We Love PA History!

Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation
  • 5.0 (2)
  • History

Exploring Pennsylvania's Past, One Story at a Time

Episodes

  1. Aug 12

    Judith Ridner: The Scots Irish of Early Pennsylvania, a Varied People

    "...as probably many Scots-Irish people know, there's a lot of misunderstanding about who they are as a people. And I think a lot of modern Americans think one thing, and perhaps us historians would say that maybe they should be thinking about something else. So today I think a lot of people take pride in being Scots-Irish because they sort of think they know a lot of things about their heritage. But that heritage has been highly stereotyped, both good and bad. And it's been popularized by a lot of modern politicians who have kind of used it to sort of get at what they see as like the critical essences of being an American... one stereotype of the Scots-Irish is that they're these rugged individualists. They're men, they're usually men. It emphasizes masculine kind of conquering of people and land. These were people who settled the frontier. These were people who fought Native Americans. These were people who fought in various wars to defend the United States, the colonies, and then the United States. So a lot of that gets used to kind of construct a picture that kind of epitomizes a lot of what we see as kind of quintessential American values, this kind of, you know, ruggedness, this toughness, this individualism. And in reality...the picture's a little bit more complicated. They were a pretty tight-knit group. They put a great deal of emphasis on family and community, particularly in their religious communities. They were not necessarily all people who settled on the frontier. Lots and lots of them settled in cities like Philadelphia or New York City or in towns like I've studied Carlisle. They settled in lots of other towns across Pennsylvania. So they were also a highly urban people. And many of the people who came were educated. Many of them had come from parts of the north of Ireland that were actually quite urbanized and even industrialized for the 18th century. I mean, they were part of, many of them were part of the linen economy of the North of Ireland that was really quite a sophisticated manufacturing enterprise for the 18th century. So they're just, they're this very diverse people..." About Judith Ridner I am a historian of early America with interests in the American frontier, ethnicity and immigration, oral and public history.  Although most of my research to date focuses on the eighteenth-century Pennsylvania and the Scots-Irish, my work has broadened over time to include oral history, public and digital history, and especially material culture. I’m currently working on two book projects. In Clothing the Babel: The Material Culture of Ethnic Identity in Early America, I’m analyzing how clothing and other items of personal adornment that various European immigrants wore influenced how eighteenth-century Americans perceived and reacted to them.  My other project, The Dirty History of Soap, traces the material history of this ordinary substance, from the ancient world to the present. I am also co-editor of the academic journal, Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 1994 Ph.D., History, The College of William & Mary 1988 M.A., History with a concentration in Historical Archaeology, The College of William & Mary 1986 B.A., History and International Studies, Dickinson College -- Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude jridner@history.msstate.edu

