Off the Path
117 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 20 ratingsFor seven years, Off the Path has explored spots from New York to Boston and beyond — everything from quirky roadside attractions to eccentric oddities to places with deep historical significance. This season, Davis Dunavin is going to sea. We’re telling stories of submarines, lighthouses, white whales, sea monsters, and — of course — pirates. In fact, you’ll hear about quite a few pirates in this series, which is why we decided to call it Off the Plank.Dunavin has always been fascinated by ships and the sea — maybe because he grew up in the landlocked parts of Middle America. From old sailing ships to lighthouses, there’s just something special about the places that tell the nautical history of New York and New England.There are stories of famous pirates — Captain Kidd, Black Sam Bellamy, William Fly. There’s a female lighthouse keeper who performed heroic rescues and became a national celebrity. And there’s the story of Moby-Dick — with its deep ties to New Bedford, Massachusetts, once the whaling capital of the world.As for the music, each podcast episode will end with a traditional song of the sea chosen and performed by the Ranzo Boys, a New York City-based folk trio. Some are shanties, some are ballads, but all of them tell sailors’ stories or celebrate aspects of life on the high seas.
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Episodes
Off The Path: Murder on Smuttynose Island
September 17, 2020 20:00 - 9 minutesThere’s a tiny 27-acre island off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire called Smuttynose Island. The population in 1873 was six. So it shocked the country when two of them were brutally murdered — an event that led to the publication of the book "Mystery on the Isles of Shoals," by J. Dennis Robinson. WSHU’s Davis Dunavin brings us the story as part of the podcast ‘Off the Path from New York to Boston.’ And a caution — this story contains disturbing details about two murders.
Taylor Swift and the 'Last Great American Dynasty'
September 03, 2020 15:28 - 6 minutesPop star Taylor Swift’s songs often draw from her own life. For her new album, Folklore, Swift turned to a new muse: an eccentric heiress who once owned Swift’s multi-million-dollar beachfront mansion in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. WSHU’s Davis Dunavin brings us the story as part of the podcast Off the Path from New York to Boston.
Harlem's 100-Year-Old Drag Shows
August 14, 2020 14:11 - 7 minutesShows like RuPaul’s Drag Race and HBO’s Pose have made drag queens famous. But the oldest drag shows in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood may date back to 1869 — four years after the Civil War and a century before the Stonewall Riots. They’re connected to a long-gone venue called the Rockland Palace.
LGBTQ Stories: Harlem's 100-year-old drag shows
August 14, 2020 14:11 - 7 minutesThe oldest drag shows in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood may date back to 1869 — four years after the Civil War and a century before the Stonewall Riots.
Off the Path Revisited: The Voynich Manuscript
July 31, 2020 15:49 - 7 minutesIt’s one of the world’s great literary mysteries: a 15th century book full of bizarre illustrations of imaginary plants, astrological signs, surreal figures and landscapes. Its origins are unknown, its creator anonymous. And it’s written entirely in an unknown language that’s stumped the world’s greatest codebreakers.
Off the Path Revisited: Touro Synagogue
July 03, 2020 12:47 - 7 minutesThis story first aired in 2018. It was inspired by a line from the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Hamilton,” now streaming on Disney Plus. It's a real line from a letter written by George Washington: "Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid."
Everyone Shall Sit Under Their Own Vine
July 03, 2020 12:47 - 7 minutes - 470 BytesThis story first aired in 2018. It was inspired by a line from the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Hamilton,” now streaming on Disney Plus. It's a real line from a letter written by George Washington: "Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid."
The People's Food, Cooked The Feminist Way
June 19, 2020 11:46 - 6 minutesUntil we get fully back on the road again, I’m checking in with a few establishments that are a little closer to home. Here's one just down the road from me. Bloodroot is a vegetarian restaurant and feminist bookstore on the banks of Long Island Sound in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Off The Path Revisited: The Elephant Man
May 29, 2020 12:00 - 8 minutesOff the Path is slowing down a bit for the summer (as are we all.) In the meantime, we're revisiting some classic stories. This episode originally aired February 1, 2018.
A Garden Of Books
May 08, 2020 13:19 - 5 minutesI don’t say this lightly – The Book Barn might top my list of all-time favorite establishments.
Behold The Mechanical Messiah
April 17, 2020 10:58 - 8 minutesThirteen brothers and sisters made up the Hutchinson Family Singers. They toured the United States and Europe. And they drew crowds of thousands of people.
Be(a)man
April 03, 2020 11:40 - 7 minutesCesar Beman marched and fought with black and white soldiers during the Revolutionary War up and down the Hudson River. But he wasn’t supposed to be there.
The Man Who Defied Gravity
March 20, 2020 12:00 - 8 minutesAn economic genius is remembered for predicting the 1929 stock market crash that led to the Great Depression. His last words of wisdom live on – stenciled on a series of boulders in a Massachusetts ghost town.
A Quirk Of The Map And A Wild Prizefight
February 28, 2020 11:38 - 6 minutesNote: The area today known as “Boston Corners” was once known as the singular “Boston Corner” – no “s.” To avoid confusion, this story refers to the area by its contemporary name throughout.
Drinking The Ale That Never Lets You Grow Old
February 14, 2020 11:43 - 7 minutesMcSorley’s Old Ale House opened in the 1850s – it’s one of the oldest bars in New York City.
Searching For The Lost Limner
January 24, 2020 18:11 - 8 minutesTravelling portrait painters were common in the 1800s, but many didn’t even sign their work. There are hundreds of these paintings attributed to one artist: a man named Ammi Phillips.
Yes Virginia, There Still Is A Santa Claus
December 24, 2019 14:00 - 8 minutesIt’s probably the most reprinted newspaper editorial in American history, written over 120 years ago. Francis P. Church responded to a question from an 8-year-old who wanted to know if Santa Claus was real, writing famously, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” And the spirit of the letter lives on in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
The Full Story Goes Off The Path: Redux
December 23, 2019 16:20 - 28 minutesDavis Dunavin joins The Full Story host Ron Ropiak to talk Dylan, Casablanca and Alice’s Restaurant, plus previews of upcoming stories and more.
Sherlock Holmes Builds His Dream Castle
December 13, 2019 11:55 - 6 minutesWilliam Gillette was one of the most famous stage actors in America in the late 19th and early 20th century. He brought Sherlock Holmes to the theatre. Gillette was an eccentric man with an unusual house – actually, a castle full of theatrical flairs. It towers on a cliff overlooking the Connecticut River.
You Can Get Anything You Want At Alice's Restaurant
November 22, 2019 15:41 - 8 minutesFor the Vietnam War generation, one song has become a thanksgiving staple: “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” by Arlo Guthrie, commonly known simply as “Alice’s Restaurant.”
Hat City, USA!
November 08, 2019 11:40 - 9 minutesDanbury, Connecticut, calls itself Hat City, USA. It was the biggest hat manufacturer in America for more than a hundred years. The industry eventually left Danbury, but you can still see bowlers and fedoras on signs and billboards all over its streets. Those hats also left behind another – more complicated – legacy.
Grave Of The Vampire
October 25, 2019 10:59 - 8 minutesThere are lots of beautiful historic cemeteries in New England. The oldest headstones date back to the 1600s. Many are faded and mossy. And a few harbor a dark secret. Some people used to believe these were the resting places of the malevolent undead.
Casablanca In Cambridge
October 11, 2019 11:30 - 8 minutesThe enduring legacy of Humphrey Bogart – and his most famous film – is deeply entwined with the story of a one-room theater not far from Harvard Square.
The View That Launched American Art
September 20, 2019 13:47 - 8 minutesTwo 19th century artists defined American landscape painting. Their art took them all over the world. But they always returned to the mountains and valleys around New York’s Hudson River.
