In this season's first full episode Nic interviews Dr. Rebecca Simon on her new book Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Dr. Simon talks about Bonny and Read's fascinating lives prior to piracy as well as their legacies as two of the most important pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy. We also have a fun lightning round where Dr. Simon rates pirate-related art, literature, and film for accuracy and entertainment while Nic explains the drama behind Cap'n Crunch's nemesis, the pirate Jean Lafoote. 

A Barque, a Brig, and a Schooner Shape History is back! With the 250th anniversary of the HMS Gaspee burning right around the corner, Nic's digging into some of the history he's covered on our sister podcast in years past to debunk the Gaspee Affair's alleged place as the first shot fired in the American Revolution. Sit back and relax while Nic regales you with Rhode Islanders' proclivity for burning boats when they get mad. He'll also talk about some of the great topics we have in line for season 2!

Ships Mentioned: HMS Gaspee, HMS St, John, HMS Squirrel, HMS Maidstone, Osprey, Liberty/HMS Liberty.

In this episode Nic interviews Brooke Grasberger about the spiritual lives of sailors (including religion, luck, and superstition) as Brooke seeks to answer the question “What does the sea do to people, and what do people see in it?” From departing on a Friday to whistling up a storm we cover a lot of ground in this episode.

Brooke Grasberger is a PhD candidate in history at Brown University, where she is currently at work on her dissertation on the oceanic faith of sailors throughout the nineteenth century. Besides this current project, which takes up much of her time, she is also interested in writing fiction and creating art both relating to her academic work and distant from it, and is an avid player of tabletop games.