February 29, 2024: A long shift

It's the 320th anniversary of the Deerfield Raid, but much has been learned about the incident in the intervening years. So we speak with author and historian James Swanson who has just released a new book about this moment in early American history. “The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America”. Before he comes to Deerfield Academy this weekend to speak about the book, he chats with us about some of the details surrounding the event, how it’s been portrayed over the course of American History, and some parallels we might note to global events. And we see some of the items he mentions at Deerfield’s Memorial Hall Museum. In addition to bringing Swanson to speak about the incident on March 3rd, they’ve just updated their exhibit to be more inclusive of the many people and voices involved. It all still surrounds the one surviving door of the conflict, and we chat with curator Ray Radigan and curatorial assistant Lindsay Kruzlic about the shifts in perspective and how those get represented in their many displays. Plus our weekly chat with congressman Jim McGovern sees the representative beset with a series of delays causing much consternation.