Futility Closet

In 1815 an American ship ran aground in northwestern Africa, and its crew were enslaved by merciless nomads. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the desperate efforts of Captain James Riley to find a way to cross the Sahara and beg for help from Western officials in Morocco. We'll also wade through more molasses and puzzle over a prospective guitar thief. Intro: In 1972 archaeologists in northwestern Iran found evidence of one couple's tender final moment. An anonymous author recast "A Visit From St. Nicholas" in legal language. Sources for our feature on James Riley: Dean King, Skeletons on the Zahara, 2004. James Riley, An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce, 1817. Archibald Robbins, A Journal, Comprising an Account of the Loss of the Brig Commerce, of Hartford Conn., 1847. James Riley and William Willshire Riley, Sequel to Riley's Narrative, 1851. Robert J. Allison, The Crescent Obscured: The United States and the Muslim World, 1776-1815, 1995. Ch