In this episode, our guests delve into the history of Staunton. They cover who was living here, who came here, how it was founded, and more. They even answer that pressing question: why isn't it pronounced "Stawn-ton"? Intro and Transition Music: Zac Bell Close Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day NB: This episode contains contemporary accounts of events that may reference period attitudes towards marginalized groups.
Being located in the Shenandoah Valley, we don't often talk about ships and the navy. For this 4th of July, however, we thought we'd bring in our ship expert, Mark, to talk about the role of navies during the American Revolution. In this episode, we'll discuss shipbuilding, sailor impressment, and just how a small, upstart American fleet managed to mostly hold its own against the strongest navy in the world. Intro Music: Zac Bell Transition Music: Das Orchester Tsumugi, Mozart, Symphony no. 40 in G minor, K. 550, Molto Allegro End Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana
Today's episode focuses on the earliest movement toward abolition. Who were the movers and shakers who started a movement that changed the world? In this first of two parts, we discuss just who was involved in protesting slavery and its egregious loss of life and liberty from the earliest moments. Britain's empirical aspirations rested firmly on the backs of enslaved persons throughout her colonies, yet from the beginning, a few brave souls stood up to protest on both sides of the Atlantic. Content Warning: The contemporary sources quoted in this episode contain language now considered offensive. Intro Music: Zac Bell Exit Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day
We decided that with summer vacation coming up, we'd help out with the often-tiresome search for that beach read. In this episode, we review Matt Siegel's 2021 book, The Secret History of Food: Strange but True Stories About the Origins of Everything We Eat. As historians, there were a few nit-picky things, but overall, this was an enjoyable, easy read that we highly recommend for all your summer reading needs! Intro Music: Zac Bell Transition: Handel, Alexander's Feast, 1736 End Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day
Despite Alex's promise to never again produce an episode on the amorphous idea of a single century, here we have a brief, scattershot attempt at introducing the 18th century. It's a pretty sure bet that there will be many episodes springing off the topics raised in this podcast, hopefully in the far distant future. Intro Music: Zac Bell Transition Music: European Archive: Henry Purcell, The Fairy Queen Z. 629, Monkey's Dance Exit Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day
In this episode, our guest, Steve Frysinger, discusses medical interpretation. He explains the difference between medical interpretation and reenactment, how someone can learn about historic medicine, and some interesting anecdotes about medicine in the past. Medical history is not for the squeamish! Intro Music: Zac Bell Transition Music: Zac Bell End Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day
Lights, camera, action! In this episode, we take a peek at what kind of discussions can happen around the breakroom table at the Frontier Culture Museum regarding pop culture. Movies, books, TV shows, video games, toys...all of these are vehicles for historical content and of course, historical interpreters have a lot of feelings about all of it. Intro Music: Zac Bell Closing Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day
This episode started as Alex's ambitious project to encapsulate just why the 17th century should be considered a formative century, one that had a direct impact on the formation of the modern world. That...may not be what actually happened. We did learn a valuable lesson, however, namely that we should not attempt to cram such a broad, wide-ranging topic into a typical episode. But, we did have a lot of fun arguing the point, so enjoy! Start Music: Zac Bell Transition Music: Positunes Music YouTube: bit.ly/35fV2b7 SoundCloud: bit.ly/sound-cloud End Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day
To finish our special Women's History Month series, Mary Kate describes an unusual aspect of women's history: women in trades. As one of the Frontier Culture Museum's blacksmiths, Mary Kate is well-versed in the historical role of women participating in the so-called men's trades. In this episode, she describes a fictional blacksmithing family and the role of the women with that trade.
Continuing our Women's History Month series, Makayla details the life of a Virginia farmer's wife in the mid-19th century. Her recounting includes actual quotes from contemporary sources, like the American Frugal Housewife, first published in 1828. Be sure to compare this Day in the Life to the others across time and place. Music: Zac Bell Cover Art: Emily Noble Day