Ben Franklin's World
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Ben Franklin's World
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🔍 Curious about the past? So are we! 🎧 Join award-winning historian @[email protected] as we time-travel through early America to uncover the people, ideas & stories that shaped our world. New eps every other Tuesday! 🇺🇸 #HistoryMatters
🔥 250 years ago, a short pamphlet changed everything. 📜 Common Sense turned colonial unrest into revolution. Discover the story behind the pamphlet—and the man who wrote it—in our newest episode.

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#CommonSense250 #Revolution250 #ThomasPaine
January 20, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Before the Revolution, 2,000 NC farmers stood against government corruption…

📍They built a grassroots movement
📍Faced British cannons at Alamance
📍Claimed loyalty to the king

Were they rebels—or loyalists?

🎧 www.benfranklinsworld.com/419

#History #USHistory #America250
January 20, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Thomas Paine believed ordinary people could shape government—and his words helped create a republic.
250 years later, what does Common Sense say to us in 2026?

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#CommonSense250 #Democracy #Revolution250
January 20, 2026 at 4:42 PM
“Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent.” – Common Sense (1776) 250 years later, Thomas Paine’s words still resonate. Explore the pamphlet that lit the fire of independence:

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#ThomasPaine #CommonSense #Revolution250
January 20, 2026 at 2:43 PM
We teamed up with @theitps.bsky.social to bring you a deep dive into Common Sense at 250.
📚 Archives, writing process, public impact—you’ll hear it all, with historian Nora Slonimsky.

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#AmericanRevolution #ThomasPaine #Revolution250
January 19, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Would you risk your life for an idea?

Dr. Joseph Warren did—at Bunker Hill, 250 years ago.

🎙️ In our new episode, we explore his life, ideals, and legacy.

👂 Listen: benfranklinsworld.com/413

💬 Would you have made the same choice?

#Rev250 #BenFranklinsWorld #History #USHistory
benfranklinsworld.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Why do you think Paine’s Common Sense struck such a nerve in 1776? And does it still matter today?

Join us for a special episode for the 250th anniversary of Common Sense with historian Nora Slonimsky

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#CommonSense250 #CivicLife #Revolution250
January 19, 2026 at 2:12 AM
Can a failed dream shape history?

The Nicaraguan canal was never built, but its dream influenced U.S. diplomacy, Latin American politics, and the Panama Canal.

This week on Ben Franklin’s World: the power of dreams that didn’t come true.

🎧 www.benfranklinsworld.com/428
January 18, 2026 at 3:52 PM
This is one of our most requested episodes.

You asked. We delivered.

📍Who were the Regulators?
📍Why did they rebel in 1760s NC?
📍And why didn’t they join the Revolution?

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/419

#History #USHistory #NorthCarolina #Revolution250 #CorruptGovernment #Revolution
January 17, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Before the Declaration of Independence, there was Common Sense.

It sold 120,000+ copies in 1776—reaching nearly 20% of the colonial population by war's end.

Why was it so powerful? And what can it teach us 250 years later?

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#ThomasPaine #Revolution250 #Podcasts
January 17, 2026 at 4:44 PM
🔥 250 years ago, a short pamphlet changed everything. 📜 Common Sense turned colonial unrest into revolution. Discover the story behind the pamphlet—and the man who wrote it—in our newest episode.

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#CommonSense250 #Revolution250 #ThomasPaine
January 16, 2026 at 9:34 PM
U.S. treaties with Native Nations shaped land, law, and lives—but how were they made, and what did they mean? 📜🪶

In Ep. 362, David W. Penney explores the long and complex history of treaty-making.

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/362

#IndigenousHistory #VastEarlyAmerica #History
Episode 362: David W. Penney, Treaties Between the US & American Indian Nations
During our tour of the Nation to Nation exhibit, David reveals the story behind the National Museum of the American Indian and its creation; Information about the treaty-making process and how Indigenous nations and the United States approach that pr
benfranklinsworld.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:27 PM
“Tea was 2–3x more expensive than chocolate. Coffee? The cheapest of all.” — Michelle Craig McDonald, on colonial America’s surprising coffee habit.

You’ll never look at your morning cup the same.

