When the Erie Canal opened in the 1820s, it brought with it an industrial system that radically transformed the daily lives of the American farmers who lived in the region. Out of this disruption came some of America’s earliest labor actions, the rise of new Christian sects, and America’s first daredevil, Sam Patch, who dazzled the masses and offended the powers that be simply by jumping off higher and higher things into water.

Why did Sam Patch become a national figure whose actions drew acclaim across the country? Why did those in power denounce Patch’s exhibitions as “irrational fun” and seek to stop him from performing? And how does Patch’s life tell the greater story of the Jacksonian Era and catch the attention of Jackson himself? The answers to all that and more are right here in Rivers Langley’s expertly crafted story, as told to Ben and Narado Moore.

Rivers Langley is a Los Angeles-based comic, host of The Goods from the Woods podcast, and a scriptwriter for The Dollop. Links to Ben’s appearances on TGFTW below.

Narado Moore is a Birmingham-based standup comic, host of the Uncle Rod’s Story Corner podcast and co-host of Roy’s Job Fair with Roy Wood Jr.

The story of Sam Patch, as told to Ben and Narado Moore was recorded in December, 2021 and originally aired as part of Goods From the Woods #310 “Sam Patch: America’s First Daredevil w/ Ben Sawyer & Narado Moore. This episode includes a new introduction/conversation with Rivers Langley about Patch’s place in history and how we can see his story in American life today. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

Links:

“Confederate Submarine HL Hunley: A Terrible Idea w/ Ben Sawyer” from Goods From the Woods #203.

“The Destruction of the Georgia Guidestones w/ Ben Sawyer” clip from GFTW #337

“A Tour Guide’s History of Los Angeles w/ Rivers Langley” RTN #202 – Spotify - Apple