The Witch Hunt and the Role of Fear in Socioeconomic Transformation

We're talking about something a bit different on this episode, and about a time period much earlier than we usually discuss: the witch trials of early-modern Germany. Why? Because it's Witchy Zeit in Germany! 

Carnival/Fasching/Fastnacht just happened last month and at the end of April is Walpurgisnacht, also known as Hexenbrennen (witch burning). Michelle and Isaac give a bit of background about these witchy festivals at the start of the episode, before getting into an interview with Dr. Laura Kounine, lecturer in early modern history at the University of Sussex. Dr. Kounine published her book Imagining the Witch: Emotions, Gender and Selfhood in Early Modern Germany in 2018, and has some fascinating insights into the experiences of being put on trial for witchcraft during this period. 

You can find more from Dr. Kounine on Twitter: @LauraKounine

To learn more about Fasching and Walpurgisnacht, check out these articles we cited: 

Fasching: Tracing the Roots of South Germany's 'Dark Carnival' in The Local 

Are You Reading for Walpurgisnacht, Germany's Night of Witches? in The Local

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Co-hosted by Ted (@ted_knudsen) and Michelle (@shhellgames). Produced by Isaac (@wuermann).

Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.