The Industrial Revolution created a divide between the wealthy and the poor. The result? Class warfare on the streets of America. We discuss the Gilded Age in all its volatility and bloodshed.Find the full transcri...

The American West was the meeting ground for numerous races and cultures; Native Americans, Hispanics, Anglo Americans, African Americans, and Chinese immigrants. During Westward Expansion, each group brought their own musical tradition and...

The Civil War shattered the nation; during Reconstruction (1865-1877), America had to put itself back together. It was an era of experimentation and corruption, of Civil Rights and racial violence. We discuss the struggle to control the leg...

Lyndsay and Will give an update on the state of the podcast and the exciting new material that is available now.

You asked, and we answered! In this special episode, Lyndsay and Will answer questions asked by the listeners. They discuss the gap between volumes one and two, answer questions about history, time travel, poetry, dogs, and much more. ...

Lyndsay and Will discuss the content not included in Families in the Civil War—their episode about how the war impacted America’s most intimate relationships

Lyndsay and Will discuss the content not included in Westward Expansion, Slavery, & Secession—their episode about how slavery and westward expansion put the Nation on the road to civil war.

Lyndsay and Will discuss the content not included in American Slavery—their episode about the 250-year evolution of African slavery in America.

Lyndsay and Will discuss the content not included in Early Urbanization--their episode about the environmental and social struggles in New York City in the early decades of the urbanization.

Lyndsay and Will discuss the content not included in The Twin Revolutions Part Two—the second part of their episode about the revolutions in transportation and communication and how they reshaped early American Society.

Lyndsay and Will discuss the content not included in The Twin Revolutions Part One—the episode about the revolutions in transportation and communication and how they reshaped early American Society.

Lyndsay and Will discuss the content NOT included in Creating the Government, their episode about the contentious and complex origins of the American government.

The Civil War freed families from slavery and divided families on the battlefield. We look at how the war impacted America’s most intimate relationships.

War, compromise, violence on the floor of the senate, blood on the frontier, then war again. We discuss how slavery and westward expansion put the Nation on the road to civil war.

From the colonies to emancipation, generations of women, men, and children were traded as commodities. We discuss the 250-year evolution of African slavery in America.

Cholera, fire, violence, and manure. Life in antebellum New York was exciting, dirty and filled with class conflict. We discuss the environmental and social struggles in the early decades of the city’s urbanization.

Part two! We continue the story of the twin revolutions–specifically their impact on slavery, political parties, pop culture, and Native Americans in the antebellum era.

Revolutions in both transportation (railroads! canals!) and communication (printing press!) disrupted and reshaped early American society. In part one, we look at the transformation of the economy, gender roles, and religious belief in the ante...

The Revolution was just the beginning. Next, the Founding Fathers had to create the Nation. We discuss the contentious and complex origins of the American government.

You asked, and we answered! In this special episode, we changed up the format to address questions asked by our listeners. We cover our personal backgrounds, some behind-the-scenes of making the podcast, as well as other topics from Volume 1.&n...

The American Revolution didn’t just create a new nation, it created a new way of thinking. We discuss how religion, philosophy, and politics fused to form a distinctly American worldview. 

This bloody conflict reshaped colonial power across the globe and set the stage for the American Revolution. So why don’t we talk about it more? Because it’s really, really complicated. We discuss it anyway.

Sugar, gold, potatoes, and slaves. We discuss how trade created, destroyed, and transformed cultures on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Puritans! They’re not as boring as you think they are! In fact, they are really misunderstood. We discuss what they believed and the society they created in New England--and how it collapsed. 

Native Americans and British colonists inhabited the same land but their beliefs, along with how they related to the environment, could not have been more different. We discuss the collision of these ideas and how the land was remade in the pro...