The Thing About Witch Hunts

The Thing About Witch Hunts explores historical witch trials and modern witchcraft persecution worldwide. Hosted by Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack, each episode investigates the real history behind witch hunts — from the Salem Witch Trials to the deadly witchcraft accusations still happening worldwide today. Essential listening for history lovers, true crime fans, and human rights advocates.#witchhunts #witchcraft #SalemWitchTrials #history #truecrime #humanrights #witchtrial #historypodcast #persecution #folklore #colonialhistory #advocacy

The Thing About Witch Hunts is a history podcast hosted by Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack, with 258 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack hosts The Thing About Witch Hunts, a history show with 258 episodes published.

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  Episode #205

  World Day Against Witch Hunts: Missio in Papua New Guinea with Sister Lorena Jenal and Jörg Nowak

  Aug 7, 202655 min

  World Day Against Witch Hunts: Sister Lorena Jenal and Jörg Nowak on Rescuing Survivors in Papua New Guinea Hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack mark August 10, World Day Against Witch Hunts, with its creators, Sister Lorena Jenal and journalist Jörg Nowak of the German Catholic aid organization Missio. Sr. Lorena, a Swiss Franciscan who has served 47 years in Papua New Guinea, has rescued more than 420 women accused of sorcery since 2012 and shelters survivors at the House of Hope, built using her International Weimar Award for Human Rights. Nowak describes how Missio recognized sorcery accusation-related violence as a current human rights violation, expanded support to projects in countries including Liberia, Tanzania, Ghana, Benin, and documented abuses through reporting and museum exhibitions. They discuss the scale in PNG (109 cases last year), an estimate of 3,000 killings over 20 years, patterns of scapegoating and misogyny, severe sexual violence and public humiliation, police corruption and inaction, and advocacy efforts to elevate August 10 to a United Nations-recognized day. 00:00 World Day Against Witch Hunts 01:37 Meet Lorena and Jörg 03:10 Missio Campaign Origins 05:38 Papua New Guinea Crisis 11:40 Who Gets Accused 20:21 Sexual Violence Research 29:06 Police Corruption and Justice 35:15 Creating August 10 43:48 House of Hope Sanctuary 46:20 UN Recognition Push 52:20 How You Can Help 53:57 Final Thanks and Share Links Hexenverfolgung heute | missio : https://www.missio-hilft.de/informieren/wofuer-wir-uns-einsetzen/gegen-hexenverfolgung/ World Day Against Witch Hunts: https://endwitchhunts.org/day The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.com Salem Witch Trials History YouTube: https://youtube.com/@aboutwitchhunts The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.com Salem Witch Trials Daily: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/

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  Episode #204

  Healing the Past: The Reclamation Project with Claire Standen

  Aug 4, 202649 min

  Reclamation: Restorative Justice and a Church Returned for Scotland’s Accused WitchesWe follow the question history books can’t answer: once the harm of witch hunting is acknowledged, what does repair look like? Trauma resolution practitioner Claire Standen, founder of Reclamation, is building a Scottish community interest organization seeking reparations for the thousands prosecuted under Scotland’s Witchcraft Act (1500s–1700s), arguing apology without action isn’t meaningful. Her central demand is radical and concrete: the Church of Scotland—already apologetic—should gift an unused church building (not sold or grant-funded) to be stewarded as a community headquarters and a Center for Female Authority, reclaiming sacred space once tied to persecution. Drawing on trauma work and epigenetic inheritance, she connects historic terror to today’s inherited silence and societal patterns, and outlines a restorative justice approach where those harmed define what healing requires. Reclamation is seeking social media support and seed funding via ourreclamation.org.00:00 Show Intro and Big Question01:38 Meet Claire Standen03:18 What Reclamation Aims For05:26 Trauma Work Meets History09:02 The Synchronicity Road Trip15:40 Reclaiming Witch Legacy20:26 Apologies vs Reparations24:21 Inherited Silence and Epigenetics27:03 What Makes Apology Meaningful31:32 Why a Gifted Church Matters40:12 Center for Female Authority Vision45:32 How to Help and Connect48:18 Closing Reflections

