Best Benjaminfranklin Podcasts (2025)

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409 The Battles of Lexington & Concord, 1775 58:42

6d ago58:42

58:42

April 19, 2025 marked the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord—the moment the American Revolution turned from protest to war. What do we really know about that fateful day? How did the people of Concord prepare for what they faced in April 1775? David Wood, the longtime curator of the Concord Museum and the author of Eyewitness…

1
BFW Revisited: The Road to Concord 56:03

13d ago56:03

56:03

April 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. One of the lesser-known catalysts for these battles was the hunt for artillery. The British military, under General Thomas Gage, sought to seize weapons stockpiled by colonial militias, while Massachusetts Patriots scrambled to secure and hide weapons. This tug-of-war o…

1
408 The Memory of 1776 1:05:10

20d ago1:05:10

1:05:10

The American Revolution was more than just a series of events that unfolded between 1763 and 1783, the American Revolution is our national origin story–one we’ve passed down, shaped, and reshaped for the last 250 years. But what do we really mean when we talk about “the Revolution?” Whose Revolution are we remembering? And how has the meaning of 17…

1
BFW Revisited: Samuel Adams 1:03:35

27d ago1:03:35

1:03:35

This month, we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the “shot heard round the world” that ignited the Revolutionary War. But before those battles, and before the Revolution became a war for independence, it was a movement—a fight to secure more local control over government. And no one worked harder to transfor…

1
407 Patrick Henry 1:08:28

1M ago1:08:28

1:08:28

Patrick Henry is one of the most famous voices of the American Revolution. He was known in his own time for his powerful speeches and his unwavering commitment to liberty. But did you know that later in life, Patrick Henry opposed the United States Constitution? Did you know that during the political crisis of 1798/99, George Washington wrote to Pa…

1
BFW Revisited: Motherhood in Early America 53:01

1M ago53:01

53:01

What precisely is the work that mothers do to raise children? Has the nature of mothers, motherhood, and the work mothers do changed over time? Nora Doyle, an Associate Professor of History at Western Carolina University, has combed through the historical record to find answers to these questions. Specifically, she’s sought to better understand the…

1
406 How Haudenosaunee Women & Fashion Shaped History 57:23

2M ago57:23

57:23

Historians use a lot of different sources when they research the past. Many rely on primary source documents, documents that were written by official government bodies or those written by the people who witnessed the events or changes historians are studying. But how do you uncover the voices and stories of people who didn’t know how to write or wh…

1
BFW Revisited: The Poison Plot: Adultery & Murder in Colonial Newport 48:58

2M ago48:58

48:58

In 1738, a cooper named Benedict Arnold petitioned the Rhode Island General Assembly for a divorce from his wife Mary Ward Arnold. Benedict claimed that Mary had taken a lover and together they had attempted to murder him with poison. How did this story of love, divorce, and attempted murder unfold? What does it reveal about the larger world of col…

1
405 African Americans in Early New York 1:02:40

2M ago1:02:40

1:02:40

When we think of slavery in Early America, we often think about the plantations and economies of the South. But did you know that slavery was also deeply entrenched in New York City? Did you know that Africans and African Americans helped New York City confront slavery, freedom, and racism in the Early American Republic and Antebellum periods? Lesl…

1
BFW Revisited: Free People of Color in Early America 1:05:37

2M ago1:05:37

1:05:37

What does freedom mean when the deck is stacked against you? In commemoration of Black History Month, we’re revisiting a story that is too often overlooked, but critical to our understanding of Early America. Join Warren Milteer, Jr., an Associate Professor of History at George Washington University, as we uncover the lives of free people of color …

1
404 The Hidden Legacy of Early African American Cuisine 1:03:37

3M ago1:03:37

1:03:37

Did you know that many of the food traditions that define cuisine in the United States today have roots in African culinary traditions and history? Diane Spviey, a culinary historian and author of three culinary history books, joins us to uncover the rich and complex legacy of African and African American foodways and how those foodways helped esta…

1
BFW Revisited: Running from Bondage in Revolutionary America 53:00

3M ago53:00

53:00

What would you risk for freedom? Would you risk your safety? You family? Your life? During the American Revolution, enslaved women faced these impossible choices when the British Army promised freedom to those who dared to escape. In honor of Black History Month, we’re revisiting an extraordinary chapter of resilience and bravery: the stories of en…

1
403 Re-Evaluating John Adams' Presidency 1:09:42

3M ago1:09:42

1:09:42

Did you know that John Adams, not George Washington, solidified the precedents of the executive branch and the presidency? Lindsay Chervinsky, an award-winning presidential historian and the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library, has written a book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Repub…

1
BFW Revisited: The Cabinet: Creation of an American Institution 1:11:57

3M ago1:11:57

1:11:57

January 20th, marked Inauguration Day in the United States, the day a new president and his administration takes office. So it seems a fitting time for us to revisit a conversation we had in 2020 about the creation of the Executive Branch, and more specifically, the creation of the president’s cabinet. Lindsay Chervinsky is an award-winning preside…

1
402 Clocks, Watches, and Life in Early America 1:06:00

3M ago1:06:00

1:06:00

Do you know what time it is? In early America, this question wasn’t as simple to answer as it is today. Urban dwellers in cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston often wondered about the time—but few owned their own watches or clocks. So, how did they keep track of the hours? In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of early Ame…

