Colonial Williamsburg History Podcasts - Image Enhanced

Colonial Williamsburg History Podcasts - Image Enhanced episodes:

• 01.30.2017

  Journey to Redemption

  The cast and crew of Colonial Williamsburg’s groundbreaking program Journey to Redemption join to talk about how the piece was developed and why it’s so important to be having conversations surrounding racism and the history of slavery in our nation....

  
• 11.07.2016

  George Washington on Veteran’s Day

  As Veterans Day approaches, the venerated Virginian veteran himself, Gen. George Washington, discusses his military past and how he believes veterans should be honored today.

  
• 09.26.2016

  The Organized Piano

  John Watson, Curator of Musical Instruments and Conservator of Instruments, discusses the Foundation’s organized piano, which first belonged to the St. George Tucker family.

  
• 06.20.2016

  Founding Feuds

  Paul Aron, Director of Publications for Colonial Williamsburg, joins to discuss his new book “Founding Feuds: The Rivalries, Clashes, and Conflicts that Forged a Nation.” In this podcast, Paul delves into some of the most infamous feuds of the 18th...

  
• 05.16.2016

  The Return of the Cherokee

  Each year, Colonial Williamsburg hosts Return of the Cherokee. This special event draws hundreds to observe Cherokee culture as it was in the 18th century when members would come to Williamsburg for trade, diplomacy, or even education. Buck Woodard with...

  
• 04.28.2016

  The Black Petticoat Society Talks Colonial Williamsburg

  The Black Petticoat Society, a TURN: Washington’s Spies fan group, interviewed Past and Present host Rachel West for their TURN-related podcast. The group discussed Colonial Williamsburg’s role as Philadelphia on the hit AMC show as well as other initiatives across...

  
• 02.17.2016

  Importance of Portraying African American History

  Stephen Seals joins to discuss some of the powerful African American programming available during Black History Month and beyond in 2016. Hear some of his favorites and why it’s so important to tell the stories of half of the population...

  
• 02.02.2016

  Let Freedom Ring

  Colonial Williamsburg and First Baptist Church have joined together for the Let Freedom Ring Challenge. Americans from across the nation are invited to ring the First Baptist Church bell in the name of freedom and equality throughout the month of...

  
• 12.28.2015

  Sweet Tea & Barley

  Sweet Tea & Barley is Colonial Williamsburg’s newest restaurant located in the Williamsburg Lodge. Chefs Anthony Frank and Sean Gonzalez chat about what went into creating a new southern-inspired restaurant and some of the dishes they put on the menu.

  
• 12.14.2015

  Harlequin’s Holiday

  Join Harlequin, Clodpole and Cotton as they flip and tumble in Harlequin’s Holiday, a new holiday program. Meet the cast and hear how they bring the comedic pantomime stylings that were extremely popular in the 18th century to life today.

  
• 10.14.2015

  Blackbeard!

  Colonial Williamsburg is embarking on its first-ever Halloween experience. The infamous pirate, Blackbeard, has returned to seek revenge after members of his crew were tried and executed in Williamsburg.

  
• 07.20.2015

  Reinventing the Wheel

  The wheel may be one of geometry’s simplest shapes, but the technology behind its creation is surprisingly complex. Add to that the variations among English wheels, French wheels, carriage wheels and cannon wheels, and the story gets even deeper. Colonial...

  
• 07.06.2015

  RevQuest: The King’s Advance

  The thrilling RevQuest: Save The Revolution™ series opens its fifth season with a new spy plot: The King’s Advance. Dive headfirst into Revolutionary history as you join the service of secret intelligence gatherers. Gather clues, crack codes, meet with covert...

  
• 06.22.2015

  Declaration of Independence

  Hear the Declaration of Independence read in its entirety by renowned Thomas Jefferson interpreter Bill Barker.

  
• 06.08.2015

  The Sound of Battle: CW’s Fifes and Drums

  The piercing fife, the thundering drum: both can be heard over the din of battle, making them a crucial means of communication for commands like parley, cease fire, and retreat. How does this combination work?

