gotham on Patreon

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Burning Gotham - Burning Gotham 007: Welcome To Hell Gate
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12/18/22 • 11 min

BURNING GOTHAM 007: WELCOME TO HELL GATE

Aaron, Wyndham, Sorina, and Raisa go to John Jacob Astor’s estate, only to find he isn’t receiving. Sorina is angry. Aaron and Wyndham argue about mortgaging their future money on $2 Second National Bank plates.

___________

Download Episode Transcript

___________

Written By:
Olga Lysenko & James Scully

___________

Cast:
Eirik Gislason
Alain Laforest
Kacie Laforest
Roland Lane
Nancy Pop
Gustavo Rodriguez
James Scully

___________

Music:
The Itinerant Band

___________

Engineer:
Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio

___________

Director & Post-Producer:
James Scully

___________

Support Burning Gotham on Patreon

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Burning Gotham - Beyond Burning Gotham: Episode 3
play

12/16/22 • 24 min

Beyond Burning Gotham: Episode 3

These episodes are the history compendium for the preceding Burning Gotham chapters. They’ll help paint the picture on what was really going on in 1835. Our characters live in a New York rapidly becoming the most important city in the western world.
In this episode we’ll focus on The spoils system, John Jacob Astor, and development up Manhattan island. Burning Gotham Chapter five is called: Irving and Astor.

___________

Download Episode Transcript

___________

Featured interviews:

Daniel Levy
Glen Umberger
Jeff Broxmeyer
___________

Important Links
New York Landmarks Concervancy
Electoral Capitalism: The Party System in New York's Gilded Age — By Jeff Broxmeyer
Manhattan Phoenix: The Great Fire of 1835 and the Emergence of Modern New York — Daniel Levy

___________

Director & Post-Producer:
James Scully

___________

Support Burning Gotham on Patreon

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Burning Gotham - Burning Gotham 005: Irving & Astor
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12/11/22 • 12 min

BURNING GOTHAM 005: IRVING & ASTOR

Washington Irving calls upon Philip Hone. Aaron Columbus goes to pay John Jacob Astor at St. Paul’s Chapel.

___________

Download Episode Transcript

___________

Written By:
Olga Lysenko & James Scully

___________

Cast:
Eirik Gislason
Alain Laforest
Nancy Pop
Gustavo Rodriguez
James Scully

___________

Music:
The Hesperus Early Music Ensemble

___________

Engineer:
Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio

___________

Director & Post-Producer:
James Scully

___________

Support Burning Gotham on Patreon

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

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FAQ

How many episodes does Burning Gotham have?

Burning Gotham currently has 20 episodes available.

What topics does Burning Gotham cover?

The podcast is about Fiction, Podcasts, Arts and Performing Arts.

What is the most popular episode on Burning Gotham?

The episode title 'Burning Gotham: Out Now' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Burning Gotham?

The average episode length on Burning Gotham is 10 minutes.

How often are episodes of Burning Gotham released?

Episodes of Burning Gotham are typically released every 3 days.

When was the first episode of Burning Gotham?

The first episode of Burning Gotham was released on Apr 30, 2020.

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Evo Terra's profile image
Evo Terra

@evoterra

Feb 22

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td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}Wow. This hard-hitting work of historical fiction is fabulous! Immersive, well-produced, and always gripping!

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