Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history. It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world. Each episode features a conversation with an historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.
The official podcast of the Podfest community, presented by Podfest Multimedia Expo--the largest podcasting conference for independent podcasters in the United States. Hosted by Podfest veterans, Glenn the Geek (Glenn Hebert) and Producer Jaime (Jaime Legagneur), each episode is a mini Podfest conference experience filled with lessons from past Podfest speakers (some of the BEST in the industry). These segments will be centered around Podfest's content tracks: Creation / Launch; Technology / ...
American History Untucked is a podcast conversation with American Historians, hosted by Dr. David Silkenat
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Ben Franklin's World


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333 Experiences of Revolution: Disruptions in Yorktown
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What was everyday life like during the American War for Independence? Our Fourth of July series continues with an investigation of how the American War for Independence impacted those who remained on the home front. As episode 332 explored how the war impacted the lives of people who lived in urban Philadelphia, this episode investigates how the wa…
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332 Experiences of Revolution: Occupied Philadelphia
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What was everyday life like during the American War for Independence? In honor of the Fourth of July, we’ll investigate answers to this question by exploring the histories of occupied Philadelphia and Yorktown, and how civilians, those left on the home front in both of those places, experienced the war and its armies. These episodes will allow us t…
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Podfest Podcast

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17: Consistency Versus Flexibility, Episode Structure, Optimizing Remote Recording Quality, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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On Track 1 of today's episode, Shawn Yesner of the Crushing Debt Podcast will give you a solid understanding of how to be both consistent AND flexible in presenting your podcast, and how that balance can contribute to your Audience Growth. Then, for Track 2, we have one of this year's Pecha Kucha speakers, Valerie Hail, sharing advice on structurin…
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331 The Discovery of the Williamsburg Bray School
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In a town as old as Williamsburg, Virginia, which was established in 1638, it’s often the case that historic buildings with interesting pasts stand unnoticed and in plain sight. Such was the case for the building that once housed Williamsburg’s Bray School. A school founded by a group of Anglican clergymen with the express purpose of educating Blac…
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16: Tips on Being a Guest, Listener Surveys, and Working with a Co-host, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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On today's episode, Glenn the Geek and Producer Jaime are catching up post-Podfest 2022!! Then, on Track 1, Genesis Amaris Kemp covers some Podcasting Basics for us with a tip on the best way to be a guest AND how to support your guests. And, on Track 2 for Audience Growth, Maya Chupkov of Proud Stutter provides a tip on listener surveys. Finally, …
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330 Brad Jones, Loyalism in the British Atlantic World
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We’ll never know for certain how many Americans supported the American Revolution, remained loyal to the British Crown and Parliament, or tried to find a middle way as someone who was disaffected from either loyalty. But we can know about the different ideologies that drove people to support the Revolution, to remain loyal to crown and parliament, …
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15: Walk Down Memory Lane on Your Way to Podfest 2022, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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Take a walk down memory lane with us on today's special episode! These longtime Podfest attendees submitted their favorite memories to get you jazzed up for Podfest 2022: Lee Silverstein, Ellen Ferranti, James Van Prooyen, Niel Guilarte, Elsie Escobar, Scott Johnson, Izzy Jay, Nick Snapp, Ariel Smith, and Paul Desmond Adams. Plus, Glenn the Geek an…
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329 Mark Tabbert, Freemasonry in Early America
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This is an episode you’ve been waiting for! Mark Tabbert, the Director of Archives and Exhibits at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association and the author of Almanac of American Freemasonry and A Deserving Brother: George Washington and Freemasonry, joins us so we can investigate and better understand Freemasonry and its role in …
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Podfest Podcast

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14: Liz Covart of Ben Franklin's World Hits 10 MILLION Downloads, Plus 10 Secrets to a Successful Podfest, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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Podfest is less than a month away! O... M... G!!! On this special episode, we have one of the ORIGINAL Podfesters, Liz Covart, joining in as our Legend in Podcasting guest. As the host of Ben Franklin's World, she shares her passion for the craft of podcasting from a historian's perspective, digs into the depth of her content prep and process, and …
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328 Warren Milteer Jr., Free People of Color in Early America
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We know from our explorations of early America that not all Americans were treated equally or enjoyed the freedoms and liberties other Americans enjoyed. Warren Milteer Jr., an Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the author of North Carolina’s Free People of Color and Beyond Slavery’s Shadow, joins u…
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327 David Schmidt, Benjamin Franklin: A Film by Ken Burns
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How do we know what we know about Benjamin Franklin? We know historians, museum curators, and archivists rely on historical documents and objects to find and learn information about the past. But how does a documentary filmmaker present what they know about history through video? David Schmidt works as a senior producer at Florentine Films where he…
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Podfest Podcast

