The story of David Isaacs, Nancy West, and their family is one that brings together aspects of Virginia’s Jewish history, Black history, and the history of Monticello. Learn more about the challenges of interracial relationships and how this family navigated the color line and the laws that restricted them.

Smallpox was once a terrible and deadly disease. It affected communities across the globe, but when Jefferson was alive there were known ways to combat it. For today's episode, we track the course of smallpox and the development of inoculation in early American history.

Monticello guides Kyle Chattleton and Laura-Michal Balderson discuss the social expectations and realities women of the gentry class faced in 18th-Century Virginia and how they both aligned and diverged for Jefferson's eldest daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph.

This month on A Rich Spot of Earth, we look at the practice of shipping and planting bare root plants, a Monticello March tradition. We also feature three of our favorite spring ephemerals -- Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), and Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) -- and share when and how you can see them in bloom at Monticello along with how to get and grow your own.

Featuring Michael Tricomi, Monticello's Vegetable Gardener; Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants; Debbie Donley, Flower Gardener; Jessica Armstrong, Manager of Nursery Operations at the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants; and, Robert Dowell, Horticulturalist at the Center.

Thomas Jefferson had a long friendship with Dr. Benjamin Rush, a fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the early United States’ most well-known physicians. The love of science the two men shared was often part of their correspondence, but they shared many other parts of their lives as well and it was Rush who eventually led the famed reconciliation between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams later in their lives.

Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton takes us through the decades-long effort to establish the University of Virginia, which Jefferson considered one of three accomplishments for which he most wished to be remembered.

The American Revolution and her husband's career brought Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson together. In time she grew to enjoy "Mr Jeffersons Society." Yet politics would drive them apart for years, only to rekindle their friendship. Today we will explore the story of, in Jefferson's words, "one of the most estimable characters on earth."

This month on A Rich Spot of Earth, we look at seed sowing, the coming of the new growing season, winter bulbs, nematodes, plants that build soil, plants that spoil soil, and peas, which were arguably Jefferson's favorite vegetable.

Featuring Jason Young, Manager and Curator of Historic Gardens at Monticello; Peggy Cornett, Curator of Plants; Michael Tricomi, Vegetable Gardener; and, Debbie Donley, Flower Gardener.

Thomas Jefferson was not only a law mentor and political ally to James Monroe, but eventually his Albemarle County neighbor. The two men were friends for many years and their political careers aligned in many ways. Current Monticello and former Highland guides Olivia Brown, Alice Wagner, Ariel Armenta, and Richard Ferguson, explore that history in this episode.

Monticello guide Kyle Chattleton looks at the extremely close relationship of Monticello's enslaved joiner John Hemmings and his wife, Priscilla, an enslaved domestic servant owned by Jefferson's son-in-law and at the couple's complex relationship with the Jefferson family.