Christmases during the Civil War were marked with equal parts of sadness and hope. “Uncivil Christmas,” a Williamsburg music program, captures the mood in songs of the period. Carson Hudson narrates this musical podcast.

The Governor’s Musick is Colonial Williamsburg’s resident 18th-century musical ensemble. Jane Hanson, Herb Watson, Jenny Edenborn and Wayne Moss perform.

The heart of Christmas remains unchanged, even as each generation lends new customs to the celebration. Historian Lou Powers talks Christmastide in three centuries.

The 2012 summer digging season yielded everything from human and animal burials to sawpits and fencelines. Staff Archaeologist Meredith Poole puts the clues into context.

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.

Patrick Henry would have the church provide social services that today we relegate to the state. Listen to his religious views presented in his Assessment Bill of 1784. Richard Schumann interprets.

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.

Buildings bear silent witness to the history that happens inside them. Conservator Matt Webster makes sure structures live to tell their tales.

The first combat submarine was invented as a vehicle to transport underwater bombs. Jerry Roberts of the Connecticut River Museum tells the story of an intrepid American inventor.

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.

In 1776, England had every expectation of winning a war with her upstart American colonies, and rightly so. And what if the war had gone their way? This is the premise of a class of fiction called “alternate history,” and Director of Publications Paul Aron has found some food for thought in its reimagined histories.

Preserving genetic diversity one lamb at a time: Manager of Rare Breeds Elaine Shirley talks about the 2009 generation of Leicester Longwools.

From its origins in Chinese potions for immortality to the agent of death on the battlefield, the history of gunpowder is one of chemistry, ingenuity, and violence. Armorer Ron Potts fascinates with the tale.

Rare and beautiful silver forms share the social history of their users and their makers. Visit “A Handsome Cupboard of Plate,” an exhibit open now at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.

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 […]

Intelligence born of practice combines with the study of science to complete the historic tradesman’s store of knowledge. There was no better spokesman for the Historic Trades program than Director Jay Gaynor. Jay recently passed away and we miss him. This encore podcast is dedicated to him.

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.”

It takes a lot of bricks to build a Market House and our brickmakers are busy. So it seems like a good time to revisit this October 2011 podcast about the process for the building blocks of the Historic Area. Brickmaker Jason Whitehead tells the story.

What were colonists buried in? This was a question posed to Research Librarian Juleigh Clark. Tracking down the answer led her, and us, through the history of funerals, burials, shrouds and winding sheets.

Technologies that used to be beyond reach for museum professionals now can lend new insights into the hidden compositions of materials, metals, and paints. Conservator Kirsten Moffitt explains how a spike on a screen can spot a fake or reveal a discovery.

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.

Options for cancer detection and treatment were few in the 18th century. Medical Historian Sharon Cotner lays out some of the common practices in this week’s show.

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.

Colonial Williamsburg and First Baptist Church have joined together for the Let Freedom Ring Challenge. Americans from across the nation are invited to ring the First Baptist Church bell in the name of freedom and equality throughout the month of February and beyond.

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.