In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, David Penney, Associate Director of Museum Scholarship, Exhibitions, and Public Engagement at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), joins Liz Covart to talk about the NMAI’s exhibit called Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States & American Indian Nations. [Read more…] about Treaties Between the US & American Indian Nations
Fourth of July in 2026: America’s 250th Anniversary
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, historians Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Ronald Angelo Johnson, and Kariann Akemi Yokota join host Liz Covart to answer questions about how historians are discussing the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding in 2026. [Read more…] about Fourth of July in 2026: America’s 250th Anniversary
Freedom and Slavery in Massachusetts
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Kyera Singleton, the Executive Director of the Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, Massachusetts, joins host Liz Covart to investigate the story of slavery and freedom within the first state in the United States to legally abolish slavery. [Read more…] about Freedom and Slavery in Massachusetts
Female Husbands: Transgender People in Early American History
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Jen Manion, a Professor of History and of Sexuality and Women’s and Gender Studies at Amherst College and author of the book, Female Husbands: A Trans History (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021), joins host Liz Covart to investigate the early American world of female husbands, people who were assigned female gender at birth and then changed their gender at some point in their lives to live as men. [Read more…] about Female Husbands: Transgender People in Early American History
St Augustine and Early Florida
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Charles Tingley, Senior Research Librarian at the St. Augustine Historical Society, joins host Liz Covart to explore the early American history of La Florida through the lens of one of its capitals: the city of St. Augustine. [Read more…] about St Augustine and Early Florida
Privateering in the American Revolution
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, historian Eric Jay Dolin joins host Liz Covart to discuss the early American world of privateers and the creation of the United States’ privateer fleet with details from his book, Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution (Liveright Publishing, 2022). [Read more…] about Privateering in the American Revolution
The Moravian Church in North America
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Paul Peucker, an archivist and the Director of the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, joins Liz Covart to investigate the establishment of the Moravian Church in North America. [Read more…] about The Moravian Church in North America
The Virginia Venture: Colonization and English Society, 1580-1660
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Misha Ewen, a Lecturer in early modern history at the University of Bristol and author of The Virginia Venture: American Colonization and English Society, 1580-1660 (University of Penn Press, 2022), joins host Liz Covart to discuss the early history of the Virginia Company and its early investors. [Read more…] about The Virginia Venture: Colonization and English Society, 1580-1660
The Sewing Girl’s Tale: Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, John Wood Sweet, a Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and author of the book, The Sewing Girl’s Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America (Henry Holt & Co., 2022), winner of the 2023 Bancroft Prize in American History, joins Liz Covart to investigate the first published rape trial in the United States and how one woman, Lanah Sawyer, bravely confronted the man who raped her by bringing him to court for his crime. [Read more…] about The Sewing Girl’s Tale: Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America
Women and the Making of Catawba Identity
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Brooke Bauer, an assistant professor of history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville joins Liz Covart to explore Catawba women and their significance in Catawba culture with details from her book, Becoming Catawba: Catawba Women and Nation Building, 1540-1840 (University of Alabama Press, 2022). [Read more…] about Women and the Making of Catawba Identity