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  Episode #203

  Witchland: Inside the Book with Professor Marion Gibson

  Jul 29, 202651 min

  Witchland with Professor Marion Gibson: The Witchfinder General, Civil War Chaos, and Recovering the AccusedWe sit down with Professor Marion Gibson (emeritus, Exeter University) to explore her new book, “Witchland: A Tale of Witch Hunting and War in 17th Century Britain,” a gripping, archive-driven look at the 1640s British Civil Wars and the Matthew Hopkins–John Stearne witch hunts that pursued roughly 200–300 people. Marion explains her mission to remedy a “triple injustice” by restoring the accused to history—their names, neighbors, and ordinary lives—rather than centering persecutors. We dig into how war, religious conflict, migration, and the 1604 Witchcraft Act helped fuel mass prosecutions; how “watchers,” clergy, and communities escalated sleep-deprivation interrogations; and how templates of questions produced patterned confessions about familiars, spirits, and the devil. Stories range from the nameless “Witch of Newbury” to Scotland’s pricking practices, Great Yarmouth’s transatlantic links to New England, Cornwall’s Ann Jeffries and Moses Pitt, and growing efforts to memorialize victims.00:00 Meet Marion Gibson02:49 Why Write Witchland04:43 Triple Injustice06:48 Civil War Panic09:17 Witch of Newbury11:16 Law That Enabled Hunts14:01 Familiars And Confessions17:18 Religion And Reformers20:48 Building A National Story25:00 Accusations And Watchers30:39 Templates And Scotland40:54 Cornwall Fairies Tale44:30 Memorials And Memory47:18 Buy The Book Next50:31 Final Thanks And Outro Buy Witchland by Marion Gibson Buy Books on English and European Witch Trials CT Witch and Culture Fest History Camp Boston End Witch Hunts The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.com The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.com Salem Witch Trials History Youtube

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  Episode #202

  The Witch Trial History of Exeter, England with Professor Mark Stoyle

  Jul 22, 202654 min

  We head inside Roman-walled Exeter, Devon, with University of Southampton historian Mark Stoyle, author of Witchcraft in Exeter, to trace a century of quarter sessions and church-court records showing a steady trickle of cases rather than explosive mass witch hunts. Stoyle explains how Henry VIII made Exeter a county with its own justices, prison, and gallows just before Elizabeth I’s 1563 Witchcraft Act, yet local magistrates often resisted executions, sometimes banishing the accused, and most defendants were acquitted; about 30 people were formally tried, with only four executed. Stories include toad and animal familiars, harmed livestock and failed butter or beer, William Harvey dissecting a “familiar” to amuse Charles I, a boy haunted by a pig in a hat in the last Exeter case, and the Bideford witches (1682) alongside the mystery of “Alice” vs “Avis” Molland in 1685. The hosts also announce August 2026 appearances at History Camp Boston and Connecticut Witch and Culture Fest.Links Buy The Western Rising of 1549 by Mark Stoyle: https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780300276886 Buy Books on English and European Witch Trials: https://bookshop.org/lists/european-witch-hunts CT Witch and Culture Fest: https://ctwitchfest.com/ History Camp Boston: https://historycamp.org/events/history-camp-boston/hcb-2026/ End Witch Hunts: https://www.endwitchhunts.org The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.com The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.com Salem Witch Trials History Youtube: https://youtube.com/@aboutwitchhunts

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  Episode #201

  American Revolution: The Treaty of Watertown, 1776 with Marilynne K. Roach

  Jul 15, 202630 min

  The Treaty of Watertown: Independence, Alliance, and the Fowle House Council ChamberWe step into an upstairs council chamber above a shoemaker’s house in Watertown, Massachusetts—where, on July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to a crowd that included Mi’kmaq and Maliseet representatives, and where the next day the Treaty of Watertown was signed as the first international treaty negotiated by the new United States. With historian Marilynne Roach of the Historical Society of Watertown, we trace how the Edmund Fowle House became Massachusetts’ wartime seat of government, what restoration work revealed about the L-shaped chamber and its preserved details, and how archival minutes illuminate daily Revolutionary governance. We also follow the treaty’s 1980s revival by Mi’kmaq veterans, the renewed collaboration with the Grand Council of the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet representatives, and plans for Watertown’s July 18 celebration marking the 250th anniversary.00:00 Watertown Treaty Preview01:52 Fowle House Restored05:43 Council Work In Wartime07:50 Who Led The Council09:43 Edmund Fowle Home Life13:09 Declaration Read Aloud15:51 Treaty Negotiations18:40 Forgotten Then Remembered21:12 Planning The 250th23:42 Friendship Still Binding25:00 Symbols Of Liberty26:18 Witch Trials Echoes27:13 Hidden Shoe Magic28:17 Visit And Support29:26 Closing Thanks And EventLinks The Thing About Salem website End Witch Hunts The Thing About Witch Hunts Salem Witch Trials History YouTube

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