1
BFW Revisited: The Politics of Tea 1:29:12

4M ago1:29:12

1:29:12

To close out our mini-series on Tea in early America, we’re going to revisit Episode 160: The Politics of Tea. This episode was part of our Doing History: To the Revolution series with the Omohundro Institute in 2017. In this episode, we’ll revisit how early Americans went from attending tea parties to holding the Boston Tea Party. We’ll also explo…

1
401 Tea, Boycotts, and Revolution 1:01:18

4M ago1:01:18

1:01:18

During the early days of the American Revolution, British Americans attempted to sway their fellow Britons with consumer politics. In 1768 and 1769, they organized a non-consumption movement of British goods to protest the Townshend Duties. In 1774, they arranged a non-importation and non-exportation movement to protest the Tea Act and Coercive Act…

1
BFW Revisited: The Tea Crisis of 1773 45:02

4M ago45:02

45:02

In Episode 401, we’ll be exploring the Tea Crisis and how it led to the non-importation/non-exportation movement of 1774-1776. Our guest historian, James Fichter, references the work of Mary Beth Norton and her “The Seventh Tea Ship” article from The William and Mary Quarterly. In this BFW Revisited episode, we’ll travel back to December 2016, when…

1
400 Ben Franklin's world 45:58

4M ago45:58

45:58

How do historians define Ben Franklin’s “world?” What historical event, person, or place in the era of Ben Franklin do they wish you knew about? In celebration of the 400th episode of Ben Franklin’s World, we posed these questions to more than 20 scholars. What do they think? Join the celebration and discover more about the world Ben Franklin lived…

1
BFW Revisited: The Nat Turner Revolt 58:56

5M ago58:56

58:56

In our last episode, Episode 399, we discussed Denmark Vesey’s revolt and the way biblical texts and scripture enabled Vesey to organize what would have been the largest slave revolt in United States history if the revolt had not been thwarted before Vesey could put it into action. Early American history is filled with revolts against enslavers tha…

1
399 Denmark Vesey's Bible 58:07

5M ago58:07

58:07

Denmark Vesey’s failed revolt in 1822 could have been the largest insurrection of enslaved people against their enslavers in United States history. Not only was Vesey’s plan large in scale, but Charleston officials arrested well over one hundred rumored participants. Jeremy Schipper, a Professor in the departments for the Study or Religion and Near…

1
BFW Revisited: World of the Wampanoag, Pt. 2 53:56

5M ago53:56

53:56

This week is Thanksgiving week in the United States. On Thursday, most of us will sit down with friends, family, and other loved ones and share a large meal where we give thanks for whatever we’re grateful for over the last year. In elementary school, we are taught to associate this holiday and its rituals with the religious separatists, or pilgrim…

1
398 The Shawnee-Dunmore War, 1774 1:10:21

5M ago1:10:21

1:10:21

After the Seven Years’ War (1754-1763), Great Britain instituted the Proclamation Line of 1763. The Line sought to create a lasting peace in British North America by limiting British colonial settlement east of the Appalachian Mountains. In 1768, colonists and British Indian agents negotiated the Treaties of Fort Stanwix and Hard Labour to extend t…

1
BFW Revisited: World of the Wampanoag, Pt. 1 50:13

6M ago50:13

50:13

It’s November, the time of year when we Americans get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday. Although the federal holiday we know and honor today came about in 1863, Thanksgiving is a day that many modern-day Americans associate with the Indigenous peoples and religious separatists of Plymouth, Massachusetts. What do we know about the Indigenous peopl…

1
397 Native Nations: A Millennium in North America 1:05:15

6M ago1:05:15

1:05:15

The North American continent is approximately 160 million years old, yet in the United States, we tend to focus on what amounts to 3300 millionths of that history, which is the period between 1492 to the present. Kathleen DuVal, a Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, asks us to widen our view of early North America…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Benjaminfranklin Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Ben Franklin's World

Liz Covart

1
409 The Battles of Lexington & Concord, 1775 58:42

1
BFW Revisited: The Road to Concord 56:03

1
408 The Memory of 1776 1:05:10

1
BFW Revisited: Samuel Adams 1:03:35

1
407 Patrick Henry 1:08:28

1
BFW Revisited: Motherhood in Early America 53:01

1
406 How Haudenosaunee Women & Fashion Shaped History 57:23

1
BFW Revisited: The Poison Plot: Adultery & Murder in Colonial Newport 48:58

1
405 African Americans in Early New York 1:02:40

1
BFW Revisited: Free People of Color in Early America 1:05:37

1
404 The Hidden Legacy of Early African American Cuisine 1:03:37

1
BFW Revisited: Running from Bondage in Revolutionary America 53:00

1
403 Re-Evaluating John Adams' Presidency 1:09:42

1
BFW Revisited: The Cabinet: Creation of an American Institution 1:11:57

1
402 Clocks, Watches, and Life in Early America 1:06:00

1
BFW Revisited: The Politics of Tea 1:29:12

1
401 Tea, Boycotts, and Revolution 1:01:18

1
BFW Revisited: The Tea Crisis of 1773 45:02

1
400 Ben Franklin's world 45:58

1
BFW Revisited: The Nat Turner Revolt 58:56

1
399 Denmark Vesey's Bible 58:07

1
BFW Revisited: World of the Wampanoag, Pt. 2 53:56

1
398 The Shawnee-Dunmore War, 1774 1:10:21

1
BFW Revisited: World of the Wampanoag, Pt. 1 50:13

1
397 Native Nations: A Millennium in North America 1:05:15