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13: Chris Krimitsos on the Podfest Parties, The New Entertainment Track with Jeff Dwoskin, and a Grab Bag of Tips for Getting Started, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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Chris Krimitsos joins in for the big reveal on the Podfest parties! Then, in Track 1, Glenn and Jaime will be joined by Jeff Dwoskin to hear all about something BRAND SPANKING NEW: the Podfest Entertainment Track! And, in Track 2, Rosie from the Life 100 Podcast helps us pay homage to one of our FAVORITE pieces of podcasting advice. And, in the Key…
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327 Maureen Connors Santelli, The Greek Revolution in Early America
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With Ukrainian sovereignty and democracy under attack, Americans have been wondering: Should our government be doing more than placing economic sanctions on Russia? Should I, as U.S. military veteran, travel to Ukraine and offer to fight in their army? What would official U.S. military involvement mean for the politics of Europe and in our age of n…
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12: Women in Podcasting, Leaning Into Being Yourself, and Optimizing Mobile Recording Quality, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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On today's episode, we are joined by Jennifer Henczel, host of the Women in Podcasting Show, to review The Women in Podcasting track at Podfest. Then, on Track 2, Colleen Gallagher of "The Colleen Gallagher Podcast" brings us back to Podcasting Basics with a tip on being yourself. Then, Glenn and I talk Technology for our Track 3 Key Note, discussi…
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325 Woody Holton, Everyday People of the American Revolution
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What do we know about the American Revolution? Why is it important that we see the Revolution as a political event, a war, a time of social and economic reform, and as a time of violence and upheaval? Woody Holton, a Professor of History at the University of South Carolina and the author of Liberty is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revol…
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11: Behind the Apple Curtain, 3 Guest Discovery Hacks, and Changing Your Podcast, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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On today's episode, our first two tracks cover some essential Podcasting Basics. On Track 1, we'll hear from Mark Savant of the "After Hours Entrepreneur" talking about the importance of not trying to do podcasting on your own. And, for Track 2, Meredith Edwards from "Meredith for Real: the Curious Introvert" shares her secrets for success in getti…
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324 Andrea Mosterman, New Netherland and Slavery
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After Henry Hudson’s 1609-voyage along the river that now bears his name, Dutch traders began to visit and trade at the area they called New Netherland. In 1614, the Dutch established a trading post near present-day Albany, New York. In 1624, the Dutch West India Company built the settlement of New Amsterdam. How did the colony of New Netherland ta…
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10: Fighting Podfade, Facing Podcasting Fears, and Forbe's Four Podcast Predictions for 2022, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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We are going to begin meeting some of the voices of the faces you are SURE to see at this year's Podfest, coming up in May! Glenn is out of the studio today. So, Producer Jaime is joined by a special guest co-host--long-time friend of Podfest Multimedia Expo, Niel Guilarte of Wildstyle Media!! On our first track, Zack Demopoulos of the Raising Rent…
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323 Michael Witgen, American Expansion and the Political Economy of Plunder
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In the Treaty of Paris, 1783, Great Britain ceded to the United States all lands east of the Mississippi River and between the southern borders of Canada and Georgia. How would the United States take advantage of its new boundaries and incorporate these lands within its governance? Answering this question presented a quandary for the young United S…
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Podfest Podcast