  
• 05.25.2015

  Memorial Day: Ask a Soldier

  The men who served in the Revolutionary War share much in common with their modern-day brothers. The sacrifices of friendship, safety, and security unite soldiers across time. Remember their devotion and support them when they come home, urges Lieutenant Colonel...

  
• 05.11.2015

  Resurrecting an Alehouse

  Chowning’s Tavern is reborn as an alehouse: a rough-and-rugged sanctuary for the colonial man in search of an ale. Listen as curator Amanda Keller and Director Department of Architectural Preservation Matt Webster describe the choices they made to re-open the...

  
• 04.27.2015

  Cancer: That Painful and Lingering Disorder

  Options for cancer detection and treatment were few in the 18th century. Medical Historian Sharon Cotner lays out some of the common practices in this week’s show.

  
• 04.13.2015

  Every Home a Distillery

  What do you use to wash the baby, clean the house, color your hair or serve for breakfast? If it’s the 18th century, the answer is alcohol. Professor Sarah Meacham describes her research for the book “Every Home a Distillery.”

  
• 03.30.2015

  The Business of Death

  The funeral industry arises from a combination of necessity, sentimentality, and vanity. Dr. Kelly Brennan Arehart describes the path of America’s death business, and the early vestiges still with us today.

  
• 03.16.2015

  The George Washington Seal

  A pocket-sized ornament gives monumental insight into the private life of America’s best-known General: George Washington.

  
• 03.02.2015

  Marry Me?

  Modern marriage owes its structure to an historic form. Equal parts love, practicality, and business, today’s unions share more than you’d think with their colonial counterparts.

  
• 02.16.2015

  Through the Ranks

  A new web features follows an entering class of Fifers and Drummers on their journey through the ranks.

  
• 02.02.2015

  Resilience in Tragedy: African American Lives

  African American history is weighted with tragedy, but bringing the fullness of life to the stories of enslaved individuals is the mission of the African American History Program under the direction of Stephen Seals.

  
• 01.19.2015

  George Washington’s Wallet

  What was in George Washington’s wallet? Long before the establishment of a standard American currency, there was trade, barter and credit. How were these financial activities handled with the myriad coins and metals in circulation?

  
• 01.05.2015

  Futuristic Lab Reveals Historic Secrets

  Technologies that used to be beyond reach for museum professionals now can lend new insights into the hidden compositions of materials, metals, and paints. Conservator Kirsten Moffitt explains how a spike on a screen can spot a fake or reveal...

  
• 12.29.2014

  Happy Birthday, Peter Pelham

  The heart of a church is its organ; and the heart of its organ is its organist. This year we celebrate the 300th anniversary of Bruton Parish Church, and the 293rd birthday of the first man to grace its organ...

  
• 12.15.2014

  Old Stitch: A Beer for the Ages

  Relax with a brew from the past, courtesy of Master of Historic Foodways Frank Clark. Twenty years of study and practice have resurrected the 18th century’s favorite beer: Old Stitch.

  
• 12.01.2014

  Old School Home Brew

  The Historic Campus of the College of William and Mary had one more secret to tell, and it was a big one. Archaeologist Andy Edwards describes the surprise, and the clues that lead them to hope they’ve stumbled upon the...

  
• 11.17.2014

  Pumpkin’s Progress

  Gain a new respect for the good old pumpkin. Author Mary Miley Theobald traces the history of the venerable gourd.

  
• 11.03.2014

  Communicating Complicated Concepts

  Rats on a ship smuggle a story of transatlantic trade and a colonial global economy. It’s a big idea, but the concept is made simple by the team of writers, researchers and producers who create Colonial Williamsburg’s Emmy-winning Electronic Field...

  
• 10.20.2014

  Burial Shrouds

  What were colonists buried in? This was a question posed to Research Librarian Juleigh Clark. Tracking down the answer led her, and us, through the history of funerals, burials, shrouds and winding sheets.

  
• 10.13.2014

  Brick by Brick

  It takes a lot of bricks to build a Market House and our brickmakers are busy. So it seems like a good time to revisit this October 2011 podcast about the process for the building blocks of the Historic Area....

