Banjo Strings and Drinking Gourds

Foraging is a practice that dates back into prehistory. Living off the land should be an essential human right, but in 18th and 19th century America, that right was often revoked for enslaved persons. In this episode, our guest, Misti Furr, details just why foraging was important in enslaved communities, how it was used as resistance against enslavers, and why the practice is seeing a resurgence i...

Following on from our earlier episode this season, this episode, with our guest, Ray Wright, focuses on the development of the railroad in America. The Shenandoah Valley in particular owes a lot to the iron horse, and all the men and boys who worked to lay tracks and cut through the mountains. 

Have you ever wondered why we have the word railways and the word railroad? In this episode, we look at the development of the railway in England and just how that fantastic mode of transportation of goods and people changed the world. We'll have a second episode about the development of the railroad (catch that?) in America later this month.

Ever wanted to know the history of your favorite carols? This episode delves into the background of some of the best beloved carols. Some are more modern than you'd think, while others have a much older melody. So sit back with your favorite warm beverage and enjoy the history of Christmas carols.

On this second episode on abolition, we focus on British abolitionists. Britian abolished slavery long before the United States and enforced the ban on the international slave trade, but just how did that come about? Who was involved? We answer those questions.   Note: This episode contains contemporary quotes that use language which today is considered offensive.  Opening Music: Zac Bell End Musi...

In this final episode of season three, we review Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas by noted geneticist, Jennifer Raff. While the book is about the first peopling of the Americas, something that the study of DNA and mtDNA has drastically changed, a large portion of the book is also devoted to the development of physical anthropology and the archaeological evidence for the earliest peopling...

Have you ever looked at something on your plate and wondered how it got there? In this episode, our guest, Misti Furr, talks about the movement of goods between the Americas, Africa, and Europe that had a significant impact on the world, both positively and negatively. The Columbian Exchange goes far beyond the humble potato or peanut! Intro Music: Zac Bell Exit Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cove...

N.B.- This episode contains quotes from primary sources and may contain language considered offensive today. Continuing on the topic of revolution and freedom, in this episode, we ask if the revolutionary rhetoric, the language used to discuss freedom from Britain, had any impact on slavery. Many founding fathers tended to compare British treatment of white male citizens of the colonies to slavery...

Have you ever wondered about how some events in history could have turned out differently? In this episode, we introduce a counterfactual, or according to the Cambridge Dictionary, "a mental simulation where you think about something that happened, and then imagine an alternate ending." Just in time for the Fourth of July, our guests, Sam McGinty and Davis Tierney, discuss how the Britis...

Continuing our abolition series, Mark Mazzochi joins us to discuss the Haitian Revolution. While the revolt over slavery drastically impacted Haiti and it's economic conditions today, it had a surprising effect on the rest of the world as well. Intro Music: Zac Bell Exit Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day

It's finally summer and that means it's time to indulge in some vacation reading. But have you ever picked up that guilty pleasure book or the classic you swear you'll make it through this year and wondered just how novels and fictional stories came to be? In this episode, we talk about how the art of fiction has changed forms over the centuries and just how the novel developed and pro...

Have you ever wondered just how the interpreters at the Frontier Culture Museum are able to talk about the why and how people left their homes for America? In this podcast, we talk about, and read from, primary sources about immigration. Letters, diaries, memoirs and more provide a detailed look into not only the push/pull factors behind the decision to leave Europe, or indeed return home, but als...

Smallpox is no joke. Having just experienced a world-wide pandemic of a virulent virus, we have a little more inkling about what people in the past faced with smallpox, but nowhere near on the same scale. Smallpox, while eradicated as an infectious agent at large, remains one of the deadliest diseases yet known. In this episode our guest, Lucy Abell, discusses just how dreadful smallpox was to his...

Today's episode takes you behind the scenes to our Costume Shop where our Costume Coordinator, Sam McGinty, researches, organizes, and produces the historically accurate clothing interpreters wear on site. Helping him are typically a quartet of interpreters who are familiar with or learning about hand sewing in a historic manner. Today, they discuss their current projects, how they produce gar...

Happy April Fool's Day! In this episode, we treat you to some of the most infamous pranks and hoaxes in history. Everyone enjoys pulling the wool over someone's eyes and some of these notorious pranks and pranksters achieved heights of greatness most of us can only aspire to. Intro Music: Zac Bell Transition Music: Mozart, Sonata KV 331 Rondo alla turca, Markus Staab Exit Music: Jean Claude Hatung...

How many times have you stopped a conversation to either groan at or admire a pun? We all drop inadvertent puns into conversation. Sometimes we don't even catch them. Wordplay has been around as long as there has been language, but English really seems to lend itself to sly wit. In this episode, we discuss the rise and fall of the much maligned pun, playing with logic for riddles, and the advent o...

We all have our routines, whether it be to grab a cup of coffee on the way to work or indulge in a cup of tea in the afternoon.  The luxury of our choices was surprisingly the same for colonial Americans. In this episode, we discuss the availability, popularity, and social context of each of the main non-alcoholic drinks of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. You might be surprised by some of...

In this second half, we discuss the changes cotton production brought to the United States. Mechanization and factory towns shifted the economics not only of sleepy agricultural communities, but the country as a whole. Of course, factory work brought its own significant problems, but we really can't deny the long-term impact of cotton on the formation of the modern world.  Intro Music: Zac Be...

There are a lot of things that have changed the world. The Roman Empire, the Age of Sail, the printing press, etc. But cotton usually doesn't make that list. The unassuming seed of the cotton plant, covered in white, wispy fibers perfect for spinning into cloth isn't usually considered a major player on the world stage. But in actuality, the industrialization behind the production of cotton textil...

Have you ever wondered how interpreters learn historic trades? Our guests today discuss how they learned, or are learning, historic trades like woodworking, tin smithing, and tailoring. They cover the historical context of their trade, just what contemporary tradesmen would be doing, how people learned historically, and how they themselves have learned.  Intro Music: Zac Bell Transition Music...

In this episode, our guest, Paige Hildebrand, talks about her research into Elizabethan Free Grammar Schools.  These schools were the foundation of our modern system of education and go back further than you might think! And Paige even found an interesting connection between her research and our English farm! Intro Music: Zac Bell Exit Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day

Did you know there was a time when Christmas was actually banned in England? Well, at least it was strongly discouraged. In this episode, we delve into the 17th century in England and just what was going on with Christmas, who the major players were, and some of the modern repercussions.  Music: Second Suite for Military Band, Op. 28 no. 2 - IV. Fantasia on the 'Dargason'. Allegro Moderato, G...

In this episode, our guest, Naomi Akogwu, talks about her research into agricultural history and how our modern methods came out of the agricultural revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. She details mechanization and methodological improvements happening at the time, as well as the growth of agricultural colleges and dissemination of knowledge available.  She also covers the c...

Welcome back to season three of Banjo Strings and Drinking Gourds! We have a fascinating season of episodes planned for you. This episode, we tackle some of the interesting and bizarre celebrations and holidays not often celebrated today. From agricultural based holidays to merry-making cobblers and smiths, this episode covers a wide array of time and space. Intro Music: Zac Bell Exit Music: Jean...

In this episode, our guests delve into the history of Staunton. They cover who was living here, who came here, how it was founded, and more. They even answer that pressing question: why isn't it pronounced "Stawn-ton"?  Intro and Transition Music: Zac Bell Close Music: Jean Claude Hatungimana Cover Art: Emily Noble Day NB: This episode contains contemporary accounts of events that may referen...