What Exit? The New Jersey History Podcast

Bicentennial Summer, Part I: The Jersey Shore, 1976

Welcome to Bicentennial Summer: The Jersey Shore, 1976, the new narrative-history series from the New Jersey History Podcast. Like last year's The Gilded Age: Jersey Shore, 1892, each episode begins with a work of historical fiction grounded in real places, real events, and real history. After the story concludes, we'll step out of the narrative and explore the historical details behind what you just heard, separating documented fact from creative interpretation. Memorial Day Weekend, 1976. An eighteen-year-old wakes up in his family's Jersey Shore bungalow as another summer begins. His father is outside washing the Lincoln, his mother is polishing the paneling, his younger siblings are glued to Land of the Lost, and the kitchen is stocked with Butterfly Gold Corelle, Tang, and the promise of company stopping by after church. As he spends the morning wandering through town, a breakfast sandwich, a Bicentennial quarter, a disco-versus-rock showdown at the basketball courts, and eventually a pair of six-packs of Schaefer beer become part of a day that seems ordinary at first. By day's end, he begins to realize that America's 200th birthday might mean something more than fireworks and flags. Email me with suggestions for upcoming episodes: njhistorypodcast@gmail.com [njhistorypodcast@gmail.com]

The Family Made of Stone- Part One

A young couple inherits a massive Victorian family house in Newark that has remained in the same Italian-American family since around 1900. As they begin settling into the house, they slowly realize certain rooms seem to carry emotional weight connected to generations of family history. Part New Jersey history, part literary storytelling, this episode explores old Newark, the Palisades quarry industry, Italian immigration, Victorian mourning traditions, family continuity, and the strange feeling that some places remember the people who lived there. And Part Two has yet to be written, so feel free to weigh in with some ideas. Email me: njhistorypodcast@gmail.com [applewebdata://1E5EF1C9-D4A2-4386-B463-290DA668D771/njhistorypodcast@gmail.com] Perfect for listeners interested in:New Jersey history, Newark history, Italian-American history, Victorian houses, immigrant stories, family memory, the Palisades, gothic Americana, historical storytelling, and narrative podcasts.

When the Weather Changes | Summer 2026 Season Premiere

This episode of The New Jersey History Podcast explores the centuries-old movement of people toward the Jersey Shore, tracing the continuity beneath modern Shore travel through Route 9 road trips, the historic Ocean Highway, Gilded Age train travel, Revolutionary War wagon routes, and Lenape movement toward the coast long before New Jersey existed. At its center is the idea that while the people, roads, and reasons changed, the seasonal pull toward the New Jersey Shore remained. Email me: njhistorypodcast@gmail.com [njhistorypodcast@gmail.com]

Before Independence Came Dependence: Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer

In March 1776, months before the Declaration of Independence, future New Jersey governor William Livingston helped bring before Congress a call for a continental day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer. The colonies were divided, frightened, uncertain, and standing at the edge of war. This episode explores the forgotten religious atmosphere of Revolutionary America, the role of New Jersey in that moment, and the reality that public calls for national prayer and repentance are not modern inventions, but part of the country’s earliest political history. Email me: njhistorypodcast@gmail.com [applewebdata://B8A8742A-B14F-4B46-AEBD-812752A6067D/njhistorypodcast@gmail.com]

Strega Nona and the Traditions We Keep: Italian-American Traditions in New Jersey, Part 1

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola isn’t a traditional folktale, but it reflects a way of life tied to Italian cultural traditions that continued in places like New Jersey. In this episode, we look at how rituals—Sunday sauce, the Feast of the Seven Fishes, and family traditions—can stay the same from one generation to the next, while the understanding behind them can fade. Through the story of Big Anthony, we examine what happens when ritual is separated from understanding—and how something meant to nourish can overflow into something else entirely. This is a New Jersey story about immigration, Italian-American life, and the difference between repeating something and actually knowing why it matters. This also serves as a segue into upcoming discussions of Italian-American traditions brought over to places like New Jersey.