{"podcast":{"title":"Grating the Nutmeg","slug":"grating-the-nutmeg-500787","podcast_index_feed_id":500787,"rss_url":"https://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/podcast","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/c/0/e/1/c0e1a7b91ce5eefbe5bbc093207a2619/GTN_LOGO_2_w_white_edges_SQUARE_2.png","author":"Connecticut Explored Magazine","episode_count":241,"summary":"Connecticut is a small state with big stories. GTN episodes include top-flight historians, compelling first-person stories and new voices in Connecticut history. Executive Producers Mary Donohue, Walt Woodward, and Natalie Belanger look at the people and places that have made a difference in CT history. New episodes every two weeks. A joint production of Connecticut Explored magazine and the CT State Historian Emeritus.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-04T18:20:54.669697+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grating-the-nutmeg-500787"},"episode":{"title":"225. On Trial: Alfred Marder and Catherine Roraback - A Communist's Arrest in 1950's McCarthy-era New Haven (10th Anniversary Encore Release)","slug":"225-on-trial-alfred-marder-and-catherine-roraback-a-communist-s-arrest-in-1950-s-mccarthy-era-new-haven-10th-anniversary-encore-release","published_at":"2026-02-15T18:14:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grating-the-nutmeg-500787/225-on-trial-alfred-marder-and-catherine-roraback-a-communist-s-arrest-in-1950-s-mccarthy-era-new-haven-10th-anniversary-encore-release","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grating-the-nutmeg-500787","url":"https://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/225-on-trial-alfred-marder-and-catherine-roraback-a-communists-arrest-in-1950s-mccarthy-era-new-haven-10th-anniversary-encore-release","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/gratingthenutmeg/GTN_225_Marder_FINAL_UPLOAD_2.mp3?dest-id=293199","summary":"Grating the Nutmeg is 10 years old! In celebration of our 10 th anniversary, we are bringing you a remastered and re-edited edition of an episode we recorded in 2016 at the New Haven Museum with Alfred Marder, Judge Andrew Roraback and his father Charles Roraback. This compelling first-person interview with Alfred Marder shares his experiences as a defendant in New Haven's Smith trial. Mr. Marder died in 2023 at the age of 101. He was defended by civil rights attorney Catherine Roraback, an inductee in the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. In 1954, 32-year-old Alfred Marder was arrested in New Haven along with several others under the Smith Act for allegedly working to overthrow the US government. After a lengthy trial, during which he was defended by the celebrated civil rights lawyer Catherine Roraback, he was acquitted. Hear Mr. Marder tell in his own words what he was fighting for and what it feels like when the full power of the state, federal, and local government is aimed at you. This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at highwattagemedia.com/ Follow GTN on our socials-Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky. Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!","meta_description":"Grating the Nutmeg is 10 years old! In celebration of our 10 th anniversary, we are bringing you a remastered and re-edited edition of an episode we recor…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3379,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grating-the-nutmeg-500787/episodes/225-on-trial-alfred-marder-and-catherine-roraback-a-communist-s-arrest-in-1950-s-mccarthy-era-new-haven-10th-anniversary-encore-release/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grating-the-nutmeg-500787/225-on-trial-alfred-marder-and-catherine-roraback-a-communist-s-arrest-in-1950-s-mccarthy-era-new-haven-10th-anniversary-encore-release.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}