Dear Diary, This week, we are heading to the southwest to learn about the Alamo! Our guide is Sherry Garland, and her 1998 book, A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence. Lucinda and her family of Mama, Papa, and her creatively named brothers live in the small frontier town of Gonzales near the Guadalupe River. Trouble is brewing bet…

Dear Diary, This week, we had the privilege of talking to Paul Lee, who has been studying the history of Titanic for nearly 40 years! Every year, he publishes social media posts in real time, along with the historical events of the fateful voyage of the RMS Titanic. Tune in to hear our discussion on some of the lesser-known stories of Titanic and a…

Dear Diary, We're here with part 2 of our recap of A Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, and it's a DOOZY. Flirting and snobbery abound before the fateful striking of the iceberg. But what becomes of our cast of characters? Will Margaret and Mrs. Carstairs bond over their shared trauma? Will Robert make it to safety? And w…

Dear Diary, We made it to one of our most anticipated books of this series: Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady! It was written by Ellen Emerson White and published in 1998. Boy, were the late 1990s a fantastic time to hyperfocus on the Titanic. In this story, we meet Margaret, a precocious orphan from Whitechapel. Margaret…

Dear Diary, For our historical note, we had the privilege of speaking with Barbara "Bluejay" Michalski, the Chief and Keeper of Culture of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. Chief Bluejay shared with us some of the stories and projects she works on to carry on the traditions of her people. Tune in to hear her thoughts on settler/Indigenous relation…

Dear Diary, We made another friend! Julia Carpenter is a journalist, writer, and creator from New York who loves women's history just like us! She has a great Substack called A Woman To Know where she uncovers some great stories about women in history. Also, she's been rereading the Dear America books and talking about them on her TikTok account, @…

Dear Diary, Wow! What an emotional journey we've been on with this book! Join us as we recap the second half of Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catherine Carey Logan written by Mary Pope Osborne. In the story's second half, Caty continues going through the stages of grief and seems to accept her new place in the Lenape tribe. We learn m…

Dear Diary, It's a new book, and we (mostly Jen) were so worried about this one! Mary Pope Osborne takes on a huge challenge with her book, Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan. Our main character, Catharine (Caty), is a Quaker living with her family on the frontier of Pennsylvania in 1763. Tensions with local Native Am…

Dear Diary, It's guest-pert day! This week, we have not one, but TWO guests to talk to us about the real history of life in the tenements of the Lower East Side. Read on to get to know our guests a little better! Kathryn Lloyd is the Vice President of Programs and Interpretation at the Tenement Museum, where she oversees museum programming and educ…

Dear Diary, This week, we're finishing our recap of Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl. What an action-packed second half! This book has everything: family drama, tragic deaths, labor issues, entrepreneurship, and Yiddish theater! Join us as we dig deeper into Zippy's first year in America. Yours Tr…

Dear Diary, Fall is here, and we're back in the podcast saddle! This week we're starting our discussion on Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl. The book was written by Kathryn Laskey (her second of the series) and was published in 1998. Zipporah (Zippy), her Mama, and two sisters have just arrived at…

Dear Diary, This week we are wrapping up our discussion on West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Theresa Angelino Viscardi! And boy, there is so much to discuss. We pick up where we left off, with the Viscardis and Co. who have exchanged a steam train for a wagon train and are making their way across the Dakotas. Disease and death plague the trave…

Dear Diary, New story time! Today we are starting our recap of West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Theresa Angelino Viscardi. This story takes place in 1883 and follows Theresa and her family as they travel west to the Idaho Territory. The book was written by Jim Murphey (his first Dear America book) and published in 1998. The first half of this…

Dear Diary, We made another new friend! Added to our collection of National Parks Service Ranger guests is Ranger Sam Mischke from the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park in Beaufort, South Carolina. Sam told us the fascinating history of Beaufort's role as a hub for the Union Army and freed African Americans beginning in 1861. We talk abou…

