Ben Jones

History 605

History EN ↓ 122 episodes

History 605 explores the history of South Dakota, the northern Great Plains, and the Midwest. South Dakota’s State Historian Ben Jones will visit with guests about their books, museum exhibits and artifacts, and historic sites in the state and region. Along the way, you’ll learn how to think, not what to think, about history and the people of the past. The host is Dr. Ben Jones, State Historian and Director of the South Dakota State Historical Society. Ben grew up in Sioux Falls and De Smet, served in various locations around the world while in the USAF. He returned to South Dakota to become D...

Author

Ben Jones

Category

History

Podcast website

www.sdpb.org

Latest episode

Jun 22, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

S5 Ep 9: The Age of the Borderlands. 07.07.2025

Andrew Isenberg joins Ben Jones again to discuss his new book, "The Age of the Borderlands: Indians, Slaves and the Limits of Manifest Destiny."

S5 Ep 8: How the Tribal reservations came to be in South Dakota 23.06.2025

On this episode of History 605, Ben Jones dives into the complicated events that brought the reservations into being and how that has impacted South Dakota's history.

Season 5, Ep 7: Patty Limerick, South Dakota, and the American West 09.06.2025

Patty Limerick joins Ben Jones to share her story of how South Dakota influenced her start as a historian and how the art of conversation is important for all people, not just historians.

Season 5, Ep 6: Rose Lane Says 26.05.2025

David Beito and Marcus Witcher join Ben Jones to talk about their recent book of Rose Wilder Lane's columns and her impact on 20th-century American politics.

Season 5 Ep 5: Gladys Pyle was First 12.05.2025

In this episode of History 605, Ben Jones dives into the life of Gladys Pyle.

Season 5 Ep 4: A Jefferson Peace Medal 28.04.2025

On this edition of History 605, Ben Jones speaks with Chrystal Mensch-Nelson, Director of the Mead Museum in Yankton, about their current exhibit of a rare Jefferson Peace Medal.

Season 5, Ep 3: The Story of the Crazy Horse Memorial 14.04.2025

In this episode of History 605, Ben Jones dug into the South Dakota State Historical Society archives, scoured libraries and the internet for the history of the Crazy Horse Memorial.

History 605 S5 Ep2: History Below the Pines 31.03.2025

On this episode of History 605, Ben Jones speaks to Levi Kessler about his "History Below the Pines" project in the Black Hills.

History 605 S5 Ep 1: How Mount Rushmore Came to Be 17.03.2025

State Historian Ben Jones and his assistant Braeden Kluver tell the story of the creation, carving, funding, and politics of Mount Rushmore.

History 605 from the Archives: 'The Divorce Colony' 03.03.2025

In this edition of History 605, Ben Jones speaks to author April White, who brings us back to the high society of the Sioux Falls Cataract Hotel and how it became the place where certain women from the East Coast could escape a bad marriage.

History 605 from the Archives: The journal of Earl Neller, who hitchhiked across South Dakota with six children 17.02.2025

Archivist Matthew Reitzel joins Ben Jones to discuss his article in South Dakota History journal about Earl Neller, who hitchhiked across South Dakota with six children in 1933.

History 605 from the Archives: The fires that made Deadwood 03.02.2025

In this episode from the archives, Ben Jones speaks with historian David Wolff, about how the response to four of Deadwood’s fires proved to be a boon to the famous Black Hills gold-mining town.

History 605 from the Archives: "How did the Wild West Turn out in Real Life?" 20.01.2025

In this episode from the archives, Ben Jones speaks with University of South Dakota Law Professor Tom Simmons to see what happened when angry investor Peter Wintermute and Acting Territorial Governor Edwin McCook have a shootout and brawl in the midst of a Yankton public meeting.

History 605 S4 Ep 20: An America 250 Special: "America's Revolutionary Mind." 18.12.2024

Bradley Thompson joins Ben Jones on this edition of History 605 to discuss the founders and the American Revolution.

History 605 S4 Ep 19: Designing South Dakota's Museum 18.11.2024

South Dakota State Historical Society Museum Curator Daniel Moeckly joins Ben Jones to discuss the state museum's efforts with the new museum design.

History 605 S4 Ep 18: A South Dakotan in the Great War 04.11.2024

Corey Christianson joins Ben Jones on this edition of History 605 to talk about Alfred Dahlin who she chronicled in the most recent edition of South Dakota History

History 605 S4 Ep 17: Preservation with Tom Hurlburt 22.10.2024

In this episode of History 605, Ben Jones speaks with Tom Hurlburt, President of the SD State Historical Society Trustees and principal architect of Co-op Architecture.

History 605 S4 Ep 16: South Dakota Sturdy with Joseph Graves 07.10.2024

In this edition of History 605, Ben Jones talks with the South Dakota Secretary of Education Joseph Graves.

History 605: S4, Ep 15: Lori Kent and the Local Lou Podcast 23.09.2024

In this episode of History 605, Ben Jones talks with Lori Kent of the Local Lou Podcast to talk about how she has fun telling the deeper stories behind her town’s ubiquitous historical markers.

History 605 S4 Ep 14: The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity 09.09.2024

On this edition of History 605, Ben Jones speaks with Timothy Winegard about his fascinating new book, rich with epic tales and equine stories of man's dependency on one of the world's most amazing animals - the horse.

History 605 S4 Ep 13: The Ghost Dance's "Phantom Storm." 26.08.2024

In this episode of History 605, Ben Jones sits down with Norman Matteoni, author of a new book, "A Phantom Storm: Sitting Bull, America, and the Ghost Dance."

History 605 S4 Ep 12: Sorting through the Fassbender Collection 12.08.2024

Richard Carlson joins Ben Jones on the latest episode of History 605 to give an update on a collection of early and mid-20th-century photographs showing the life and history in the Black Hills.

History 605 S4 Ep 11: Sinte Gleska and Cicero Newell's gift. 30.07.2024

The state's History Museum received an invaluable set of artifacts from two families that belonged to Sinte Gleska, often referred to as Spotted Tail.

History 605 S4 Ep 10 The Education of Clarence Three Stars with Philip Burnham 15.07.2024

Ben Jones discusses Philip Burnham's book, "The Education of Clarence Three Stars: A Lakota American Life" on the latest episode of History 605.

History 605: S4 Ep 9 "The Dakota Way of Life." 01.07.2024

In this edition of History 605, Ben Jones discusses Ella Deloria's remarkable path from South Dakota to Columbia University, her training under the nation's first anthropologists, and her tireless work interviewing Lakota and Dakota people in the early 20th century with Thierry Veyrié.

Listen to the History 605 podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.