The tale of a Spanish spy reveals England’s fragile hold on the New World. Miguel Girona tells the story of Don Diego de Molina.

Wry humor softens the sharp wit of this quintessentially American founding father. Interpreter John Hamant talks about portraying Benjamin Franklin.

Doctors treating madness in 1773 embraced methods like bleeding, vomiting, restraint and intimidation. Interpreter Donna Wolf researched the topic for her program, “A Method for Madness.”

The coopers’s cask is one of mankind’s strongest constructions, and the ubiquitous container for shipping items wet and dry. Meet cooper Ramona Vogel to learn more about the trade.

You can call him a shoemaker, you can call him a cordwainer; you can even call him Al. But one thing you must never call him is a cobbler. Master boot and shoemaker Al Saguto discusses his trade in this week’s show.

You can’t build a town without wood. Master Carpenter Garland Wood describes a Williamsburg built completely by hand.

The tailor’s art is all in the cut. Journeyman Tailor Mark Hutter threads the needle of historic fashion.

Code names, dead drops, invisible ink, and secret ciphers were all part of the American Revolution. Historian Taylor Stoermer introduces Benjamin Tallmadge, George Washington’s chief intelligence officer.

Gravesites tell the stories of the dead and the people who mourned them. Learn about cemetery archaeology and preservation with Jolene Smith and Joanna Green from the VA Department of Historic Resources.

The milliner is mistress of a thousand tasks, making gowns and garments for ladies. Janea Whitacre describes the trade.

Master Silversmith George Cloyed explains that silver on the shelf is like money in the bank, and a silversmith’s records can reveal a town’s story.

Rare and unusual breeds of chickens make their homes throughout the Historic Area. From ornamental pets to supper-table staples, Manager of Rare Breeds Elaine Shirley takes care of them all.

A powerful agent of change during a time of the greatest repression, minister Gowan Pamphlet shared a message of hope and dignity. The first ordained slave preacher in America paved the way for the civil liberties and meaningful equality the future would bring. Hear his story.

Painters and Paintings of the Early American South is a new exhibit focusing on the interrelatedness of Southern artists and subjects. See it at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.

Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums introduces the instruments designed to be heard under cannon fire and over musket volleys. Learn the history of their distinctive sound with Amy Miller and members of the Senior Fife and Drum Corps.

Evidence of blacksmiths and other tradespeople surfaces at James Fort. Archaeologist Dave Givens talks about seeing the fort populated with industry and trade.

Southerners adapt to summer temperatures in every century. Curator Linda Baumgarten tells us how to dress for the heat in colonial style on this week’s podcast.

Would Benedict Arnold be remembered as a hero if he had picked the winning side? Interpreter Scott Green shares the rise and demise of a brilliant strategist.

The Powell House is a hub for educating people of all ages. Interpreter Pat Chilton introduces this middling family to visitors and the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute.

For the first time in decades, a new historic trade joins the tradition of craft in the Historic Area. This week, meet Steve Delisle, the first tinsmith in the Revolutionary City.

Shortages of sugar, rum, gunpowder, textiles, tea and china were among the inconveniences suffered by colonial Americans during the Revolution. Historian Lou Powers describes the deprivations and the substitutions.

A gruesome relic informs a desperate history. Historic Jamestowne’s Senior Archaeological Curator Bly Straube describes the find that let scientists and historians confirm the tales of cannibalism in America’s fledgling years.

A quiet, restrained genius is animated on the streets of the Revolutionary City by Actor-Interpreter Bryan Austin. Hear his approach to filling the shoes of the fourth president.

Founding mothers increasingly are recognized for their roles in Revolutionary America. Resolute, intelligent, and insightful, these women shaped history with their words, letters, and actions. Martha Jefferson joins the cast of players in Colonial Williamsburg’s Revolutionary City, shedding light on the central relationship in Thomas Jefferson’s life.

The Revolutionary City finds resonance and relevance across the country and around the world in a vibrant partnership with the Chautauqua Institution of New York. “We walk in the same intellectual waters,” says Colonial Williamsburg Foundation President Colin Campbell in this interview with Chautauqua’s President Tom Becker.

America’s colonial history offers a unique perspective on the modern stage. What inspiration, ideas, and cautions can today’s global revolutionaries draw from the 1776 uprising in the British colonies in America? The Center for Strategic and International Studies brings together leaders, scholars, and historians to debate some of the questions facing emerging democracies.

When people from various regions of Africa were forcefully transported to the colonies, they brought nothing with them but the clothes on their backs and the beliefs of their hearts. This latter possession varied widely by region and tradition, but was to each a fundamental part of daily life. Historian Harvey Bakari describes the African […]

The 2014 Early Music Festival promises to be a lively one. With instruments, scores, and performances of an 18th-century vintage, you’ll be surrounded by the sounds of another century. Enjoy this musical preview featuring Jane Hanson and Michael Monaco from the opera “Thomas and Sally.”

The Historic Campus of the College of William and Mary had one more secret to tell, and it was a big one. Archaeologist Andy Edwards describes the surprise, and the clues that lead them to hope they’ve stumbled upon the College’s early brewhouse.

African American history is weighted with tragedy, but bringing the fullness of life to the stories of enslaved individuals is the mission of the African American History Program under the direction of Stephen Seals.

Modern marriage owes its structure to an historic form. Equal parts love, practicality, and business, today’s unions share more than you’d think with their colonial counterparts.

What do you use to wash the baby, clean the house, color your hair or serve for breakfast? If it’s the 18th century, the answer is alcohol. Professor Sarah Meacham describes her research for the book “Every Home a Distillery.”

The men who served in the Revolutionary War share much in common with their modern-day brothers. The sacrifices of friendship, safety, and security unite soldiers across time. Remember their devotion and support them when they come home, urges Lieutenant Colonel James Innes, portrayed by Nat Lasley.

Stephen Seals joins to discuss some of the powerful African American programming available during Black History Month and beyond in 2016. Hear some of his favorites and why it’s so important to tell the stories of half of the population of Williamsburg in the 18th century.