The Spectral Summit

This podcast looks at historic literature and figures from the past. We'll start with a 16-year-old Ben Franklin pranking his brother James in 1722 by writing essays as a middle-aged New England widow who savagely critiques colonial Boston and Harvard. Future episodes include interviews with Warren G. Harding, FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt and Edgar Allen Poe. Stay tuned!

The Spectral Summit is a history podcast hosted by Creative Actors Lab, with 15 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Creative Actors Lab hosts The Spectral Summit, a history show with 15 episodes published.

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  Episode #16

  Silence Dogood Essay 13 - Colonial Boston Nightlife

  Oct 1, 20269 minS1

  Send us Fan Mail In this essay, the second to the last before teen Ben Franklin was found out as the true writer of the Silence Dogood essays by his brother James who published the New England Courant, young Ben examines Boston's night life. In contrast to modern interpretations of the Puritans, Franklin tells us about how teens would hang out, use their own slang and wear out their shoes, much to the delight of the shoemakers. It shows that human behavior has not really changed in 300 years and that the need to connect outside of traditional roles is still as strong as ever. Learn more about The Spectral and Literary Summit at our website - www.spectral-summit.com. We offer historic and literary videos and podcasts that make the past and literature come alive. This is a production of Creative Actors Lab . Check out our Instagram page here.

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  Episode #11

  Silence Dogood - Essay 11 - A Remedy for Forlorn Maidens

  Aug 20, 20269 minS1

  Send us Fan Mail This satirical essay tackles the social and financial anxieties of aging unmarried women. Silence Dogood shares a letter from a fictional petitioner named Margaret Aftercast . Margaret reflects on her youth, admitting that she was vanity-driven and routinely rejected worthy suitors simply because she enjoyed having a crowd of admirers. Now facing old age alone, she expresses deep regret for her youthful arrogance and asks Silence to help design a relief fund for single women who find themselves in similar circumstances. In response, Silence lightheartedly proposes an "insurance" or mutual-aid society . Under this project, any woman who remains single past a certain age would receive a massive cash payout of £500 to secure her financial independence. Through this playful proposal, 16-year-old Ben Franklin uses his female alter-ego to poke fun at youthful pride while addressing the very real economic vulnerabilities of unmarried women in colonial America. Learn more about The Spectral and Literary Summit at our website - www.spectral-summit.com. We offer historic and literary videos and podcasts that make the past and literature come alive. This is a production of Creative Actors Lab . Check out our Instagram page here.

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  Episode #13

  Silence Dogood Essay 10 - Insuring a Widow's Future

  Jul 27, 202615 minS1

  Send us Fan Mail In her tenth letter to the New England Courant, Silence Dogood turns her sharp eye to a problem colonial society preferred not to discuss: what happens to a woman when her husband dies and takes the family's security with him. Her proposal — a fund women could pay into during marriage, to protect against poverty in widowhood — was a strikingly modern idea for 1722. What her readers didn't know was that "Silence" wasn't a widow at all, but the pen name of sixteen-year-old apprentice Benjamin Franklin. Join us as we explore this early glimpse of financial foresight, hidden identity, and a teenage boy's surprisingly progressive take on women's economic security. Learn more about The Spectral and Literary Summit at our website - www.spectral-summit.com. We offer historic and literary videos and podcasts that make the past and literature come alive. This is a production of Creative Actors Lab . Check out our Instagram page here.

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  Episode #12

  Silence Dogood - Essay No. 9 - Religious Hypocrites

  Jun 29, 20269 minS1

  Send us Fan Mail Benjamin Franklin published fourteen Silence Dogood essays in the New-England Courant in 1722, slipping them under the print shop door so his brother James wouldn't know who wrote them. It's the first case of a founding father not only trolling his brother but also catfishing when James developed an affection for Silence. By Essay Nine, Silence had found her footing — and her targets. This one aims at a particular Boston type: the man who wraps himself in religion just long enough to get elected, then sets it aside like a Sunday coat. Franklin was sixteen years old when he wrote it, and he already understood that the loudest piety in the room is often the least trustworthy. Learn more about The Spectral and Literary Summit at our website - www.spectral-summit.com. We offer historic and literary videos and podcasts that make the past and literature come alive. This is a production of Creative Actors Lab . Check out our Instagram page here.

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  Episode #11

  Episode 10 - Dorothy Parker - The Telephone Call

  May 31, 202619 minS1

  <p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>Join us as we explore the wit and dark humor of Dorothy Parker who is best remembered for her razor wit. "The Telephone Call" which originally appeared in the January 1928 issue of The Bookman, is one of her most psychologically raw interior monologues — strips away the wit entirely, leaving a woman in agony over a phone that won't ring. It's Parker at her most unguarded: funny and excruciating at the same time, a masterclass in the way we negotiate with ourselves when we're powerless, so yeah, we’ve all been there. </p><p>So si...

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