October 29, 2025: A variety of histories

It is not just New England’s prettiest season, it is very nearly the best time of the year. To one of the hosts of this show, that means Franklin County Cider Days, which showcases all the ways the apple is integrated into the agriculture of the area, from sweet cider to hard, to classes on orchard stewarding and donuts and more. We head to one of the events many locations: New Salem Orchard where 100+ year old trees continue to grow on one of the most idyllic spots in the area just west of the Quabbin, where the inimitable Carol Hillman talks about the importance of her farm to the health of folx and community. We also hear about another community education effort and how you can help it continue. Self Evident Education highlights underrepresented histories through educational materials and documentaries, and is one of the many organizations that saw grant availability disappear with the current administration. We speak with executive director Michael Lawrence-Riddell and board member Ousmane Power-Greene about the importance of exploring uncomfortable truths about ourselves to grow into a stronger nation, and how you can aid their efforts to continue doing so.  And Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster shows us how language loses a bit of its edge as we explore words that have fallen prey to Semantic bleaching.