Ed Ayers

The story of a group of people who get together each year to reenact the notorious 1946 Moore’s Ford lynching in Georgia.

Why Marvin Greer spends his weekends playing the part of a slave at Civil War reenactments.

How Buffalo Bill’s Wild West brought scenes from the American West to audiences around the globe.

Cuddle up with your sweetie for stories about three centuries of pre-marital intimacy, from Puritan "bundling" to the back-seat of the parents' Buick.

On who has had access to guns in the U.S., and what those guns have meant to the people who have owned them.

An hour of stories about a few high-stakes inaugurations from the past.

Why a hundred thousand Americans were ready to believe that Christ would return to earth in 1843.

Apocalyptic thinking in early Christian fundamentalism.

The dramatic story of the abolitionist mail crisis of 1835.

The rise and fall of the Post Office from Tocqueville to Fred Rogers.

Debunking myths about the Pony Express.

On the spectacular act of terrorism that took place in Manhattan a century ago.

The story of the man who introduced ice cubes into our beverages.

Stories from the early days of air-conditioning in New York City movie theaters, and reflections on the technology's impacts in across the American South.

On the introduction of the Franklin stove into the American home and the ensuing stove revolution.

What winter was like before the stove revolution, and the tension between comfort and family values.

One man’s struggle to pick a side of the war, his ultimate choice, and how powerful the of concepts “liberty and union” were in motivating Northern soldiers.

Gender dynamics on the home front, and the ways in which the Civil War is distinct from other American conflicts.

How the idea of “home” motivated Confederate soldiers, and strengthened their resolve to fight.

The important moral and tactical contributions of African-American soldiers in the Union Army.