This week, we're joined for our very first Scrap Bag episode by special guest Daniel Okrent, former public editor of the New York Times and author of the book The Guarded Gate: Bigotry, Eugenics, and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians, and Other European Immigrants Out of America. We dive into the complex history of anti-Italian bigotry in New England and the struggles that Laurie would have faced in the world of the Boston Brahmins. You can visit Daniel online at danielokrent.com and on Twitter at @okrent.

Our cover art is by Mattie Lubchansky. It interpolates the cover art for Bethany C. Morrow's book "So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix," with permission from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. It also interpolates the cover art for Hena Khan's book "More to the Story," with permission from Simon & Schuster. Our theme music is Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major. This episode was edited by Peyton Thomas.