🎧 www.benfranklinsworld.com/429

#Skystorians #Coffee #FoodHistory #Podcasts
Episode 429: Michelle McDonald, Coffee in Early America: Why Americans Really Drink Coffee
Have you ever wondered why so many Americans drink coffee in the morning? Join us for an exploration of coffee in early America.
www.benfranklinsworld.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:36 PM
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?
Episode 429: Michelle McDonald, Coffee in Early America: Why Americans Really Drink Coffee
Have you ever wondered why so many Americans drink coffee in the morning? Join us for an exploration of coffee in early America.
www.benfranklinsworld.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:52 PM
“Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent.” – Common Sense (1776) 250 years later, Thomas Paine’s words still resonate. Explore the pamphlet that lit the fire of independence:

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#ThomasPaine #CommonSense #Revolution250
January 15, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Behind every cup of coffee in early America?
→ Caribbean hillsides
→ Enslaved labor
→ Smugglers
→ Silver coffee pots

This episode brews up a global story — and it started long before Starbucks.

🎧 www.benfranklinsworld.com/429

#AtlanticHistory #CoffeeCulture #History #Coffee
January 14, 2026 at 8:25 PM
We teamed up with @theitps.bsky.social to bring you a deep dive into Common Sense at 250.
📚 Archives, writing process, public impact—you’ll hear it all, with historian Nora Slonimsky.

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#AmericanRevolution #ThomasPaine #Revolution250
January 14, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Why do you think Paine’s Common Sense struck such a nerve in 1776? And does it still matter today?

Join us for a special episode for the 250th anniversary of Common Sense with historian Nora Slonimsky

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#CommonSense250 #CivicLife #Revolution250
January 14, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Before the Declaration of Independence, there was Common Sense.

It sold 120,000+ copies in 1776—reaching nearly 20% of the colonial population by war's end.

Why was it so powerful? And what can it teach us 250 years later?

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#ThomasPaine #Revolution250 #Podcasts
January 13, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Historian Joe Adelman steps behind the mic this week!

His guest? Michelle Craig McDonald, author of Coffee Nation.

They cover smuggling, silver coffee pots, enslaved labor, and why Americans fell hard for coffee.

🎙️ www.benfranklinsworld.com/429

#HistoryPod #CoffeeNerds #FoodHistory #Coffee
Episode 429: Michelle McDonald, Coffee in Early America: Why Americans Really Drink Coffee
Have you ever wondered why so many Americans drink coffee in the morning? Join us for an exploration of coffee in early America.
www.benfranklinsworld.com
January 13, 2026 at 5:36 PM
🔥 250 years ago, a short pamphlet changed everything. 📜 Common Sense turned colonial unrest into revolution. Discover the story behind the pamphlet—and the man who wrote it—in our newest episode.

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#CommonSense250 #Revolution250 #ThomasPaine
January 13, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Thomas Paine believed ordinary people could shape government—and his words helped create a republic.
250 years later, what does Common Sense say to us in 2026?

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/431

#CommonSense250 #Democracy #Revolution250
January 13, 2026 at 2:43 PM
🕰️ What if Parliament had taxed coffee instead of tea in 1773?

Would we call it the Boston Coffee Party?

Historian Michelle Craig McDonald joins us to explore this and more.

🎧 www.benfranklinsworld.com/429

#AmericanRevolution #FoodHistory #AmericanRevolution #Revolution250 #America250
January 12, 2026 at 8:31 PM
How did early Americans connect religion and race? ✝️✊🏽

In Ep. 392, Kathryn Gin Lum explores how ideas of salvation and “heathenism” shaped racial hierarchies in early America.

🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/392

#ReligionAndRace #VastEarlyAmerica #History #Religion
Episode 392: Kathryn Gin Lum, Religion and Race in Early America
In this episode, we’ll focus on some of the ways religion shaped European and early American ideas about race and racial groupings.
benfranklinsworld.com
January 12, 2026 at 3:52 PM
☕ Think tea was the drink of choice in colonial America?

Think again.

Our latest episode reveals why coffee — not tea — became the go-to beverage for early Americans (and no, it wasn’t just about the Boston Tea Party).

🎧 www.benfranklinsworld.com/429

#VastEarlyAmerica #BostonTeaParty #Coffee
January 12, 2026 at 2:12 AM