Emmalyn Rides The Flying Horse
September 06, 2019 10:54 - 7 minutesToday’s story idea came from a listener – 7-year-old Emmalyn Paulsson. She wanted to show me her favorite place: Watch Hill in Westerly, Rhode Island, with its famous merry-go-round.
Nikola Tesla Dreams of Electricity
August 23, 2019 13:52 - 7 minutesNikola Tesla spent years obsessed with a dream to bring wireless communication to the world. He built a laboratory and a huge tower to harness the earth’s energy — but he eventually lost it all — in the village of Shoreham, on Long Island.
Bob Dylan's First Gig
August 02, 2019 11:27 - 7 minutesBob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Jimi Hendrix have something in common – aside from being music legends. They all performed as unknowns on a small stage in a basement club in Greenwich Village.
A Look Ahead To Season 3
July 30, 2019 15:41 - 4 minutesOff the Path host Davis Dunavin speaks with WSHU Morning Edition host Tom Kuser for a sneak preview at some upcoming stories in the next season.
A Look Back At Season 2's Best Moments
July 16, 2019 13:40 - 4 minutesOff the Path host Davis Dunavin speaks with Morning Edition host Tom Kuser about the funniest, weirdest and most poignant moments from season two of the podcast.
Strawberry Moon
June 27, 2019 12:28 - 4 minutesDozens of indigenous tribes once lived in the Northeast. And there are places that still share their music, storytelling and agricultural traditions. In Washington, Connecticut, a group of native people celebrate the festival of the Strawberry Moon in mid-June.
Mark Twain’s Final Gift
May 31, 2019 10:51 - 7 minutesMark Twain lived all over the country – but spent his last years in the small town of Redding, Connecticut. One of his final acts before he died was to set aside a little money to build the Mark Twain Library.
The Highest Point In Rhode Island
May 17, 2019 10:55 - 6 minutesThe highest point in Rhode Island isn’t very high. It’s more like a slight incline. But it was a tricky point to reach for many years. You can find it in a small clearing just off a state road – at a place called Jerimoth Hill.
Holy Land USA
April 26, 2019 10:45 - 7 minutesA 60-foot cross looms on a hilltop above the city of Waterbury, Connecticut. It once welcomed visitors to a popular religious tourist attraction. It was abandoned and decrepit for decades. But there are still people who want to rescue Holy Land, USA.
The Mystery of Dighton Rock
April 12, 2019 11:04 - 6 minutesFor centuries, people have tried to translate the markings on a 40-ton boulder found on the banks of a New England river. That rock, with its mysterious message, is now housed in a small museum in Berkley, Massachusetts.
Crossword Geeks Unite!
March 29, 2019 16:06 - 4 minutesHundreds of crossword puzzle enthusiasts from around the world gather once a year for two days of intense puzzle solving. And it happens in a pretty unassuming place – a Marriott hotel in Stamford, Connecticut.
Shakespeare's Starlings
March 22, 2019 15:29 - 7 minutesAn eccentric 19th-century New Yorker had a strange fascination -- he wanted to bring every bird mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays to North America. He was very successful with one of them. A little too successful.
The Sunken Towns Underneath The Quabbin Reservoir
March 08, 2019 12:22 - 6 minutesThe ghostly remains of four towns can be found at the bottom of Boston’s drinking supply. The townsfolk were forced to leave in the 1930s when the state of Massachusetts flooded the area to create a reservoir. But there are many who keep alive the memory of the Swift River Valley.
The Bone Wars
February 15, 2019 12:22 - 7 minutesTwo 19th century paleontologists spent decades in a bitter feud to find as many new dinosaur species as possible and destroy each other in the process. Their rivalry led to the discovery of many important dinosaur species we know today.
There Shall Be No Pain
February 01, 2019 12:29 - 7 minutesA young dentist in the 1840s is believed to be the first doctor to use nitrous oxide – laughing gas – to dull pain. But the father of anesthesia met a tragic end. His story begins in Hartford, Connecticut, and ends in New York City.
