Joseph Cirincione, Senior Vice President of the Center for American Progress, discusses the history and future of nuclear weapons, looking particularly at nuclear weapons production in Iran.

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute:

Elliott West, Distinguished Professor of the American West and the American Indian at the University of Arkansas, describes how guns and horses changed Native American culture, while European diseases ravaged the indigenous people of the New World who had no inherent immunity to them.

Colonial Williamsburg's Mark Schneider describes the duel between Vice President Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, resulting in Hamilton's death. Schneider also looks at the other aspects of duel etiquette and talks about several unusual duels, including a duel between a murderer and a dog.

Also check out this slideshow reenacting the duel between John Daly Burke and Felix Coquebert.

Colonial Williamsburg's Mark Schneider follows the history of dueling, looking at what separates a duel from an ordinary fight and at the codes of dueling—including the Irish 1777 "Code Duello." He notes Alexis de Tocqueville's observations that, while duels were not as ritualized in the new U.S., they did occur and were often fatal.

Also check out this slideshow reenacting the duel between John Daly Burke and Felix Coquebert.

Colonial Williamsburg's Director of Historic Trades, Jay Gaynor, sits down with interviewer Harmony Hunter to describe the the process of recreating an 18th-century cannon. According to Gaynor, the cannon "is a reproduction of a British light three-pounder, which was a gun that was developed about the time of the American Revolution and saw deployment over here during the Revolution."

The Colonial Williamsburg site also offers resources for interested readers to learn more about gunsmiths and all of Williamsburg's attempts to recreate historic trades.

War creates an industry of its own in every century, calling artisans and inventors to bring forth the best of their craft in the fastest way possible. In the Revolutionary War, this burden lay heavily on metalworkers, whose sword blades and gun barrels were in constant demand. Suzie Dye, a journeyman brass founder, discusses the technology of war in the 18th century, particularly the art of swordmaking.

Click here to discover more about colonial gunsmiths and iron workers.

Ken Schwarz, a blacksmith at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about smithing according to colonial-era practices.