Happy Holidays, Friends! I’m now exiting my office for the holidays.

My last task before my holiday break: Empty my inbox. I just set my focus music (Endel App), Let’s do this!

I am grateful for this brief New England weather shift. I’d been cold but the last two days have been a nice thaw.

Happy Friday, Friends!

While things are crazy as I wrap up loose ends, I do have @noraslonimsky.bsky.social in my headphones this week talking about Thomas Paine, so it's a good week.

I feel like I’m just scrambling to the end of the week. This is my last week of work for the year.

Congratulations, Justene!!!! macmillan.yale.edu/stories/yale...

This is amazing!!! I have so many ideas, if you need one. #Skystorians

New episode! It’s the 252nd anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, so naturally we’re diving into the unexpected story of coffee in early America. From Caribbean plantations to Boston riots, this drink shaped a revolution. 🎧 www.benfranklinsworld.com/429 What’s your favorite historical coffee fact?

In the 1820s, Americans thought a canal across Nicaragua was inevitable. They were wrong. Canal dreamers, revolutions, and rainforest disasters—this story has it all. 🎧 @lizcovart.bsky.social dives in with historian Jessica Lepler 🔗 www.benfranklinsworld.com/428 #history #EarlyAmerica #BFWpod

I’m putting the finishing touches on @bfworld.bsky.social’s 430th episode, and just taking a moment to let 430 set in as a number.

Had a great conversation this morning with @morganmccullough.bsky.social and @lizcovart.bsky.social about a new newsletter feature that will debut in January from Ben Franklin's World and Clio Digital Media. Join our email list to make sure you see it! cliodigital.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/c...

@annabrownlee.bsky.social Thank you for helping us over the hump with our end-of-year fundraising goal, Anna. We appreciate you.

The @bfworld.bsky.social #GivingTuesday campaign is sooooo close to an even $3,000 raised. Anyone interested in giving $12.97 so we can hit that benchmark? @lizcovart.bsky.social @kawulf.bsky.social #VastEarlyAmerica #podcasts benfranklinsworld.com/givingtuesday

I’m working on an episode about Benjamin Rush. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Americans who needed medical attention were charged based on their ability to pay.

Long-time listener, first time talker. Loved my Ben Franklin’s World experience. I hope you will enjoy it, too! Thanks @lizcovart.bsky.social!

I just discovered #TerrierTuesday. For my first post, I offer the many faces/brows of the Schnauzer. The King of the schnauzer brow is still my Sprocket, who I miss and think about everyday. He was my soul dog.

Yep. The state and federal constitutions of the 1770s and 1780s share the feature of trying to limit executive power (how much and in what ways varied, of course).

Podcast Alert! I had so much fun chatting with @lizcovart.bsky.social about the history of 1820s interoceanic Canal Dreamers. The @bfworld.bsky.social podcast episode went live today! What a great last day of classes treat. @uncpress.bsky.social 🗃️ benfranklinsworld.com/episode-428-...

While newlyweds in the early 1840s, Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne kept a common journal documenting their daily life. Learn more in this week's blog post by Jon Repetti. https://www.amphilsoc.org/news/backlist-spotlight-ordinary-mysteries-common-journal-nathaniel-and-sophia-hawthorne-1842-1843

Justices like Gorsuch really think they “know” early American and U.S. history, but they only read a few conservative historians and they have ideas about the civility of early American politics and the Constitution that are flat out wrong.

If I agreed to be your personal history coach for a month, what would you want me to help you with?

This action largely considered the worst racist atrocity of the Civil War was led by CSA Gen Nathan Bedford Forest, founder of the KKK. But the South was so successful at justifying the Civil War thru the Lost Cause, that you probably know the name from a character named after him-Forest Gump. 🗃️

This evening! 😃🤓

Here is your latest quarterly bibliography of interesting material in NativeAmerican/Indigenous history for Dec 2025. I hope you find this useful, and that some of these make their way under your Christmas tree. I wish you a peaceful end to this difficult year michaelleroyoberg.com/new-publicat...

I'm launching a new weekly newsletter: Found History (Briefly Noted). My long-form essays remain on the main site (foundhistory.org), but the "stream of discovery"—links, social highlights, and reading lists—is moving to Substack. Get the weekly roundup here: foundhistory.substack.com

Working on an episode about Coffee in the 18th century. The ways Americans found ways to skirt their own non-importation actions during the American Revolution are ingenious, and also make me again question the seriousness of the acts.

Who knew coffee could be so fascinating? I’m working on an episode of the podcast where @jmadelman.bsky.social interviews Michelle McDonald about her new book Coffee Nation. The history behind the 18th-century coffee trade is really interesting.

