Janet speaks with Head of Adult Programs Sammy Aguiar and Young Adult Librarian Sierra Hurd about the escape room they designed and installed this past spring called "The Wreck of the Essex."They are bringing it back for one night only o...

Janet speaks with Adult Collections Manager Pamela McGrady and Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri about why the Atheneum no longer accepts book donations.This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is written, edited and h...

In this final bonus episode of Season 6, we invite back on Jascin Leonardo Finger from the Maria Mitchell Association to discuss what role Florence Easton Conable played in the the founding of the organization and the greater influence she and ...

In this second episode about Florence Easton Conable, Jim and Janet speak with Vassar’s Head of Special Collections and College Historian Ronald Patkus about what the emerging women's college was like when Florence arrived on campus.This...

Jim and Janet are back with three bonus episodes about Florence Easton Conable, who gets just a small mention on one episode, but who helps tie the whole series together. She has personal connections to our three Nantucket Sea Captains, was a c...

The 23rd Annual Thanksgiving Cold Turkey Plunge to benefit the Weezie Library for Children is just around the corner. In this three-part special special edition of the podcast, Janet talks with the development team to find what it takes to pull...

The 23rd Annual Thanksgiving Cold Turkey Plunge to benefit the Weezie Library for Children is just around the corner. In this three-part special special edition of the podcast, Janet talks with the development team to find what it takes to pull...

The 23rd Annual Cold Turkey Plunge to benefit the Weezie Library for Children is just around the corner. In this three-part special special edition of the podcast, Janet talks with the development team to find what it takes to pull off this eve...

Jim and Janet are back with a bonus episode about Lafcadio Hearn, a curious character that was among the Americans who became enamored with Japanese culture. He is a man of many worlds and many cultures, who found his true identity in Japan.

In this final episode of season 6, Jim and I invite our colleague James Grieder to join us to discuss The Great Wave by Christopher Banfey. James has personal connection to one of the characters featured in Banfey's book.This is the las...

In this final episode of season 6, Jim and I invite our colleague James Grieder to join us to discuss The Great Wave by Christopher Banfey. James has personal connection to one of the characters featured in Banfey's book.This is the las...

This week we discuss another book that added context and a new perspective to our story of Nantucket expats in Japan was Daughter's of the Samurai by Janice Nimura.This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is hosted and edited ...

Jim spent more than a year researching the Nantucket diaspora in Japan, so a lot was left on the cutting room floor. There were a few books that we couldn’t quite fit into the main story line that we’re going the discuss in a bit more detail.

In this episode, Jim introduces you to our final sea captains that was born in Nantucket, but became part of the Japanese expat community: Captain Richard Swain. This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is hosted and edit...

In this episode, Jim introduces you to another sea captains that was born in Nantucket, but became part of the Japanese expat community: Captain Arthur Fisher. This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is hosted and edited...

Now it is time to meet some of these sea captains that were born in Nantucket, but became part of the Japanese expat community. This episode discusses Captain Peter Hussey. This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is host...

When we left off, the samurai class was on the brink of revolt because they were tired of being bureaucrats and westerners were circling the shores of Japan itching to get in. It’s 1853 and the situation has reached a boiling point. 

After the collapse of whaling and the discovery of gold in California, Nantucket mariners fled the island for their next opportunity. Many would eventually end up in Japan. In this episode, we find out what was going on in Japan prior to the ar...

In Season Six of the Nantucket Atheneum Podcast, Janet and Jim are back to trace the travels of islanders that made their way around the world to Japan in the 19th century. In this first episode, we try to answer the question "What happened aft...

“How Much Can You Change What You Are, To Preserve What You Have Been?”Sit back, open your mind, and get ready for ... Japan-Nantucket (Rashomon)In this season of the podcast, we will explore one aspect of the “Nantucket di...

In this final episode of Season 5, James picks up where we left off in Henry Clapp Jr.'s story. He begins holding court at Pfaff's Beer Hall where aspiring arts and writers vie for a seat at his table. This period is short lived, but it will be...

In this episode, James picks up where we left off with Henry Clapp's return to Paris where experience a person transformation that turns  his world view on its head. With his new found lifestyle, he goes back to the use and eventually find...

The last three episodes of this season are dedicated to Henry Clapp, Jr., who was a writer, publisher and activists that moved in circles with William Loyd Garrison, Walt Whitman and other historical figure. He lived large and made a big splash...

In this episode, James describes the mid-19th century crazy of panoramas that tours the country and wowed audiences for a while before fading into the background, so to speak.Notes and References:Read the special notice fo...

In this episode, James and Janet discuss the impresarios who performed in Atheneum Hall and introduced islanders to the world of magic and illusion.  Resources and additional information: Woodcut images from Y...