Person

Ed Ayers

Ed Ayers is Bunk's founder. He is the author of many prize-winning books, president emeritus at the University of Richmond, and former co-host of BackStory.

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Ed Ayers next to the cover of his book, "The Thin Light of Freedom."
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The Thin Light of Freedom

On this episode of BackStory, Brian sits down with Ed to talk about a project of his that’s been twenty-five years in the making.

Still Worrying about The Civil War

John Kelly's statement about the Civil War is not surprising, but they are a reminder that we should still be worrying about the Civil War.

Civil War Life in all its Day-to-Day Contrasts

In his latest work of history, Edward Ayers captures daily life along with the military and political moves.

The Day White Virginia Stopped Admiring Gen. Robert E. Lee and Started Worshiping Him

Stripping Virginia of its Lee tributes is far harder than it is in other places.
Women looting a bakery during the Richmond Bread Riot.

What Happened at the Richmond Bread Riot?

The Richmond Bread Riot broke out during the Civil War when working-class women in the South became fed up with food shortages.
Artistic collage of black leaders surrounded by images associated with prohibition.

The Forgotten History of Black Prohibitionism

We often think of the temperance movement as driven by white evangelicals set out to discipline Black Americans and immigrants. That history is wrong.

The Power of Empty Pedestals

After Governor Northam announced its removal, two Richmond historians reflect on the legacy of the Lee Monument.
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Transcontinental

Ed Ayers visits the site where the transcontinental railroad was completed. He considers the project's human costs, and discovers how the environment and photography played key roles on the rails.
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The Revolutions

Ed Ayers visits public historians in Boston and Philadelphia and explores what “freedom” meant to those outside the halls of power in the Revolutionary era.

An Unfinished Revolution

A new three-part PBS documentary explores the failure of Reconstruction and the Redemption of the South.
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Paying for the Past: Reparations and American History

Reparations for African-Americans has been a hot topic on the presidential campaign trail, but the debate goes back centuries.
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You Have Died of Dysentery

A conversation with the lead designer of the 1985 version of the Oregon Trail video game.
Ripped Puerto Rican flag painted with the words "Together as One"
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No More Annexation: Assassination!

The extremes to which Puerto Rican national Pedro Albizu Campos and his followers fought for independence.
Chautauqua program, 1917.
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Vacation Nation

How vacations went from being a purview of the rich to an expectation of a rising American middle class.
Cover of the 1940 Negro Motorist Green Book.
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Traveling While Black

In 1936, Victor Green published a guide of restaurants, gas stations and lodgings that would accommodate African Americans travelling across the country.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos protesting as they receive medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
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Black Power Salute

The founder of the Olympic Project for Human Rights talks about the iconic protest by Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the winners’ podium in 1968.
Robert E. Lee statue

The Fight Over Virginia’s Confederate Monuments

How the state’s past spurred a racial reckoning.
Person carrying live Thanksgiving turkey
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American as Pumpkin Pie: A History of Thanksgiving

Why Pilgrims would be stunned by our "traditional" Thanksgiving table, and other surprising truths about the invention of our national holiday.
Oneida Community members outside their mansion house, ca. 1865-1875.
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When We Say “Share Everything,” We Mean Everything

On the Oneida Community, a radical religious organization practicing “Bible communism,” and eventually, manufacturing silverware.
Godey's Lady's book cover, 1867.
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All Hale Thanksgiving

In the 1820s, Sarah Hale, a New England widow and the editor of Godey’s Ladies Book made it her mission to get Thanksgiving recognized as a national holiday.