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9: Chris Krimitsos Joins, Spotify's Latest News, Picked Cherries and Shareability, Recording Environments, and Ad Prices, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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On our first track this week, Glenn the Geek and Producer Jaime are joined by Stu Goffman from a brand new podcast app called Picked Cherries to discuss how their helping us all with Audience Growth by increasing the discoverability and shareability of our podcasts.. Then, we are bringing things back to Podcasting Basics in our second track, as Joe…
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322 Karen Cook-Bell, Running from Bondage in Revolutionary America
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During the War for American Independence, the British Army attempted to create chaos and inflict economic damage to the revolutionaries’ war effort by issuing two proclamations that promised freedom to any enslaved person who ran away from their revolutionary owners. How did enslaved people make their escape to British lines? What do we know about …
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8: Brand Consistency, Top 3 Transcription Services for Podcasters, and the Technical Basics of Launching a Show, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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We're back!! And, our guest speaker this week, Robyn M. Sayles of Launching Your Success, gives us a lesson on brand consistency for Track 1 on Monetization and Marketing. Then, on Track 2 for Technology and Innovation, our Title Sponsor, Buzzsprout, shares the top 3 transcription services for podcasters. And, our third track is a key note brought …
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321 BFW Team Favorite: Whose Fourth of July?
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On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech to an anti-slavery society and he famously asked “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” In this episode, we explore Douglass’ thoughtful question within the context of Early America: What did the Fourth of July mean for African Americans in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries…
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320 Benjamin Franklin's London House
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Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706, to Abiah Folger and Josiah Franklin. Although Franklin began his life as the youngest son of a youngest son, he traveled through many parts of what is now the northeastern United States and the Province of Quebec and lived in four different cities in three different countries: Boston, Philad…
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7: Promoting Your Podcast, Avoiding Podfade in 2022, and Interviewing Authors, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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We get an update on May's Podfest from Founder, Chris Krimitsos. Bruce Wawrzyniak, host of Now Hear this Entertainment and Catholic Sports Radio, shares a few ways to help promote your podcast for our first track on Audience Growth. And, we're adding Podcasting Basics in as a new type of converence track for you, and you'll get a double-dose today.…
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319 Ada Ferrer, Cuba: An Early American History
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One of the Caribbean islands that Christopher Columbus stopped at during his 1492-voyage was an alligator-shaped island that sits at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico in between the Yucatán and Florida peninsulas. This is, of course, is the island of Cuba. What do we know about early Cuba, the island the Spanish described as the “Key to the Indies?” …
What challenges do National Park Service interpretive rangers face when they interpret non-British colonial history? How did the relationships between Ste. Geneviéve's inhabitants and Indigenous peoples change over time? NPS Interpretive Ranger Claire Casey is back to answer more of your questions about colonial Ste. Geneviéve, Missouri and the Ste…
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6: Writing a Book to Grow Your Audience, Marketing with Instagram Stories, and Show Art the Right Way, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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Happy Holidays!! On our first track this week, Glenn the Geek and Producer Jaime are joined by Joe Saul-Sehy from Stacking Benjamins who reveals how writing a book can really help with Audience Growth. Then, on Track 2 for Marketing and Monetization, our Title Sponsor, Buzzsprout, shares 7 ways to grow your podcast with Instagram stories. And, our …
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318 Ste. Geneviéve National Historical Park
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About 620 miles north of New Orleans and 62 miles south of St. Louis, sits the town of Ste. Geneviéve, Missouri. Established in 1750 by the French, Ste. Geneviéve reveals much about what it was like to establish a colony in the heartland of North America and what it was like for colonists to live so far removed from seats of imperial power. Claire …
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5: Transitioning from One Podcast to Another, Finding a New Gap to Fill, and the What and the How of Audiograms, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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Katie Krimitsos of the Women's Meditation Network joins Glenn the Geek and Producer Jaime for an interesting spin on Creation and Launch for our first track, discussing the decision TO and the process OF transitioning from one podcast to another. Then, she hangs around for our second track and a chat on Audience Growth. Katie shares her experience …
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317 American Jewish Historical Society, Jews in Early America
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The first Jewish colonists in North America arrived in 1654. From that moment, Jews worked to build and contribute to early American society and the birth of the United States. Gemma Birnbaum and Melanie Meyers, the Executive Director and Director of Collections and Engagement at the American Jewish Historical Society, join us to explore the histor…
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Podfest Podcast

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4: Your Podcast as a Positioning Piece, How to Survive and Thrive, and Asking for Listener Support, brought to you by Buzzsprout
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This week, Glenn the Geek and Producer Jaime share our final LIVE recording from Podfest Origins in Tampa! Ariel Smith of The Food Truck Scholar takes us down a track on Audience Growth, sharing how she's used her podcast as a positioning piece. Then, on Track 2, Alex Sanfilippo of Podmatch.com and PodcastSOP.com talks about surviving and thriving …