Episodes

  • 413 Dr. Joseph Warren & the Battle of Bunker Hill

    413 Dr. Joseph Warren & the Battle of Bunker Hill
    Jun 17 2025
    June 17, 2025, marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first full-scale battle of what would become the American War for Independence. Although technically a British victory, Bunker Hill proved that colonial soldiers could hold their own against the might of the British Empire. New England militiamen inflicted 1,054 casualties on the British, 50 percent of the British force. The New Englanders sustained 411 casualties that day, including the man who stood at the heart of this battle: Dr. Joseph Warren. Who was Dr. Joseph Warren, and why did he risk his life in the first major battle of the Revolutionary War? What drove this physician, political thinker, and revolutionary leader to become the face of the American Revolution in Boston? Christian Di Spigna, Executive Director of the Dr. Joseph Warren Foundation, joins us to explore these questions and commemorate this important anniversary with details from his book, Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, the American Revolution’s Lost Hero. Christian’s Foundation | Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/413 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 130: Paul Revere's Ride Through History🎧 Episode 301: From Innoculation to Vaccination, Part 1🎧 Episode 350: The Revolutionary Samuel Adams🎧 Episode 388: John Hancock🎧 Episode 409: The Battles of Lexington & Concord REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 Pandora CONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • BFW Revisited: On Juneteenth

    BFW Revisited: On Juneteenth
    Jun 10 2025
    Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, is nearly upon us, and it offers us the perfect moment for reflection. What do we know about Juneteenth? Where did this holiday begin? And how has it grown from a regional commemoration into a national conversation about freedom, equality, and memory? In this episode, we return to our conversation with Annette Gordon-Reed in Episode 304. A native Texan and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Annette brings both personal insight and deep historical knowledge to her book On Juneteenth, which is a rich meditation on Texas history, African American identity, and the long arc of emancipation. Annette’s Website | Book | Bluesky Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/304 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 067: Cattle Colonialism🎧 Episode 115: The Early History of Texas🎧 Episode 117: The Life and Ideas of Thomas Jefferson🎧 Episode 139: The Other Slavery🎧 Episode 281: The Business of Slavery🎧 Episode 282: Tacky's Revolt REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 Pandora CONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    54 mins
  • 412 The Franklin Stove

    412 The Franklin Stove
    Jun 3 2025
    It might surprise you, but in the 18th century, people across the globe were reckoning with colder-than-usual weather brought on by the Little Ice Age—a centuries-long chill that made heating homes more urgent than ever. At the same time, early Americans were cutting down trees at an unsustainable pace to stay warm. Enter Benjamin Franklin. In this episode, Harvard historian Joyce Chaplin joins us to explore how Franklin tackled this problem by designing five different stove models, and what these innovations reveal about early American science, sustainability, and life with fire. Joyce’s Website | Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/412 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 015: Round About the Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit🎧 Episode 086: Benjamin Franklin in London🎧 Episode 169: The Religious Life of Benjamin Franklin🎧 Episode 189: The Little Ice Age🎧 Episode 207: Young Benjamin Franklin🎧 Episode 397: Native Nations REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 Pandora CONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • BFW Revisited: The Early History of the U.S. Congress

    BFW Revisited: The Early History of the U.S. Congress
    May 27 2025
    To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Second Continental Congress, this episode revisits the origins of the United States Congress and how early Americans built a representative government from revolutionary ideals. Historians Matt Wasniewski and Terrence Ruckner of the Office of the Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives join us to explore how Congress evolved from its colonial and revolutionary predecessors into the bicameral legislature established by the Constitution. House History Office Website Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/202 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 040: For Fear of an Elected King🎧 Episode 078: Washington Brotherhood🎧 Episode 153: Governments of the American Revolution🎧 Episode 179: Governance During the Critical Period🎧 Episode 338: The Early History of the United States Senate REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 Pandora CONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • 411 Philadelphia: An Early History

    411 Philadelphia: An Early History
    May 20 2025
    Two hundred fifty years ago, in May 1775, delegates from thirteen British North American colonies gathered in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress. Why was Philadelphia chosen as the seat of Congress? What made the city a critical hub for revolutionary ideas, commerce, and culture? And how has Philadelphia’s early history shaped the broader narrative of American Independence? Paul Kahan, a historian of American political, economic, and urban history, joins us to explore Philadelphia’s early American history with details from his book. Philadelphia: A Narrative History, the first comprehensive history book about Philadelphia in over 40 years. Paul’s Website | Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/411 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 153: Committees and Congresses: Governments of the American Revolution🎧 Episode 242: A History of Early Delaware🎧 Episode 332: Experiences of Revolution, Pt 1: Occupied Philadelphia🎧 Episode 352: James Forten and the Making of the United States🎧 Episode 379: Women Healers in Early America🎧 Episode 396: Carpenters' Hall and the First Continental Congress🎧 Episode 402: Clocks, Watches, and Life in Early America REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 Pandora CONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • BFW Revisited: Founding Friendships

    BFW Revisited: Founding Friendships
    May 12 2025
    What did friendship between men and women look like in the decades following the American Revolution? Could emotional closeness and intellectual kinship flourish outside of marriage— and without scandal? In this episode, we revisit our earlier conversation with historian Cassandra Good, author of Founding Friendships: Friendships between Men and Women in the Early American Republic. Building on our recent exploration of love and advice in 1690s England, we take a closer look at how early Americans navigated the shifting social norms of gender, intimacy, and platonic relationships. Cassie’s Website | Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/094 REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 Pandora CONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • Ben Franklin's World Trailer

    Ben Franklin's World Trailer
    May 8 2025
    This is a 30-second trailer for Ben Franklin's World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 min
  • 410 The World's First Personal Advice Column

    410 The World's First Personal Advice Column
    May 6 2025
    When did people begin seeking anonymous advice for their most profound personal dilemmas? What can the answers to their early questions tell us about the emotional lives of people in the past? We’re traveling back in time to 1690s England to explore the world’s first personal advice column, The Athenian Mercury. This two-sided broadsheet publication invited readers to send in questions about anything–from science and religion to love and marriage– and its creators, a small group of Londoners who dubbed themselves the “Athenian Society,” answered these queries with a surprising blend of wit, morality, and insight. Joining us for this investigation is Mary Beth Norton, the Mary Donlon Alger Professor Emerita at Cornell University and award-winning historian who is a trailblazer in the field of early American women's history. Mary Beth's Bio | Book Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/410 RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 094: Founding Friendships🎧 Episode 112: The Tea Crisis of 1773🎧 Episode 155: Pauline Maier's American Revolution🎧 Episode 294: 1774, The Long Year of Revolution REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community LISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 Pandora CONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
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