Dear Diary, Today we accomplished a true feat by charging through the rest of Patsy's story! Join us as we power through to find out what happens to Patsy and the rest of the freed folk of Davis plantation. Will they ever get a teacher? Will Patsy choose her new name? Yours Truly, Cate and Jen RibbonBookClubPod.com @RibbonBookPod on Facebook and In…

Dear Diary, This week we are cracking open a new book! I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl was written by Joyce Hansen and published in 1997. It was awarded the Coretta Scott King Award in 1998, which recognizes "outstanding books for young adults and children by African Americans that reflect the African American…

Dear Diary, We have a special extra treat for you! We are here with a further historical note about the Irish Famine with author, Susan Campbell Bartoletti! Bartoletti is an author and speaker who does not shy away from tough topics in history. We had her on the show to talk about writing history and historical fiction for young readers. We also ha…

Dear Diary, This week we got to talk to Ranger Aubrey Brown who works at the Lowell National Historic Park! Aside from becoming instant best friends, we also learned a lot about the real history of Lowell, Massachusetts, and the textile mills that made it famous. Tune in to hear about how the city of Lowell was planned, how textile mills worked har…

Dear Diary, On to the second half of our discussion of So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl! This time, we finally make it to Lowell and the mills! Mary catches on quickly to her work in the mills. Thanks, in part, to her new friend, Annie. And aren't they just great gal pals? But life in the mills is hard work. Accident…

Dear Diary, It's new book time! And this one is a fan favorite. We're reading So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl. This is the second book in the series by Barry Denenberg and it was published in 1997. The story begins in Skibbereen, Ireland where Mary Driscoll lives with her Ma and Da. Ireland is in the depths of the p…

Dear Diary, We got to talk to an old friend of Jen's, Chris Carey about his work at the Whitman Mission National Historic Site! Chris had some great facts to share about life on the Oregon Trail and some fresh insight into the story of the Whitman Mission. Chris also had a surprise choose-your-own-adventure game at the end of our conversation! Oreg…

Dear Diary, It's the second half of our recap of Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell! We get to find out what happens to the Campbells and their wagon train as it continues along the trail. Will Hattie ever get a straight answer about what marriage is like? Will Wade ask Hattie to dance? Will the klepto M…

Dear Diary, We took a nice long break but we're back with another season and a new book! This week we're reading the first half of Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell. It was written by Kristiana Gregory and it was published in 1997. This marks our first repeat author! In the book, we are introduced to Ha…

Dear Diary, We finished our first season with a great chat with Paul Ringel! Paul is a history professor at High Point University, and an author of books including Commercializing Childhood: Children's Magazines, Urban Gentility, and the Ideal of the Child Consumer in the United States, 1823-1918 and Kid History, Inc.: Selling Children the American…

Dear Diary, We finished recapping A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl by Patricia C. McKissack, and what an incredible story! So much happened: we learned more about the abolitionists and Spicy's history, and Clotee figured out what freedom looked like to her. An engaging and essential read. Tune in to hear more! Yours Truly, Ca…

Dear Diary, On to a new book, and boy, this one is different than the last! A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl was written by Patricia C. McKissack and was published in 1997. (a very good year!) Clotee is a clever 12-year-old girl who works in the Big House on a plantation in Virginia and teaches herself how to read and write. …

Dear Diary, We're back for part 2 of our discussion of When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson written by Barry Denenberg. Is it better than the first half? Wellllll...... on the plus side, there's more action! Tune in to find out what's in store for Emma, Tally, and Cousin Rachel. What happens when the Yankees come t…

Dear Diary, We've reached book 3 in the series! And it's... certainly something! Author Barry Denenberg tackles a big topic with When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson. We have a lot of thoughts about this book, namely, why did they choose to focus on a slave-owning white girl from the South? Tune in to hear our hot …

Dear Diary, Now that we're done reading The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, we got to talk to a park ranger from Valley Forge National Historical Park! Ranger Beth Dhunjisha shared with us some great information about the history of the Continental Army's winter encampment of 1777-1778. We talked about myths…

Dear Diary, This week we finished recapping The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart. We learned about Baron Von Steuben training the Continental Army, Elizabeth learned what happened to her bounty coat, and we had a lot of feelings about George Washington and Lucy's parents! Tune in to hear all that, and stay tun…