  
• 10.06.2014

  Reading History Backwards

  Jamestowne Island’s Director of Archeological Research and Interpretation Bill Kelso says that choosing which historic sites to protect from deterioration of all kinds is a matter of reading history backwards. We must consider “What are the priorities today, what are...

  
• 09.29.2014

  The Farm Eternal

  No matter where the Earth glides on its axis, the days both long and short shine on a years-worth of work on the colonial farm. At Great Hopes plantation, the turning of the seasons brings with it a task suited...

  
• 09.22.2014

  An Autumn Spectacular

  Planning the fiery colors of autumn is a year-round endeavor for Manager of Landscape Services Laura Viancour. She and her team keep Colonial Williamsburg’s trees healthy and maintained, and they inform their choices with historic documentation of the 18th-century’s treescape.

  
• 09.15.2014

  Before the First Shots are Fired

  Retired US Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni has some sharp insights and powerful ideas to share in his new book, “Before the First Shots are Fired: How America Can Win or Lose off the Battlefield.” Listen this week as he...

  
• 09.08.2014

  The Early Music Festival: From England to America

  The 2014 Early Music Festival promises to be a lively one. With instruments, scores, and performances of an 18th-century vintage, you’ll be surrounded by the sounds of another century. Enjoy this musical preview featuring Jane Hanson and Michael Monaco from...

  
• 09.01.2014

  Skill and Science in Historic Trades

  Intelligence born of practice combines with the study of science to complete the historic tradesman’s store of knowledge. There was no better spokesman for the Historic Trades program than Director Jay Gaynor. Jay recently passed away and we miss him....

  
• 08.25.2014

  African American Religion

  When people from various regions of Africa were forcefully transported to the colonies, they brought nothing with them but the clothes on their backs and the beliefs of their hearts. This latter possession varied widely by region and tradition, but...

  
• 08.18.2014

  Decimus Et Ultimus Barziza

  Native son of the colonial elite, Decimus Et Ultimus Barziza fulfills his family’s legacy of prominence with his career in the Civil War. Historian Drew Gruber describes with passion the path of this “average” Civil War soldier, a story that...

  
• 08.11.2014

  Who’s that Marching Man?

  For Drum Major Lance Pedigo, leading comes naturally. All year round and at any time of day, chances are good that you’ll see him marching at the front of the Fifes and Drums, keeping time and metering the pace of...

  
• 08.04.2014

  Spies in the Library

  Research Librarian Allison Heinbaugh stalked the stacks of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library looking for evidence of spies and spycraft in the 18th century. The bibliography she compiled tells its own story of loyalty, secrecy, and stealth.

  
• 07.28.2014

  Stories in Silver

  Rare and beautiful silver forms share the social history of their users and their makers. Visit “A Handsome Cupboard of Plate,” an exhibit open now at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.

  
• 07.21.2014

  The Color of History

  Watching paint dry turns into a fascinating journey through time, history, science and technology when the Department of Architectural Preservation gets involved. Director Matt Webster shares the story behind the changing paint colors in the Historic Area, and why the...

  
• 07.14.2014

  A Conversation With Michael Beschloss

  Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss visits Colonial Williamsburg and shares his views on the changes technology brings to politics and the presidency, and ruminates on the importance of place.

  
• 07.07.2014

  A Brief History of Gunpowder

  From its origins in Chinese potions for immortality to the agent of death on the battlefield, the history of gunpowder is one of chemistry, ingenuity, and violence. Armorer Ron Potts fascinates with the tale.

  
• 06.23.2014

  The Bloody Battlefield

  More gruesome than the injuries of battle were the means of mending them: field medicine offered no anesthesia, no modern antiseptics, and no antibiotics. David Podolfino interprets the life and duties of the military surgeon.

  
• 06.16.2014

  Colonial Boot Camp

  Pass through the gates of the military encampment and you’ll become the newest member of the Williamsburg Regiment. Learn to drill, march, and think as a unit, leaving behind the life you knew for a chance at the future you...

  
• 06.09.2014

  George Washington Sneezed Here

  The common cold was a nuisance our forbears suffered in much the same way we do today. But what remedies were uniquely colonial? Eighteenth-century apothecarist Robin Kipps shares the causes and eases for the cold.