Revolution 250 Podcast

Due to a technical difficulty this morning we are offering a "Revolution 250 Re-Podcast."  Today's podcast will be from December 7, 2021 on the epic biography of King George III by Andrew Roberts, the Bonnie and Tom McCloskey Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.  In this podcast, Professor Allison and Professor Roberts discuss the many remarkable qualities of George III as a...

Johnson Hall, designed in 1763 by noted colonial architect Peter Harrison, was the grand estate of Sir William Johnson, the influential British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in New York. From this stately home, Johnson shaped alliances that helped keep many Indigenous nations aligned with the Crown during the struggle for American independence. Today, the Johnson Hall is preserved as a New York State Historic Site, offering a wi...

Host Robert Allison talks with Ron Peterson and David Martin about dramatic and little-known stories from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket during the Revolution. From the fierce 1779 Battle of Falmouth to Nantucket’s divided loyalties, British shipwrecks, and the vital roles of African American and Native American patriots, this episode reveals how the Cape and Islands were anything but quiet backwaters in America’s fight...

It is easy to see the Franklin stove as just an invention to improve the lives of colonial Americans. The stove, like many of Franklin's inventions, went through a series of improvements as he explored the science of heat convection and thermal dynamics.  Other changes and considerations came about as Franklin changed the fuel from wood to coal. This is just one aspect of the impact of Franklin's stove on the 18th-century...

From Lucifer’s rebellion to Adam and Eve’s expulsion, from Lancelot’s betrayal to Macbeth’s downfall, stories of greatness undone have gripped audiences for centuries. For America’s Revolutionaries, the cautionary examples of Julius Caesar and Oliver Cromwell warned of leaders who turned against the people.

No figure embodies this tragic arc in American history more than General Benedict Arnold. Once a brilliant and passionate comma...

 July 4, 2026 the United States of America will celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  There will be thousands of commemorations across the nation, but the national effort is being led by America 250, the Semiquincentennial Commission with its mission to Educate, Engage, and Unite for our national celebration.  We had a chance to speak with Rosie Rios, Chair of America 250 and to learn more about Ameri...

What a story about the American incursion into Canada, 1774-1776!  Mark R. Anderson learned about this episode in a military history class--and then, as an officer in the United States Air Force during the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns earlier in this century, he recalled what he had learned, and wanted to find a good book on the Canadian campaign. Finding none, he wrote The Battle for the Fourteenth Colony: America’s War of Liber...

John Trumbull's paintings have done more to etch the key events of the American Revolution into America's memory than perhaps anyone else. The son of the Governor of Connecticut and the brother of a Governor of Connecticut, Trumbull served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He knew many of the key figures of these events, and when he painted them, he painted them as he knew them.  We talk with Damien ...

Taverns in the 18th century were more than watering holes: they were centers of cultural, political and social influence, gathering places for communities and  conduits through which news was conveyed by traders and travelers from far away.  We talk with Professor Malcolm Purinton, author of Globalization in a Glass: The Rise of Pilsner Beer through Technology, Taste, and Empire, about the role of taverns in the American Revolution...

Since parting ways 250 years ago, the United States and the United Kingdom have spent the intervening centuries building one of the most enduring and supportive international relationships.  On today's Revolution 250 Podcast, Professor Robert Allison (Suffolk University) is in conversation with the UK Consul-General for New England, David Clay, MBE. Join us as we discuss two and a half centuries of diplomacy between our two na...

Join us as we uncover the remarkable, complex life of John Laurens—soldier, diplomat, abolitionist, and one of the most passionate idealists of the American Revolution.  Gregory D. Massey speaks with us about  his acclaimed biography John Laurens and the American Revolution. Together we'll explore the fiery convictions and bold actions of a young South Carolinian who fought not only against British tyranny but also against the...

 We just celebrated the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill in which the men of Connecticut under Colonel Thomas Knowlton played a pivatol part.  Today we investigate the life of another Connecticut patriot, Colonel John Durkee of Norwich, Connecticut.  To help us learn more about Col. Durkee and his friends and neighbors in eastern Connecticut Professor Robert Allison (Suffolk University) is in conversation with Dayne E...

If Joseph Warren had lived, Peter Oliver said, no one would have heard of Washington.  This might be an exaggeration, but few patriot leaders were as important to the cause as Joseph Warren—Roxbury physician, chair of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, chair of the Committee of Safety, Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge—he did not seek office, but his compatriots recognized his talents and put him to work.  His death at the Batt...

For our 250th Episode, Pulitzer-prize winning author Rick Atkinson joins us to talk about his best-selling new book, The Fate of the Day:  From Ticonderoga to Charleston, which focuses on the War between the British capture of Ticonderoga in 1777 to the fall of Charleston in 1780.  HIs book, and our conversation,  plumb the depths of the American Revolution and the characters who shaped the war.  This is the second volume of his Re...

Jane McCrea’s death in 1777 became a powerful tool of Revolutionary propaganda, fueling anti-British sentiment across the colonies. Her murder by British-allied Native warriors was portrayed as savage and unjust, rallying support for the Patriot cause and highlighting the perceived brutality of British alliances. We talk with Blake Grindon about her book on the life, death, and legacy of Jane McCrea.

Tell us what you think! Send us...

2027 will be the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Saratoga and the surrender of General John Burgoyne's forces to those of General Horatio Gates.  Often called the "Turning Point of the Revolution" the victory over Burgoyne was instrumental in earning America its first European ally, France. Long a subject of legend and story, Burgoyne's expedition is now the subject of a new series of novels by Avellina Bales...

The monuments of Washington D.C. are among the most visited sites in our nation's capital. The legacies of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt are carried through the generations by their stone memorials in D.C.  Today, there is a national commission to investigate and plan for a new addition to those memorials, one dedicated to John Adams and the many notable members of his family, including Abigail, John Q...