About this episode

This episode features a remastered interview with Alfred Marder discussing his experiences during the Smith trial in 1954.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Mary Donohue

Guest: Alfred Marder

Topics covered

• McCarthy-era
• civil rights
• New Haven history
• legal trials
• communism

Keywords

• Alfred Marder
• Catherine Roraback
• Smith Act
• McCarthy-era
• New Haven
• civil rights attorney
• trial

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame, highwattagemedia.com

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