Episode 429: Michelle McDonald, Coffee in Early America: Why Americans Really Drink Coffee

by Ben Franklin's World | Dec 16, 2025 | Beyond the Commonwealth, Podcasts, The Kiosk

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/429_McDonald.mp3 Think the Boston Tea Party made America a coffee-drinking nation? Historian Michelle McDonald reveals the truth: colonists were already choosing coffee over tea because it was cheaper. Michelle Craig...

Episode 428: Jessica Lepler, America’s Forgotten Quest to Link Two Oceans

by Ben Franklin's World | Dec 9, 2025 | Beyond the Commonwealth, Podcasts, The Kiosk

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/428_Lepler.mp3 In the 1820s, American entrepreneurs, engineers, and politicians dared to dream big. They believed they could cut a canal, not through Panama, but through the wild, rain-soaked terrain of Nicaragua. Their...

Episode 427: How States Are Planning the 250th: Commemorating the American Revolution in 2026

by Ben Franklin's World | Dec 2, 2025 | Beyond the Commonwealth, Podcasts, The Kiosk

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/427_Commissions.mp3 As we look ahead to the 250th anniversary—the semiquincentennial—of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, communities and commissions across the United States are asking big questions: How should we...

Episode 426: Michael Wise, Beyond the First Thanksgiving: Indigenous Agriculture and the Hidden Science of Native Foodways

by Ben Franklin's World | Nov 18, 2025 | Beyond the Commonwealth, Podcasts, The Kiosk

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/426_Wise.mp3 As Thanksgiving approaches, many Americans are gathering to reflect on gratitude, family—and of course—food. It’s the time of year when we may think about the so-called “First Thanksgiving” and imagine...

Episode 425: Ken Burns’ The American Revolution

by Ben Franklin's World | Nov 11, 2025 | Beyond the Commonwealth, Podcasts, The Kiosk

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/425_Ken_Burns.mp3 What does it take to bring the American Revolution to life? How can an event that took place 250 years ago be conveyed to us through modern-day film? Ken Burns and his team worked to answer these questions...

Episode 424: Andrew Lawler, Dunmore’s Proclamation & the American Revolution in Virginia

by Ben Franklin's World | Nov 4, 2025 | Beyond the Commonwealth, Podcasts, The Kiosk

https://traffic.libsyn.com/benfranklinsworld/424_Lawler.mp3 In November 1775, as tensions between the British Empire and its rebellious colonies continued to escalate, Virginia’s royal governor made a radical—and to some, terrifying—proclamation: Any enslaved person...