  2. Jul 29

    Matt Gault: Fort Ligonier, and Washington's Brush with Death on the Battlefield

    November 12, 1758. The story of Washington "putting his life in the most jeopardy it had ever been before or since:"  "...Colonel Mercer is engaged with the enemy...He needs help. So Washington... takes a group of volunteers, mainly from his Virginia regiment... to go out to reinforce Colonel Mercer. Forbes will write that he sent out a group to surround the enemy. So we think Washington is...using the musket fire to pretty much guide him as he goes, keeping it off on one of his sides, so that way he can continue to scoot around behind the enemy. And the ideal plan is get them caught in a crossfire and take prisoners. You know, any prisoners they can get, information on Fort Duquesne is going to be incredibly crucial. But as he's moving along, it's darker, it's getting darker and darker and darker. And the only thing he has is that musket fire. That's his northern star. And then all of a sudden it stops. And because it stops, now he's lost that guide. He sends out scouts, but they don't run into anything. But as he's going, what happens? Maybe there's a shadowy figure that darts from one tree to another. There's a flash of a musket barrel, a musket shot fires out, natural instinct is to fire back. Many of these men are Virginians. They begin to fan out to the trees, taking deadly aim where they can see, because they're good woodsmen. They know how to fight in this terrain. And perhaps as Washington is assessing the situation, maybe he hears a familiar voice. Maybe he sees in one of those musket flashes a flash of a blue and red officer's uniform, and he realizes that the worst thing has occurred. This is not the enemy. He has not run into the French or the Native Americans. Instead, he has run into Colonel Mercer and their own soldiers.  Matt Gault Bio: Matt Gault was named Fort Ligonier’s Director of Education and Living History in 2025 after acting as the Director of Education since May of 2020. Matt’s career began at Fort Ligonier as a college intern while enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Upon graduation, he was selected to join Fort Ligonier’s Education Department as the Assistant Director of Education in 2014.   During his time at the Fort, Matt has received several prestigious recognitions including the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau 2017 Tourism Employee of the Year Award and the PA Museums Association Carol Wickkiser Award presented to an outstanding young museum professional.  Matt leads the development and production of Fort Ligonier’s educational initiatives including exciting educational and living history programs for students and visitors from all across the globe. Matt is also known for his riveting portrayal of a young George Washington and will go to great lengths to increase awareness about French and Indian War history. In August 2021, clad in a breechcloth, Matt was the only historical interpreter to complete a 30-mile hike from Fort Ligonier to Bushy Run to commemorate Bushy Run’s anniversary. Matt resides in Greensburg, Pennsylvania with his family. https://www.fortligonier.org

  3. Jul 15

    Andy Masich, Heinz History Center: Sharing the Stories of People

    "People are interested in the stories of people..." "David McCullough, America's favorite historian, Pulitzer Prize winner, Adams, Truman, the Johnstown Flood, he used to say, he was actually quoting the librarian of Congress when he said trying to build a future without understanding the past is like trying to plant cut flowers. You know, it's just not gonna happen. So I think that those roots are important and it's up to us to show that younger generation how they're connected to the past. And young people, the thing that they're interested in are the same things that we were interested in, and that is people. People are interested in the stories of people, and whether you show them that in a book, a film, a performance, an exhibition, or a podcast, it really doesn't matter. It's the stories, the engaging stories of people, the inspiring stories of people that we need to focus on as museum professionals and educators." Andy Masich bio  Masich is President and CEO of the Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center, recently recognized by USA TODAY as America’s #1 History Museum three years in a row. The History Center has also been named Pittsburgh’s Best Museum by readers of Pittsburgh Magazine for five consecutive years.   Since 1998, he has led Pittsburgh’s 370,000 square-foot Heinz History Center and family of museums, which includes the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum; Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village (the oldest site of human habitation in North America) located in Avella, Pa.; and the Fort Pitt Museum.  Under Masich’s leadership, the History Center has earned national recognition for its award-winning exhibitions and innovative educational programs that focus on the American experience with a Western Pennsylvania connection.  A respected authority on American history and Western Pennsylvania’s heritage and culture, Masich is a trusted expert for national media outlets, including the Associated Press, New York Times, the Travel Channel, the History Channel, CNN, and more. Masich is the host of the popular “Time Capsules” history podcast on KDKA-AM radio and is a monthly contributor to KDKA-TV’s morning show, “Pittsburgh Today Live.”  Masich has also authored or co-authored award-winning books on a wide range of subjects and is an adjunct professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University.  Masich currently serves as a commissioner (and former chairman) of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC); and on the America250PA Commission, which is charged with developing commemorative programs leading up to the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.   https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/

  4. Jul 1

    Andrew Murphy: William Penn and "The Holy Experiment"

