The Shakers. An offshoot sect of The Quakers, born in England in 1747. In worship they were known to break into states of ecstatic trembling. Trembling Quakers. Shaking Quakers. The Shakers. They came to America in 1774 with a utopian vision, egalitarian ideals, a belief in the equality of the sexes, a philosophy of communal, celibate, simple living. Known for their purposeful communities, their pacifism and legendary craftsmanship.

At their peak in the mid-nineteenth century there were some 6,000 Shakers worldwide. As of 2024 there were but two Shakers left in America, so it made headlines in 2025 when Sister April Baxter entered the fold. 

Four-time Academy Award winner Frances McDormand and artist Suzanne Bocanegra were inspired by the communal Shaker philosophy and aesthetic and were invited by The Shaker Museum in Chatham, New York to create a pop-up exhibit curated from the museum’s archive of Shaker furniture, textiles and goods. They called their installation “Cradled.” 

Maira Kalman’s pop-up exhibition, Shaker Outpost: Design, Commerce and Culture, a curated selection of her favorite pieces from the vast Shaker Museum collection opens on Saturday, May 2 at 4 Depot Square in downtown Chatham, New York, running through Sunday, July 5. 

Along with the exhibit Maira and the Museum will open a General Store drawing on the historic tradition of Shakers’ public-facing stores where Shaker communities shared their goods for purchase with “the world.” Handmade crafts, food in the Shaker style, potholders, honey, ginger snaps, Swedish fish, sardines, marmalade made by TART, notebooks, textiles and items made by local artisans will all be on sale.

Come Life, Shaker Life was produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva) in collaboration with Brandi Howell, Nathan Dalton and Hannah Kaye. Mixed by Jim McKee. 

Special thanks: Frances McDormand, Suzanne Bocanegra, Maira Kalman, Joan Jonas and Jason Moran and The Wooster Group. And to David Lang for his Last Lullaby. Further thanks to Jerry Grant, Director of the Shaker Museum in Chatham, New York, to Board Member Jon Schobel and docent Elizabeth Mill and to the Kinderhook Knitting Mill.

Archival recordings heard in this story include: The Shaker Seminar Sessions recorded in 1960 at the Shaker Village, Canterbury, New Hampshire featuring Sister Aida Elam and Sister Bertha Lindsay. Also heard is music from the Wooster Group Production Early Shaker Spirituals recorded in 2014. Photo of Frances McDormand and Suzanne Bocanegra rocking Joan Jonas by Matt Borkowski.

Funding for The Kitchen Sisters comes from Listener Contributions to The Kitchen Sisters Productions, the Robert Sillins Family Foundation, Nancy and John Cassidy, Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah, John Sayles and Maggie Renzi, Don Fleming, Greil Marcus and Kaleta Doolin. And Michael Tilson Thomas and Joshua Robison, whose generous support of the work of The Kitchen Sisters over the decades helped bring so many stories into being, and whose music and love will always inspire us.

There are so many more of you to thank. We are deeply grateful and we can’t do this without you.

The Kitchen Sisters Present is part of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent podcasts that widen your world. We hope you’ll subscribe.