A Barque, a Brig and a Schooner...Shape History

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 ...

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...

"In this episode, Nic interviews Dr. Mirelle Luecke about the maritime Underground Railroad, and how New York served as a key hub on these secret routes. Dr. Luecke also talks about her work curating Mystic Seaport Museum's “Sailor Made: Folk Art of the Sea” and “Figureheads and Shipcarvings” exhibitions. You can read Dr. Luecke’s fascinating article in Sailing to Freedom: Maritime Dimensions of the Underground Railroad. ...

While we work on our upcoming episode on the maritime Underground Railroad, take a listen to Nic interviewing Seán Dagher and Bénédicte Ouimet earlier this year (featured on our other Tall Ships America podcast, A Barque, a Brig, and a Schooner... Walk into a Bar). Seán is a singer known for his masterful renditions of folk songs and shanties, for his iconic shanty and tavern performances in the Assassin’s Creed video game series, ...

Many of us were taught in school that Indigenous Americans lived land-based lives, or at most navigated inland waterways. In reality, numerous Indigenous cultures were heavily connected to the maritime world, and depended on the ocean for food, materials, and trade opportunities. In this episode we take a look at the Wabanaki sailors that thrived on colonial America and Canada’s north Atlantic coasts, and we learn about the Wabanak...

Join Nic Hardisty of Tall Ships America as he uncovers the ships, people, and events that have shaped history. We’ll explore America’s robust maritime heritage from the days of indigenous sailors expertly navigating coastal waters in their umiaks to some of the tall ships that still sail today. You’ll hear compelling stories from a variety of historians and researchers, and you’ll see how these stories shape and impact our modern w...