Lectures in History

Northwestern professor Ken Alder presented an image of an 1851 Colt Navy Revolver and asked why the gun was one of the first mass produced technologies in the United States. Professor Alder chronicled the origins of American mass production through gunmaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vassar College professor Robert Brigham discussed his upcoming memoir about his search for his biological father, who served as a Marine in Vietnam. This event was part of the 2025 LCpl. Benjamin W. Schmidt Symposium on War, Conflict, and Society at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chef, humanitarian, and author Jose Andres discussed his career, his global relief efforts with World Central Kitchen, his books, and his love of food with David M. Rubenstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In September 1975, 17 days apart, two women, one in Sacramento and the other in San Francisco, attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford. The first attempt on September the 5th came from Annette Squeaky Fromm. The Charles Manson follower spent over 30 years in prison, is out on parole, and is 76 years old. The other attempt came on the non-entrance side of St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco on September the 24th, 1975. The shooter, Sara Jane Moore, served 32 years in prison and died almost 50 years to the day on September the 24th, 2025. Author Geri Spieler wrote the book "Housewife Assassin" in 2009. She talked to and exchanged letters with Sara Jane Moore on several occasions. Here's her up-to-date story about the woman who tried to kill President Ford Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1967 Six-Day War, 1973 Yom Kippur War, and 2023 Israel-Hamas War have all garnered the United States' diplomatic involvement. Trinity College Professor James Stocker looks at the history of the U.S. negotiating ends to Israeli-Arab conflicts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author David Grann joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss his books, including "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "The Wager," and visits the vault of the Folger Shakespeare Library. This is an episode of C-SPAN's new series America's Book Club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 14, 1847, Winfield Scott's Army marched into Mexico City, marking the final stages of the Mexican-American War. University of Texas professor Aaron O'Connell chronicles the war's causes, the divisions it inflamed, and its aftermath. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During Reconstruction, a campaign to overthrow the South Carolina government succeeded, triggering a constitutional crisis. University of North Carolina professor and author of "Sedition," Marcus Gadson, analyzed the history behind this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Lectures in History podcast: The mystery of the Roanoke Colony’s disappearance. In 1587, English settlers established a colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina — only to vanish without a trace soon after. Gettysburg College Professor Timothy Shannon explores what we know about the lost colony, the people who lived there, and the theories behind one of early America’s greatest mysteries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happened when General Custer and Crazy Horse faced off in battle? Stetson University Professor David Morton chronicles the 1876 Great Sioux War in the South Dakota Black Hills. Stetson University is located in Deland, Florida. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

United States Army War College history professor Michael Neiberg discusses Vichy France and the Anglo-American relationship during World War II. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Kentucky in 1792 became a state, it had a choice; keep slavery or abolish it. University of Kentucky professor Melanie Goan teaches a class on the state's relationship with the institution of slavery until the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William & Mary Bray School Lab director Maureen Elgersman Lee discusses the history of the 18th-century Williamsburg Bray School for Black children and the legacies of the 300 to 400 scholars it enrolled. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1992 Republican National Convention speeches by former President Ronald Reagan and Pat Buchanan - who had run for the GOP nomination that year against incumbent President George H.W. Bush - was the topic of a class taught by University of Kansas political communication professor Robert Rowland. The University of Kansas is in Lawrence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sir Richard J. Evans has been writing about Germany and Adolf Hitler for his entire professional life. He was knighted in Britain in 2012 for his service to scholarship. From 2003-2008, Professor Evans published a trilogy of the Third Reich with a total of over 2,500 pages. His latest book is titled "Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich." In his preface, Sir Richard, a former professor at Cambridge University writes: "The individuals who stand at the center of this book range from the top to the bottom, from Hitler all the way down to the lowest of the Nazi party." There are 22 chapters. Learn more about your ad choices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor James Broussard taught a class on the lead-up to the American Revolution. He described actions by the British government, such as the Stamp Act and stationing British troops in Boston, that American colonists began to view as an overreach of power Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Utah Professor Eric Hinderaker taught a class about western settlement before, during and after the American Revolution. Using the Kentucky territory as an example, he described the conflicts and relationships between the new federal government, settlers and Native Americans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Law professor and author Joyce Lee Malcolm discussed Benedict Arnold's triumphs as an American army general in the Revolutionary War and questioned whether his legacy as a notorious American traitor is entirely accurate. Professor Malcolm is the author of, The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold: An American Life. This one hour talk was hosted by the University of Mary Washington as part of their Great Lives Lecture Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Garrett Graff discusses his oral history of the development, testing and deployment of the atomic bomb in August 1945. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gene Allen Smith, a Texas Christian University history professor, taught a class about George Washington's character. He examined how the first president interacted with his contemporaries, how he viewed himself, and how he is remembered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ithaca College professor Michael Trotti discussed the escalating tensions between colonists and the British government before the American Revolution. Ithaca College is located in New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

College of William & Mary lecturer Amy Stallings discussed the history of the 1607 Jamestown fort and settlement in Virginia, and how Americans have tried to preserve and remember the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. The College of William & Mary is located in Williamsburg, Virginia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texas Woman's University history professor Cecily Zander discussed the federal government's efforts to explore and control the American west from the early 1800's through the Civil War. Texas Woman's University is located in Denton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wright State University professor Paul Lockhart taught a class on the development of weapons technology in the American Revolution. Wright State University is located in Dayton, Ohio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of North Carolina at Pembroke professor Ryan Anderson discussed the rise of a Bohemian culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that rejected conventional societal restraints and embraced the arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices