A Sofa King Classic: Salem Witch Trials

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04/05/22 • 86 min

On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we explore one of the bloodiest chapters in the history of New England, the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials are a complex phenomenon that coupled puritanical fanaticism with fear of not only the devil, but life in the new world. The laws that led to the persecution of witches in New England date back to 1484, when Pope Innocent VIII wrote a papal bull called Summis Desiderantes Affectibus (Latin for “Desiring with supreme ardor”). This proclamation said that witches were real and were servants of the devil, and from there, witch-hunting mania was born. A few years later, The Malleus Maleficarum (aka “The Hammer of Witches”) was written by the Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (and possibly a partner, the Dominican Friar Jacob Sprenger). Sprenger and Kramer were both given power by the pope to hunt and kill anyone they deemed a witch. While this sounds like the stuff of really cool video games, it more like rampant sexism and murdering women who didn’t adhere to norms of society. This backdrop of persecution for witches (especially female ones) is what the people living in Salem Village grew up in, back in 1692. At this time, 9-year-old Elizabeth Parris and 11-year-old Abigail Williams (the daughter and niece of Salem Village’s minister, Samuel Parris) started having “fits,” which included violent screaming outbursts and physical contortions of the body. Paranoia spread very rapidly, and eventually, three people were arrested as witches—a slave, an old person, and a homeless beggar. The slave, Tituba, confessed to being a witch and signing “the black man’s book,” and the witch paranoia spread. So, how many people were eventually arrested for witches? How many were killed? What methods did they use to kill them? What made the witch mania stop? Why did it get so bad in Salem Village? What brought the Salem Witch Trials to a close, and how did it involve two key literary figures and a political scandal? Listen, laugh, learn.

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Black Beard: A Sofa King Classic

On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we discuss the wild career of the most famous pirate in history, Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard. Teach was thought to have been born in Britain but moved to Jamaica as a child. From there, he became a privateer (a pirate who worked for England) through Queen Anne’s War. After that, he used his naval skills to become one of the wildest pirates ever to set foot in the Caribbean. Teach was recruited after the war by a pirate named Captain Benjamin Hornigold, and in a very short time, he was promoted to run his own ship in this pirate fleet. Blackbeard earned his stripes and his nickname under Hornigold, and when the senior pirate retired from the life, Blackbeard was left in charge of the ships. He ran his new fleet based on fear of his growing reputation—he even lit his hair on fire before battle to look more fearsome. From there, Blackbeard went on to capture and recruit several ships, adding to his flotilla’s strength. One man, Stede Bonnet (The Gentleman Pirate) was convinced to join instead of run his plantations. Together, they accomplished one of the great feats of pirate history and took a full frigate and flagship from France. They renamed it Queen Anne’s Revenge, armed with 250 men including ex-slaves, and loaded 40 cannons on it. From that ship, Blackbeard ran a two year terror campaign, capturing over 30 ships and being a general scourge of civilized society. Unlike the typical stereotype of a pirate only being in remote waters, Blackbeard spent much of his time sacking the east coast the United States. He once famously held an entire town captive for a prolonged period of time until he could get the mayor to give his fleet medicine he needed (to cure an STD?). The story of Blackbeard is a story of allies turned enemy, cunning piracy, amazing naval tactics, and stunning victories. He died in battle, and the details of his death prove he was the badass that his reputation said he was. Listen, laugh, learn.

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A Sofa King Classic: JFK Part One Life

This episode of The Sofa King Podcast is Part One of our discussion on the life, politics, policies, and death of the amazing John Fitzgerald Kennedy. JFK was one of the most beloved president of the United States, and his administration was often considered to be the “Golden Age” of America that many people called Camelot. Kennedy was the son of a wealthy business man who had alleged ties to the mob and illegal alcohol-running during prohibition. His legitimate businesses, however, set the Kennedy family up for a life of prosperity and prestige. JFJ, also known as Jack, was a sickly child and had chronic back problems through his life. He also was a screw-up at school, more interested in pranks and flirting than his formal education. All that changed, however, when he was at Harvard, and he wrote a book called Why England Slept which explored why Great Britain was unprepared for the Nazis. He used his family’s connections to let him join the Navy (something he couldn’t have done because of his back condition), and he became a war hero, saving members of his crew in pretty amazing ways in the battle of the Pacific on his boat PT-109. After the war, he married Jackie Bouvier and served time in both the House of Representatives and the Senate before finally becoming president in 1960. While president, he did pretty amazing things, helping the poor, creating the Peace Corps, and even writing the Civil Rights Act. However, he also tried to have Fidel Castro overturned by the CIA’s failed Bay of Pigs invasion, heated up the cold war, and dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Aside from his policies and the crazy era of his presidency, Jack was also known for having affairs with women. From white house employees to Marilyn Monroe and even Judith Campbell Exner (who was the mistress of Sam Giancana, the mob boss for The Chicago Outfit), he slept around. So, if you want to know about JFK, his affairs, his decision, why he was a war hero, and who he upset over the years (and possibly pushed to assassinate him), give this one a listen. Stay tuned for part two, where we talk about his assassination and the theories surrounding it. Thanks to our special guest Doctor Randal Beeman.