    "The road to Pennsylvania, for Penn, began in the Cork prison 15 years before he set foot in America."   You can't understand Pennsylvania history - "The Holy Experiment" - without knowing about William Penn. There's no better source than the man who wrote the biography of William Penn. Reflecting his interest in the intersections between political theory and political action (as well as his status as a born-and-raised Pennsylvanian), Murphy has engaged deeply with the life, career and political thought of William Penn, a figure who brought theory and practice together in the early modern British Atlantic. He is the author of William Penn: A Life (Oxford, 2019) and Liberty, Conscience, and Toleration: The Political Thought of William Penn (Oxford, 2016); and co-editor (with John Smolenski) of The Worlds of William Penn (Rutgers, 2019). A scholarly edition of Penn's political writings for the Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought series appeared in 2021. Murphy's research takes up the intersections between politics and religion, in both historical and contemporary contexts. He is particularly interested in the emergence of religious liberty and liberty of conscience in early modern England and America, and the ongoing ramifications of these debates as they continue to unsettle American politics. He is the author, most recently, of Toleration: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2025), which canvasses the history, development, and contemporary global status of toleration as both a concept and a contested legal practice. His current research continues to bring together the political and the religious, exploring the concept of political martyrdom and the ways in which studying politically-charged deaths can help us make sense of the complex interplay of death, religion, politics, collective memory, and symbolic power. Andrew MurphyProfessor; Department Chair murphyan@umich.edu Political Science; Political Theory; Administration Education/Degree: B.A. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (1989) M.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison (1991) Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison (1996) Andrew Murphy joined the Political Science Department at Michigan after appointments at Virginia Commonwealth University, Rutgers University, Valparaiso University, and the University of Chicago. He became department chair in July 2024.

  5. Jun 17

    Michael Norris, Carpenters' Hall

    MICHAEL L. NORRIS                                           Executive Director As the Executive Director of the Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia, which owns and manages Carpenters’ Hall, a National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia’s historic district whose members constitute the nation’s oldest continuously operating craft guild, Michael oversees all of the Company’s programmatic and operational activities. Michael joined the Company in June 2019, after a seven-year tenure as Vice President of External Relations and Chief Strategy Officer at the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, where he oversaw the organization’s policy, advocacy and community-engagement programs and its fundraising activities. Before that, Michael served for eight years as the Executive Director of Art-Reach, which connects underserved audiences with cultural experiences. Prior to leading Art-Reach, Michael spent nine years at the Arden Theatre Company, managing all aspects of fundraising, marketing, public relations and community outreach. Michael began his career in nonprofit administration as the Assistant Development Director at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre, the nation’s oldest continuously operating theatre and a National Historic Landmark. He started his professional career in editing and publishing, working as an editorial researcher at TV Guide magazine in Radnor, PA, and then editing the regional leadership directory Who’s Who in the Delaware Valley. A native of Chester County, PA, Michael received a B.A. in journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia. He received a certificate in fundraising from the University of Pennsylvania and has received supplemental education in nonprofit management through coursework offered by National Arts Strategies, the Fundraising School at the University of Indiana and the Stanford University Business School. He is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Philadelphia, which named him one of the region’s top 76 “Creative Connectors.” He serves on the board of PA Museums, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the Histories Collaborative of Philadelphia.  To find out more about Carpenters' Company, Carpenters' Hall, and its amazing history, go to https://www.carpentershall.org/pages/story-of-carpenters-hall

  6. Jun 3

    Andrea Lowery, Why Pennsylvanians Love Our History

    Andrea Lowery is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) and PHMC is the official history agency of the Commonwealth. Andrea shares how PHMC stewards the history and heritage of Pennsylvania through its bureaus  (State Museum, State Archives, State Historic Preservation Office, and Bureau of Historic Sites and Museums) and programs such as the blue and gold historic markers ("history on a stick") and grants to encourage organizations to preserve and conserve historic buildings and sites. She discusses how a family member, her great-great-great grandmother, changed the lives of thousands of young boys in coal country and inspired her own love of history. Andrea also outlines the upcoming major renovation that will  transform the State Museum complex  to serve a 21st century audience.

  7. Season 1, Episode 1 Trailer

    We Love PA History! episode 1

    Welcome to We Love PA History! - the podcast that explores Pennsylvania's past, one story at a time.

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Exploring Pennsylvania's Past, One Story at a Time

Information

  • Creator
    Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 We Love PA History!
  • Show Website
    We Love PA History!

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