Hey everyone, James Scully here. I've got some upcoming tours and webinars this month I wanted to tell you about, including a brand new tour! I'm doing a webinar on the history of Bay Ridge this Thursday August 7th at 7PM eastern time. Click here for more info and to register . If you're interested and can't make it live, don't worry, I'll be emailing all those who register a video of it once it's finished. On Sunday August 10th at 12:30PM I'm running "Murder, Mayhem, Money, and History in Old N...
Aug 05, 2025•1 min
Right now, experience New York City like you’ve never before. Will you make the right deal? Or fall to greed? But whatever you choose, just make sure you get out in time. Out now on your favorite podcast app, Burning Gotham — The 2022 Tribeca Select audio soap opera about the fastest growing city in the world, and the opportunists who shaped it. Find out more at BurningGotham.com
Aug 25, 2023•2 min
Beyond Burning Gotham: Episode 4 These episodes are the history compendium for the preceding Burning Gotham chapters. They’ll help paint the picture on what was really going on in 1835. Our characters live in a New York rapidly becoming the most important city in the western world. In this episode we’ll wrap up the first eight Burning Gotham chapters. Burning Gotham Chapter seven is called: Welcome To Hell Gate. ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Featured interviews: Greg Young ...
Dec 23, 2022•24 min
BURNING GOTHAM 008: MIDNIGHT ON SOUTH STREET Aaron and Sorina have a tense meeting with Captain Jones. Chaos and violence soon erupts as Aaron receives bad family news. ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Written By: Olga Lysenko & James Scully ___________ The Entire Cast: Eirik Gislason Alain Laforest Kacie Laforest Roland Lane Mary Murphy Anna Pirogov Nancy Pop Gustavo Rodriguez Matthew Roper James Scully ___________ Music Thank you to both The Hesperus Early Music Ensemble...
Dec 20, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 8
BURNING GOTHAM 007: WELCOME TO HELL GATE Aaron, Wyndham, Sorina, and Raisa go to John Jacob Astor’s estate, only to find he isn’t receiving. Sorina is angry. Aaron and Wyndham argue about mortgaging their future money on $2 Second National Bank plates. ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Written By: Olga Lysenko & James Scully ___________ Cast: Eirik Gislason Alain Laforest Kacie Laforest Roland Lane Nancy Pop Gustavo Rodriguez James Scully ___________ Music: The Itinerant Ba...
Dec 18, 2022•11 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Beyond Burning Gotham: Episode 3 These episodes are the history compendium for the preceding Burning Gotham chapters. They’ll help paint the picture on what was really going on in 1835. Our characters live in a New York rapidly becoming the most important city in the western world. In this episode we’ll focus on The spoils system, John Jacob Astor, and development up Manhattan island. Burning Gotham Chapter five is called: Irving and Astor. ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Fea...
Dec 16, 2022•25 min
BURNING GOTHAM 006: I PRAY FOR YOU TOO Aaron Columbus runs a big errand for John Jacob Astor. It takes him to a rectory north of town. There, Brother Basil gives Aaron a tip on where to find genuine $2 Second National Bank plates. ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Written By: Olga Lysenko & James Scully ___________ Cast: Alain Laforest Roland Lane Nancy Pop Gustavo Rodriguez James Scully ___________ Engineer: Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio ___________ Director &a...
Dec 13, 2022•8 min•Season 1Ep. 6
BURNING GOTHAM 005: IRVING & ASTOR Washington Irving calls upon Philip Hone. Aaron Columbus goes to pay John Jacob Astor at St. Paul’s Chapel. ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Written By: Olga Lysenko & James Scully ___________ Cast: Eirik Gislason Alain Laforest Nancy Pop Gustavo Rodriguez James Scully ___________ Music: The Hesperus Early Music Ensemble ___________ Engineer: Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio ___________ Director & Post-Producer: James Scu...
Dec 11, 2022•13 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Beyond Burning Gotham: Episode 2 These episodes are the history compendium for the preceding Burning Gotham chapters. They’ll help paint the picture on what was really going on in 1835. Our characters live in a New York rapidly becoming the most important city in the western world. In this episode we’ll focus on New York immigration, disorder, and the richest woman in America. Burning Gotham Chapter three is called: Eliza Jumel. ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Featured interv...
