nahua – The Thing About Witch Hunts Podcast

Dr. Martin Austin Nesvig takes us into colonial Mexico’s magical underground, where cultural exchange happened in kitchens between women of different backgrounds. This isn’t your typical witch hunt story—Mexico never had mass executions or crazes. The Spanish Inquisition there was more interested in heretics than magical practitioners.

But women still took risks. From enslaved women casting freedom spells to Spanish settlers experimenting with peyote (the first documented non-indigenous use), these stories reveal how people navigated colonial power and sought agency in their lives.

You’ll hear about love magic with personal ingredients and indigenous divination techniques. Plus the demographics of colonial Mexico City, where Spanish women were less than 20% of the population.

This episode flips the expected colonial narrative—showing how native practices influenced the colonizers themselves. A story of adaptation, survival, and unexpected cultural blending.