Advertise on podcast: Our Hamptons

Esperanza and Irwin return to a question that seems to surface in almost every episode: What is it about a place that makes it special? We've often talked about the East End's special sauce—that intangible something that has drawn not just generations of visitors, but remarkable figures in literature, horticulture, music and art. It's more than beautiful beaches, historic buildings or stunning landscapes. It's something harder to define. In our 119th episode, we dig deeper into why some places seem to have it, while others, despite having many of the same ingredients, fall short. Planners, sociologists and other scholars have long wrestled with this question. Now it's our turn.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Rick Salter to Our Hamptons Podcast. Anyone familiar with Gerard Drive (a subject we devoted a full podcast to) will have fond memories of Salter's Cottages. Perched overlooking Gardiner's Bay on Old Fireplace Road, Rick's parents, who's "day job" was running the bookstore at Columbia University, became innkeepers every summer. Rick shares his recollections of his own summers there, the guests, and its legacy over its 60 year history. Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin travel to Shelter Island for their 117th podcast. Sylvester Manor is a remarkable place where layers of East End history converge. Built in the 17th century by Nathaniel Sylvester, a wealthy merchant and slaveholder, the manor was home to Indigenous people, enslaved Africans, and European settlers. Today, its landscape, buildings, and gardens offer a window into a complicated past—and a story of how that history is being preserved, interpreted, and re-imagined. Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Maziar Behrooz, of MB Architecture in Sag Harbor. We cover much ground in this podcast, learning what brought Maziar out to the east end, and his thoughts on all things architecture. But the podcast really gets going with Maziar's concept of mitigating very large new construction on very small Sag Harbor Village lots. An unrealistic concept, or too good to be true? Listening is Believing.

From its beginnings in 1844, the Springs General Store has been the heart and soul of Springs. Its location within the Springs Historic District, overlooking Accabonac Harbor, and adjacent to Ashawagh Hall, Springs Presbyterian Church and the Parker Anderson House (the current Springs Library) metaphorically forms Springs Town Square. We talk about the building's history,and some of the owners over the years including the beloved Dan Miller and Kristi Hood. We continue the story from its closing in a hard to believe 2022, to the circumstances the new owners appear to be facing in trying to reopen.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Rick Whalen of the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society. Since 1980, EHTPS has been an essential part of the fabric of the Town of East Hampton. Rick has been there almost from the beginning, and was instrumental in designing and building some of the trails that exist to this day. An attorney with an expertise in land use, Rick is currently the EHTPS Vice President of Trails Planning. You'll find Rick leading hikes for EHTPS all year, for the benefit of the community. Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin talk "Yaz". Before Fenway Park and winning the Triple Crown, Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski forged his Hall of Fame work ethic on the potato farms and sandlot diamonds of Long Island's East End. This episode explores Yaz’s formative Bridgehampton years, from laboring on his family's farm to dominating local athletics at Bridgehampton High, where he batted an astonishing 512, starred in three varsity sports, and broke county basketball records. We dive into the local folklore of his legendary 1957 season and look at how playing for the White Eagles semipro team alongside his father shaped his career. Perhaps most of all, It is the story a time and place: late 1950's Bridgehampton, and the tight-knit Polish-American farming community that worked the land and nurtured a legend, straight into Cooperstown. Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin kick off Season 9! We often talk of the east end, in terms of the families here for generations. And when a lifelong resident has lived on a street named for the family...well, that takes on a whole other level. And Sue McGuirk, who spent many of her formative years on McGuirk Street, reminisces about growing up in the East Hampton of 60 and 70 years ago. With family working on dairy farms, long lost businesses, and surrounded by cousins, aunts and uncles in a different East Hampton.

Join Esperanza and Irwin for a journey into the rich, 300-year history of North Haven, with gratitude to the book by Don Taylor for providing much of the content. We'll explore the peninsula's transformation—from early 17th-century native lands to a vibrant retreat for whaling captains, the dramatic Fahys estate colony, the theatrical Actor's Colony, and present-day, including its incorporation as a village in 1931 to maintain its rural and residential appeal. Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome four members of the Ladies Village Improvement Society: LVIS President Joyce Tuttle, and members Leslie Clarke, Cass Lovett and Ann Gegelys. Together, we discuss how this historic, volunteer driven organization- it dates back to 1895, continues to shape the character of East Hampton and remains so relevant to who we are as a community. Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin look back on the days when Sag Harbor was the East End’s gritty blue-collar heart. This episode touches on whaling history, but delves deeper into the village’s industrial past, when bustling factories—Alvin Silver, Grumman, Rowe's and most notably the massive Fahys and Bulova Watchcase factories—drew throngs of immigrant workers and anchored the local economy. Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Mark Parash, the owner of Southampton’s beloved Sip N Soda. Mark shares what it takes to keep the rich tradition alive in an ever changing eastern Long Island. Mark shares the family's history, going back a few generations, to the stories behind its loyal following, and how essential Sip N Soda is to the Southampton community. Listening is Believing.

Esperanza and Irwin explore the intertwined histories of Speonk and Remsenburg—two neighboring hamlets whose stories reveal a deeper, often overlooked side of the East End. From Speonk’s roots as a railroad hub and working-class community to Remsenburg’s evolution into a quiet waterfront enclave, we trace how geography, class, and development shaped their distinct identities. Along the way, we uncover how these communities grew in tandem, influencing one another through shared infrastructure, shifting demographics, and a common connection to the land and waterways. It’s a nuanced look at how two places, often considered separately, are in many ways inseparable—linked by history, culture, and change.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Jeremy Dennis for a powerful and deeply personal conversation about art, identity, and reclaiming space. A Shinnecock Indian Nation artist and the founder of Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Dennis shares how his work challenges long-held narratives about the Hamptons while centering Indigenous presence, history, and creativity. In this episode, we explore Dennis’s photography practice, his journey building Ma’s House into a vital cultural hub, and the importance of creating platforms for underrepresented artists. He reflects on storytelling through visual art, the intersections of community and land, and what it means to reshape the cultural landscape of a place so often defined by exclusivity. This is a thoughtful, inspiring conversation about visibility, belonging, and the power of art to honor the past while building a more inclusive future.

Esperanza and Irwin look back on the summer of 2003. That year, Georgica Pond stunned locals when it seemed to “disappear” almost overnight. After a sudden breach of the ocean barrier, the pond rapidly drained into the Atlantic, exposing vast stretches of muddy bottom that hadn’t been seen in decades. While officials pointed to water management and environmental concerns, the speed and timing of the breach sparked lingering mystery—some residents suspected it may have been quietly carried out, or at least hastened, by locals eager to protect their waterfront properties from rising waters. In this episode, we dig into the competing narratives, the whispers of behind-the-scenes intervention, and what this strange moment revealed about the delicate—and sometimes contentious—relationship between the Hamptons’ waterways, its residents, and the sea.