The Novanglian Archives might seem to be a esoteric name for a history/folklore podcast. To be honest I had originally planned on calling it Strange New England, until I found out there were two other podcasts with that name already. I brainstormed a few other options but none of them conveyed the atmosphere that I had in mind. “Weird” was too generic, “Dark” was too confining. Since the thesaurus wasn’t helping me come up with any satisfying synonyms for “Strange” I decided to change tactics and see if there were any synonyms for New England. To my surprise I came across an entry on Merriam-Webster for Novanglian and knew I was on to something.
A New England Archive. A place where I could delve into the forgotten history and culture of the region, dust off the cobwebs, and share them with others with similar interests. Not only did it encapsulate everything that I want this podcast to be about, it is also unique enough that it will, hopefully, set me apart from the scores of other shows out there.
However, I do want to clarify one thing. The Latin roots of Novanglian roughly translate to New English but New England has never belonged only to those of English descent. Indigenous people were here for thousands of years before the Mayflower, slaves were brought over along with the earliest colonists. Over the centuries millions of people from hundreds of different countries have come to call New England their home and the region wouldn’t be what it is without each and every one of them.
The goal of this podcast is to uncover the hidden histories of New England and that means searching the corners of the past that marginalized communities have been relegated to. It means filling in the gaps of the established narrative and giving voices back to those who have been silenced by time and prejudice. The Novanglian Archives is for everyone, past and present, who have called New England their home.