Our Hamptons Our Hamptons

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Columbia University Professor Alexander Stille, the author of The Sullivanians. The Sullivan Institute was a maverick psychoanalytic practice and cult that flourished on the Upper West Side from 1957 until 1991. Paramount to the Sullivanian doctrine was the rejection of the traditional nuclear family and monogamous relationships. “The Sullivanians told myparents that the worst thing a person can do is raise their own children,” said Lauren Olitski, the daughter of painter and patient Jules Olitski. The patients were high functioning, intelligent and creative people, including the singer Judy Collins and writer Richard Price. But its influence over Jackson Pollock, and its presence in the Barnes Landing section of Springs for a fascinating, and different, Our Hamptons Podcast.

In 2008, Larry Rivers 16 foot tall "Legs" was installed outside a private residence in Sag Harbor. The usual questions abounded; was it art, was it a structure, did it have a place as a public art display. An East End version of a centuries old battle over what can be deemed art, what can't, and who can judge the difference? In fact, in 1989 East Hampton Village banned outside displays of art within its historic district where Guild Hall, an arts center and museum, sits on Main Street within the district. Esperanza and Irwin engage in a free wheeling discussion of all of the above, with an impromptu musical interlude to boot.

Esperanza has lamented the current lack of nightlife and dancing on the East End on numerous Our Hamptons podcasts. So we decided to transport ourselves and our audience back to the era of Saturday Night Fever, and disco itself. Even the high school had something called Bonac Bandstand, and in fact partied (dry of course) at the Mellow Mouth Disco at 44 Three Mile Harbor Road. As often happens on Our Hamptons, the history and tenants of the building over the past 100+ years became an integral part of the story.

The biggest single scene on the East End in the late 1970’s had to be Asparagus Beach in Amagansett, or what we refer to today as simply Atlantic Ave. Singles would stand around like upright stalks of Asparagus, to see and be seen. String bikinis ruled the day, as did groupers; not the fish, but the participants themselves who squeezed into rental share houses, predominately in Amagansett’s Beach Hampton neighborhood. A fun look back at an absolute moment in time where to be “Young in the Hamptons” was all that. Well, sort of anyway!

Esperanza and Irwin hearken back to the days before 300 plus cable tv channels and numerous streaming options. If you're of a certain age, you remember channels 2 to 13, and possibly UHF. Rooftop antennas, tin foil on the rabbit ears. But eastern Long Island weren't getting TV out of NYC. Apparently, those signals did not travel effectively west to east. Rather, channels out of Hartford, New Haven and Providence were the only game in town, and not all to clear either. A fun look back at an era where technology certainly did not rule.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome the filmmaker Joanne Roberts to discuss The Bonackers Project. The loss of the commercial fishing industry on the east end has been well documented. Overreaching government intrusion, onerous regulations and a powerful sports fishing lobby, combined with ever increasing house prices damaged an industry whose legacy dates back hundreds of years. Joanne shares the stories, and the challenges the remaining fisherman and baymen face, and the timetable for the film's release.