These Pod Dogs are so ready for our conversation with Fort Ticonderoga. We’ll be talking about the fort’s early history and Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery for a 2026 episode of @bfworld.bsky.social.

It was fun to work on this episode hosted by @kawulf.bsky.social. It was a fascinating conversation that gives insight into how individual states are thinking about America 250 commemorations and celebrations next year and beyond.

Thank you for helping us reach 66 percent of our fundraising goal yesterday! You are remarkable! There is still time for us to reach 100% of our goal with a fully tax-deductible donation. www.benfranklinsworld.com/donate

I got behind the mic to host @bfworld.bsky.social (thanks, @lizcovart.bsky.social!) for a conversation between leaders of the 250th in my two favorite states -- Virginia & Rhode Island. Carly Fiorina (honorary chair of VA250) and Gregg Amore (RI Sec State). benfranklinsworld.com/episode-427-...

We’ve raised 50% of our match goal. Please help us get to 100%!

Did you know? Patreon supporters of Drafting the Past at any level now get access to an ad-free version of the podcast. www.patreon.com/draftingthep...

It’s officially #GivingTuesday (in case you haven’t checked your email yet today). That means another request to support #BenFranklinsWorld and your other favorite podcasts. Clio Digital Media has a 2x matching donor, so your money goes even further! @lizcovart.bsky.social @kawulf.bsky.social

It’s Giving Tuesday! From now through Dec 25 (or until we reach $3,700), every $1 you give is matched twice—your gift becomes $3. 👉 www.benfranklinsworld.com/givingtuesday Here’s the story of how we got here and why your support matters…

Tomorrow we’re launching our first Giving Tuesday campaign for Ben Franklin's World. Every dollar gets matched 2x (so $1 = $3) through Dec 25. The Match is live now: benfranklinsworld.com/givingtuesday Please help support the podcast, especially if you’ve found it helpful or used in in your class.

I am wicked excited about this! Our first matching opportunity. This is BIG for our small little org. If you enjoy Ben Franklin’s World, if you’ve ever used it in your classes, please help support our work. And right now, for every $1 you donate, we’ll receive $3!

I’m finally really starting to watch Ken Burns’s The American Revolution. Appropriately, Tim and I are watching with a new American whiskey from Copperworks. It’s from the second cask they ever filled.

I’m working on a new episode with Jessica Lepler. She wrote a fascinating book called Canal Dreamers. It’s about the quest of early Americans to build a interoceanic canal across present-day Nicaragua. * This is an affiliate link. If you purchase you support local bookstores & @bfworld.bsky.social

I am so ready for my vacation week next week. We’re hosting my middle nephew and I can’t wait to show him a fun time.

Getting ready to speak with Lauren Duval about her great forthcoming book, The Home Front. This is an affiliate link. If you make a purchase you support independent bookstores and @bfworld.bsky.social

Fun Fact: The Ken Burns team used @bfworld.bsky.social to vet scholars for their new documentary The American Revolution. Podcasts and public history are powerful tools for scholars and filmmakers.

A friend just texted to say that she walked into class as one of her grad school classmates was listening to my BFW Episode with Vincent Brown ahead of their discussion. Back when I was in grad school, there weren’t podcast about early American history so I had to read 😂

Cloudfare may have taken down access to lot of the internet this morning, but our new episode at Ben Franklin’s World is not impacted. Discover Indigenous foodways among the Wampanoag & Cherokee. It’s a fantastic way to pass the time while the impacted websites come back online.

::grumble, grumble:: The website I need to interact with this morning are all using Cloudfare and I can’t access them.

If you loved the Ken Burns Watch Party or just enjoy big questions about early America, the History Explorers Club Holiday Sale is a great moment to join. We host multiple live historian events each month. $300/year (3 months free) or $33/month. 👉 www.historyexplorers.club/checkout/the...

I had a really interesting conversation with some of my small business friends today. Most of us are building digital businesses and we were discussing different philosophies of the open and closed membership models.

#HistoryDogs Clio and Orbit are still tired after last night’s Ken Burns watch party. Thank you for coming, and thank you to @herberthistory.bsky.social, @michaelhattem.bsky.social, @craigbrucesmith.bsky.social for co-hosting.

And welcome to Historians At The Movies! Tonight we are watching THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION on PBS at 8pm eastern! And for the first time ever, you'll click on the link below to join in. We'll be live with @michaelhattem.bsky.social & @lizcovart.bsky.social at about 7:45pm eastern! #HATM