It is October 10, 1775, and Norwich can feel the weight of the war pressing closer than ever. Prices rise, faith stretches thin, and the news from Boston and Philadelphia gives as much worry as hope. General Gage has sailed home in disgrace, replaced by the iron-willed General Howe, while Washington clings to his siege lines with more resolve than rations.

In Philadelphia, Congress takes a daring step — authorizing the first ships of a Continental Navy, a fleet born more from courage than coin.

Across the ocean, King George prepares to brand us as rebels, and Norwich listens for what comes next.

Tonight on Revolutionary Talk, we ask what liberty truly costs, what faith it takes to hold a nation together, and whether ordinary people can weather extraordinary times. The Revolution is stirring, and the tide is turning.

Welcome to Revolutionary Talk on WREV 760 AM. It is October 9, 1775, and today the tide quite literally turns. In Philadelphia, the Continental Congress has voted to arm two ships and send them against British supply vessels. Out of quills and parchment, a navy is born.

John Adams declared that a nation cannot defend its liberty without command of the sea, and tonight his words begin to take shape in oak and canvas. From small harbors to great rivers, shipwrights and sailors are ready to trade cargo for cannon and turn commerce into courage.

While the King in London sharpens his edicts and readies more troops, America quietly builds her first defense. The fleet may be small, but its purpose is vast. Liberty now flies upon the water, and every sail that fills with wind carries the promise that this rebellion has become a revolution.

Welcome to Revolutionary Talk on WREV 760AM. It is October 8, 1775, and General Washington has called a council of war in Cambridge to decide the future of the Continental Army. The debate over numbers and enlistments has turned into a debate over principle. Today, the army ruled that no Black man, free or enslaved, may serve in the ranks.

The decision is said to preserve order among the colonies, but it has drawn a line that liberty itself may not cross. From Norwich to Philadelphia, men are asking what freedom truly means if it does not belong to everyone.

Tonight, we will look inside that council chamber, where maps and muskets shared the table with fear and compromise. We will hear from those who defend the choice and from those who call it what it is, a betrayal of the very cause we claim to serve.

Welcome back to Revolutionary Talk on WREV 760AM, Norwich’s voice of the times. It’s October 7, 1775, and the Revolution has just taken a hard blow. In Cambridge, General Washington has uncovered the unthinkable—Dr. Benjamin Church, surgeon general of our own army, has been exposed as a British spy. The man who bound our wounds has been sending our secrets to the enemy. The shock runs deep, and trust runs thin.

And while our army reels from betrayal, word reaches us from Boston that General Gage is gone, recalled in disgrace, replaced by the King’s new hammer, General William Howe. London calls him the man to finish this rebellion once and for all.

Tonight we’ll ask: who can we trust, and what comes next when treason and tyranny share the same week? Stay tuned. This is Revolutionary Talk, and the war just got personal.

Welcome back to Revolutionary Talk on WREV 760AM, Norwich’s voice for liberty and reason. It’s October 6, 1775, and the talk around town isn’t just about muskets and marches anymore. It’s about money. Prices are climbing, salt is scarce, and paper bills from Congress are multiplying faster than they’re worth. Folks here in Norwich are paying more and getting less, and they’re starting to wonder whether the promise of liberty comes with an empty purse.

In Philadelphia, Congress debates foreign alliances and secret correspondence, hinting at a war that might stretch across oceans. Washington holds the lines at Boston, Benedict Arnold pushes deeper into the wilderness, and in London the King’s men polish the words that will soon brand us rebels.

The fighting may still be far away, but the struggle is already here—in every coin, every market, and every hungry table.

Welcome back to Powder to Parchment on WREV 760AM, where we bring you Revolutionary Talk straight from the heart of 1775. Today we turn our attention to Benedict Arnold, and not the man remembered for betrayal, but the soldier who was still a hero.

On October 3, 1775, Arnold and more than a thousand men began their march north through the wilds of Maine, bound for Quebec. They carried bateaux that leaked, maps that lied, and provisions that would soon rot, yet they carried also the hopes of General Washington and the survival of the Revolution.

Arnold had already seized Fort Ticonderoga, yet Congress treated him with suspicion and scorn. Washington, however, saw fire and trusted him with a bold gamble. If Quebec could be taken, Canada might join the American cause.

This is the story of ambition, boldness, and the making of a Revolutionary hero.

Welcome back to Powder to Parchment on WREV 760AM, Norwich’s home for Revolutionary Talk. Today, October 2, 1775, we turn to Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress takes up an idea as bold as it is dangerous: creating a navy.

John Adams rises and declares, “Without a navy we cannot do much.” His words cut through the dust and hesitation of the chamber. Yet the room divides. Adams sees survival in schooners and privateers; John Dickinson sees danger in expense and provocation. Boldness against caution, liberty against reconciliation.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, King George drafts his speech branding us rebels and his ministers hire Hessians to finish the job. So which will it be, Norwich? Ships or speeches? Schooners or supplication? Stay tuned... Revolutionary Talk begins now.

It's October 1, 1775, and WREV 760AM is on the air, bringing you "Revolutionary Talk" with your firebrand host, Dave Diamond.

Word from Cambridge is not good. Shocking even. And from London the King has waddled in as he gets ready to open the session of Parliament. It doesn't look like he's in a conciliatory mood.

Grab a mug of ale and fill your pipe, settle back in front of the fire as Dave brings you the news of the day as only he can.