Manhattan's Wild Corner
January 18, 2019 11:31 - 6 minutesThere’s a place in Manhattan that makes you feel like you just took a trip on the Wayback Machine – to the 1600s, when European settlers first arrived. And you can find it all the way up on the northern tip of Manhattan Island in Inwood Hill Park.
The Full Story Goes Off The Path
January 09, 2019 15:04 - 28 minutesIn this special crossover episode, Davis spends some time with Ron Ropiak, host of WSHU’s The Full Story, to share some of his favorite stories, including the history behind the folk song "Charlie on the MTA," the Connecticut connection to "The Great Gatsby" and the notorious Lizzie Borden's Massachusetts home...that's now a B&B.
How 'The Little Prince' Landed On Long Island
December 14, 2018 11:43 - 6 minutes“The Little Prince” is one of the best-selling books of all time. It was written by a Frenchman, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and translated into 300 languages since its publication in 1943. But the author didn’t write “Le Petit Prince” in his native France – he wrote it in New York. And there’s a wonderful story about a statue of the Little Prince outside a library on Long Island’s North Shore.
The World's Smelliest Fruit
November 30, 2018 12:44 - 4 minutesThe durian is said to be the world’s smelliest fruit. It’s a delicacy in Southeast Asia, but many also find the smell too disgusting – even unbearable. You have to search out places in the U.S. to find durian. On the East Coast, a good bet is New York City’s Chinatown.
The Story Behind The Iconic American Viewing Machine
November 09, 2018 12:03 - 6 minutesYou’ve probably seen them – and maybe even dropped in a quarter to look through them at some scenic overlook. They’re at the top of the Empire State Building, next to the Golden Gate Bridge and Niagara Falls. Essentially, they’re binoculars on poles. The factory that’s made them longer than anyone else is in Norwalk, Conn. And its employees crisscross the country to service the machines and collect those quarters.
Lizzie Borden Took An Axe...
October 26, 2018 11:13 - 7 minutesOne of the most notorious crimes in American history was memorialized in a grisly playground chant — Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks. And when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one. The Borden family home, the scene of the crime in 1892, is now a bed and breakfast — not for the faint of heart — in Fall River, Massachusetts.
The Real-Life Love Shack
October 05, 2018 11:02 - 7 minutesKate Pierson spent decades on tour as one of the vocalists of the legendary rock group the B-52s. You know – the big hairdos? The surf guitars? Love Shack? Turns out, at the same time, Pierson also collected art, antiques and other decor. That collection is now part of her offbeat side project. A cute little roadside motel – a real-life “Love Shack” – just outside Woodstock, New York.
Everyone Shall Sit Under Their Own Vine And Fig Tree
September 21, 2018 12:35 - 6 minutesThe musical "Hamilton" has a lot of catchy music and memorable lyrics. Some of the most memorable come from President George Washington. They’re taken almost verbatim from a letter Washington wrote to the oldest synagogue in America, in Newport, Rhode Island, in which he rebuked bigotry.
T.S. Eliot's Seaside Childhood
September 07, 2018 11:06 - 7 minutesT.S. Eliot chose four places to write about in his poem “Four Quartets.” Three of them are in England, but one is a nondescript cluster of rocks off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Eliot’s childhood vacation home is now a retreat for writers. The T.S. Eliot Foundation says it hopes other writers can be inspired by the same idyllic seaside setting that inspired Eliot.
Westport Stakes Its Claim To ‘The Great Gatsby’
August 24, 2018 14:33 - 7 minutesF. Scott Fitzgerald set his novel The Great Gatsby on Long Island’s North Shore – with its opulent mansions, beautiful gardens and decadent parties. But some people think Fitzgerald might have been inspired by another location – across Long Island Sound in Westport, Connecticut.
The Great Boombox Parade
July 06, 2018 20:00 - 6 minutesThere might be only one Fourth of July parade that has no live music accompaniment. That’s not to say there isn’t music though. And you can find this parade every Independence Day in Willimantic, a neighborhood in Windham, Connecticut.