Dear Diary, On to book two! This week we're recapping the first half of The Winter of Red Snow: The Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart written by Kristiana Gregory and published in 1996. In Abigail's diary, we learn about the winter encampment at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778. We meet George Washington and Abigail's friend, Lucy. Topics of dis…

Dear Diary, We had our first guest on the show! Tom Begley from Plimoth Patuxet Museums spoke to us about what he does at the museum, life in the early Plimoth settlement, and writing historical fiction for young readers. We had a lovely conversation, and we hope you enjoy listening to it! Yours truly, Cate and Jen P.S. You can find Plimoth Patuxet…

Dear Diary, We were so excited to sit down and talk about the second half of A Journey to the New World! In this half, we learned about the Pilgrim's first winter in Plimoth. We talked about Mem's interactions with the Native Americans and learned about the devastating effects of illness on the fledgling settlement. Spoiler alert, there's a lot tha…

Dear Diary, It’s the first episode! We read the first half of A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple by Katherine Lasky and had so much fun talking about it. Did you know the Mayflower was called a “sweet ship”? Or that the pilgrims called themselves “saints” and lived in the Netherlands before they traveled to North Ame…

Dear Coven, We're starting a new podcast! For some of us, the Dear America book series was a huge part of our lives growing up. Now that we're older, we want to take a look back and see how they hold up. We'll talk about the history behind these stories, discuss the joys and drama of adolescent girlhood, and interview historical experts! Join us on…

Dear Diary, We're starting a podcast! For some of us, the Dear America book series was a huge part of our lives growing up. Now that we're older, we want to take a look back and see how they hold up. We'll talk about the history behind these stories, discuss the joys and drama of adolescent girlhood, and interview historical experts! Join us as we …

This is it! We read some of your lovely listener stories and reminisce about the past few years making this great lil' show. We may be bringing this show to a close but we'll see you 'round the web! Twitter: @Haunted_Pod Instagram: @ThisPodcastIsHaunted Facebook: This Podcast is Haunted Discussion Group…

This week we're moodily looking out to sea from our respective lonely islands as we talk about haunted lighthouses! Stay tuned for an announcement at the end! Twitter: @Haunted_Pod Instagram: @ThisPodcastIsHaunted Email: ThisPodcastIsHauntedBy Jen Vos and Cate Reed

Mercury is in retrograde and we are slip-sliding back in time and back into nonsense! Cate has a timeslip story about Versailles, and Jen gets groovy in Liverpool. Twitter: @Haunted_Pod Instagram: @ThisPodcastIsHaunted Facebook: This Podcast is Haunted Discussion Group Email: [email protected]…

We are officially back on our bullsh-t with an episode about cryptids! Cate introduces us to a little-known sea serpent, Jen discusses the legend of the Deer Woman. Our Patreon is on pause while we get back in the swing of things! Thank you all so much for your support and understanding Twitter: @Haunted_Pod Instagram: @ThisPodcastIsHaunted Faceboo…

CW: COVID, hospital stays, medical issues We're back after a long, unexpected hiatus! Cate tells the story of what happened. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled spookiness soon! Twitter: @Haunted_Pod Instagram: @ThisPodcastIsHaunted Facebook: This Podcast is Haunted Email: [email protected]…

This week we're delving into the archives of declassified CIA stories to find what weird treasures we can find! Thank you to our patrons! Find us a Patreon.com/ThisPodcastIsHaunted Twitter: @Haunted_Pod Instagram: @ThisPodcastIsHaunted Facebook: This Podcast Is Haunted Discussion Group Email: [email protected]…

Happy Halloween! We're celebrating like we do every year, with a special episode of some spooktacular listener stories!! Grab your seasonally appropriate snacks and settle in. Thank you to our patrons! Find us at Patreon.com/ThisPodcastIsHaunted Twitter: @Haunted_Pod Instagram: @ThisPodcastIsHaunted Facebook: This Podcast is Haunted Discussion Grou…