Can economics help explain Europe’s deadly witch trials?

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Hundreds of years ago, across Europe - from Germany to Scandinavia, France to Britain - tens of thousands of mostly women were executed, accused of being witches. The persecution reached its height in the 16th and 17th centuries. But why? And could economics help explain the hysteria? Hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth are joined by Brown University economist Emily Oster, whose research explores whether colder temperatures during the Little Ice Age led to economic hardship and an…