Punishments considered cruel and unusual by today’s standards were commonplace in the colonial period. Historian Martha McCartney describes practices intended to shame, horrify and appall.

Colonial wives were confined by strict legal codes, but widows and spinsters enjoyed some unexpected freedoms. Author Karin Wulf talks about the outliers in her book, “Not All Wives.”

This historic home embodies the story of Williamsburg’s rescue from decay by John D. Rockefeller and W.A.R. Goodwin. Cynthia Nothstine shares the story of the Rockefeller’s beloved country home.

What were the types and tones of interactions among European settlers, native peoples, and Africans in colonial Virginia? American Indian Initiative Manager Buck Woodard sets the scene.

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

Students discover the power of citizenship when they review policy, suggest changes, and find ways to get involved. It’s all happening on a new website: The Virtual Republic.

George Washington slept here, ate here, planned here, and plotted here through the eight years of the Revolution. A joint project with the Museum of the American Revolution is reconstructing the tent that Washington called home during the war. Learn more about the great man when you see his life in the field.

What are the three branches of government? Only 38% of Americans can answer that question correctly. A playful Electronic Field Trip premiering October 2013 lays out the separation of powers using a baseball metaphor that keeps a dense subject lighthearted. Learn more about the new show with our guest Cash Arehart.

Though Thanksgiving as we know it would not become a national holiday until Lincoln declared it in 1863, colonial Virginians found many occasions to give thanks. Journeyman cook Barbara Scherer tells us what was on the table, and explains that technically, you’re probably not roasting your turkey at all.

Christmas tunes reverberate from an instrument you’ve probably never heard before. Hear Dean Shostak play Ben Franklin’s invention: the glass armonica.

Tantalizing new research points to an impossible conclusion: the Reconstruction may have overlooked an original 18th-century building. More remarkable still is the possibility that it may have housed Virginia’s first school for the education of black children: the Bray School. Archaeologist Mark Kostro details the story the soil tells as his team hunts for the […]

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.

Williamsburg was a town of revolutionaries, but not everyone thought rebellion was a good idea. Men like William Hunter Jr., printer of the Virginia Gazette, stayed loyal to king and country. Actor-Interpreter Sam Miller explains how patriotic fervor made life difficult for those men and women who opposed it.

Listen closely in this kitchen. In it, objects speak of their owners and of their makers. Tools speak of technology and ability. Small personal items speak of meager comforts in a hard life. Curator Amanda Keller worked to outfit the Wythe Kitchen and imbue it with a richly layered history.

In 2014, the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute takes a moment to look back on 25 years of preparing teachers to bring the thrill of America’s revolutionary era back into the classroom.

Pass through the gates of the military encampment and you’ll become the newest member of the Williamsburg Regiment. Learn to drill, march, and think as a unit, leaving behind the life you knew for a chance at the future you hope for. Our guest Dale Smoot commands the recruits.

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.”

No matter where the Earth glides on its axis, the days both long and short shine on a years-worth of work on the colonial farm. At Great Hopes plantation, the turning of the seasons brings with it a task suited to the temperatures: plowing, sowing, planting and harvest. Learn the rhythm of the year with […]

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.

What was in George Washington’s wallet? Long before the establishment of a standard American currency, there was trade, barter and credit. How were these financial activities handled with the myriad coins and metals in circulation?

A pocket-sized ornament gives monumental insight into the private life of America’s best-known General: George Washington.

Chowning’s Tavern is reborn as an alehouse: a rough-and-rugged sanctuary for the colonial man in search of an ale. Listen as curator Amanda Keller and Director Department of Architectural Preservation Matt Webster describe the choices they made to re-open the doors to a more authentic past.

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.

The Black Petticoat Society, a TURN: Washington’s Spies fan group, interviewed Past and Present host Rachel West for their TURN-related podcast. The group discussed Colonial Williamsburg’s role as Philadelphia on the hit AMC show as well as other initiatives across the Foundation. For more information on the Black Petticoat Society and TURN: Washington’s Spies, click […]