Dec 09, 2022•26 min
BURNING GOTHAM 004: THE DIAMONDS WILL BE LATE Aaron returns from the docks with some bad news for Wyndham, Sorina, and Raisa. ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Written By: Olga Lysenko & James Scully ___________ Cast: Roland Lane Anna Pirogov Nancy Pop James Scully ___________ Engineer: Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio ___________ Director & Post-Producer: James Scully ___________ Support Burning Gotham on Patreon...
Dec 06, 2022•6 min•Season 1Ep. 4
BURNING GOTHAM 003: ELIZA JUMEL May 1st, 1835 — Aaron takes a carriage ride downtown with his godmother, Ms. Eliza Jumel—the richest woman in New York. She’s got a lot to say about Aaron’s countesses. Will her suggestions only prove to be a temporary respite? ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Written By: Olga Lysenko & James Scully ___________ Cast: Eirik Gislason Mary Murphy James Scully ___________ Music: The Itinerant Band ___________ Engineer: Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Po...
Dec 04, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 3
BEYOND BURNING GOTHAM: EPISODE 1 These episodes are the history compendium for the preceding Burning Gotham chapters. They’ll help paint the picture on what was really going on in 1835. Our characters live in a New York rapidly becoming the most important city in the western world. In this episode we’ll focus on New York laws, infrastructure, and politics. Burning Gotham Chapter one begins on May 1st, 1835: Moving Day. ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Featured interviews: Dani...
Dec 02, 2022•24 min
BURNING GOTHAM 002: BANKRUPTCY May 1st, 1835 — It’s 11AM and we’re in Mayor Lawrence’s office. The arguing men include Democrats and Whigs like Aaron Clark, Gideon Lee, Abraham Schermerhorn, Philip Hone, and Washington Irving. The argument: How will we pay for this damned water? ___________ Download Episode Transcript ___________ Written By: Olga Lysenko & James Scully ___________ Cast: Eirik Gislason Alain Laforest Roland Lane Nancy Pop Gustavo Rodriguez Matt Roper James Scully ___________ ...
Nov 29, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 2
BURNING GOTHAM 001: MOVING DAY May 1st, 1835 — It’s a cold and rainy Moving Day. Every renter in New York is out on the street looking for lodging. Most of the city’s quarter-million live below Houston Street in buildings four stories or smaller, but construction is booming. New people are pouring onto New York’s dangerously overcrowded streets by the thousands. Rich and poor, many come to earn an honest living. Others for more nefarious reasons. It’s the perfect place to begin. Aaron Columbus i...
Nov 27, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 1
This November, experience New York City like you’ve never before. Will you make the right deal? Or fall to greed? But whatever you choose, just make sure you get out in time. Coming This November to your favorite podcast app, Burning Gotham — The new audio fiction soap opera about the fastest growing city in the world, and the opportunists who shaped it. Find out more at BurningGotham.com
Oct 07, 2022•2 min
It’s the Spring of 1835. We’re at the offices of The New York Sun , published by Benjamin Day and edited by George Wisner. When the Sun launched in 1833, it became New York’s first successful one-cent newspaper. Prior to the Sun’s launch, the most widely-read city papers were the Courier and Enquirer , Evening Post, Evening Star, and Commercial Advertiser . The City’s eleven merchant papers had a combined circulation of only 26,500. All were produced within a few blocks of each other near Wall S...
Jun 15, 2020•4 min
May 1st, 1835. It’s a cold and rainy Moving Day. Every renter in New York is out on the street looking for lodging. Most of the city’s quarter-million live below Houston Street in buildings four stories or smaller, but construction is booming. New people are pouring onto New York’s dangerously overcrowded streets by the thousands. Rich and poor, many come to earn an honest living. Others for more nefarious reasons. And it’s the perfect place to begin. ——————————— Coming soon to your favorite pod...
May 24, 2020•3 min
March 1835: Paris, France. What does an inheritance, a proposition, and two lovely Russian countesses have in common? Don’t be fooled, danger is coming. ___________ Premiering soon on your favorite podcast app, Burning Gotham , the new scripted audio fiction podcast, set in 1835 New York City. Subscribe to this audio feed to learn more, or go to BurningGotham.com.
May 06, 2020•2 min
COMING SOON New York, 1835: A city at its tipping point. It’s ten years since the completion of the Erie Canal. New York City’s population is now over 270,000. Most of these people live below Fourteenth Street in wooden or brick buildings no taller than five stories. The gap between rich and poor is rapidly expanding as each week thousands of new men and women pour onto New York’s dangerously overcrowded streets. Many come to earn an honest living. Others for more nefarious reasons. ___________ ...
Apr 30, 2020•3 min
