COO of the New England Genealogical Society D. Brenton Simons explores the criminal history of colonial Boston. He examines such issues as murders and murderers, including a serial murderer; con men; and witch trials. His presentation includes slides.

Audio and video options are available.

Historian and lawyer Diane Rapaport recovers stories from pre-Revolutionary-War New England court records, examining cases that highlight the concerns of ordinary people and reveal the daily life of Puritans during this period. The presentation includes slides.

Audio and video options are available. The video can be watched with or without captions.

Historian Eve LaPlante examines the life of Judge Samuel Sewall, who condemned over 30 people to death for witchcraft in 1692 and publicly apologized in 1697, spending the rest of his life in penitence and social action. The presentation includes slides.

Crime historian Karen Elizabeth Chaney examines the case of Lizzie Bordan, accused of killing her father and stepmother with an ax in Fall River, MA, on August 4, 1892. Chaney focuses on the journalistic coverage of the case and the gender issues and sensationalism it dealt in.

Audio and video options are available.

Professor Alan Rogers describes the historical context of the 13 killings by the Boston Strangler from June 14, 1962 to Jan. 4, 1964 and details the crimes; the investigation; and the arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Albert DeSalvo.

Author Hiller Zobel explores the death of Christopher Seider, an 11-year-old shot and killed during a riot on Feb. 22, 1770, and the trial of Boston loyalist Ebenezer Richardson for his murder. Zobel casts this as an event leading up to the Boston Massacre.

A panel of scholars responds to the second part of the PBS miniseries Slavery and the Making of America, which focuses on the Northeast, and includes the story of Mum Bett, who sued for her freedom in Massachusetts and whose victory led to the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783.

A panel of scholars reviews the landmark school desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education and debates whether the case led to true improvement in the life conditions of African Americans.

Professor Priscilla McMillan examines the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, physicist and director of the Manhattan Project. McMillan focuses particularly on his post-World-War-II opposition to development of the hydrogen bomb, the 1954 trial in which his security clearance was revoked, and the context of these events at the beginning of the USSR-U.S. arms race.