Paul Connor, reference specialist in the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room at the Library of Congress, provides an overview of Amish history and culture.

This podcast from the Smithsonian American Art Museum details the history of the museum's building, once the U.S. Patent Office, or "Temple of Invention."

To listen to this podcast, scroll to the bullet point which reads, "Listen to our podcast about the magnificent building that houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum," and select a file type.

Eighth-grade American history educator Eric Langhorst briefly reviews the book Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home, by Matthew Pinsker. The Soldiers' Home, or Lincoln Cottage, was the summer White House for President Lincoln. It has been estimated that Lincoln spent almost 25 percent of his presidency at the Lincoln Cottage. This book sheds light on what Lincoln accomplished at this second home, how the location might have impacted his thought process during the war years, and some personal details that help to humanize Lincoln.

Maurice Jackson discusses Anthony Benezet, the founder of the antislavery movement in America in the mid-1700s. Benezet believed the British ban on slavery should have been extended to the colonies, and worked to convince his Quaker brethren that slave-owning was not consistent with Christian doctrine.

The fighting in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, was some of the most intense and confusing of the war. Gettysburg park historian Eric Campbell leads listeners through the bloody back-and-forth action.

Dr. Anne Knowles of Middlebury College answers the question "What could Lee see at Gettysburg?" Dr. Knowles builds two digital terrain models of the battlefield, one from 1996 data derived from aerial photographs, the other based on contour lines extracted from an 1874 map of the battlefield. Using a technique called viewshed analysis, she investigates how lines of sight and real-time geographic information may have influenced commanders' decisions and terrain perceptions. The results suggest that historical maps and evidence from the physical landscape can shed new light on even the most familiar historical subjects.

Dr. Julie Solometo of James Madison University attempts to reconstruct the lives of Native Americans as they stood on the eve of and during contact with European colonists in North America. She examines particularly the impact of disease and drought on Native Americans and colonists both, and at the collapse of the Powhatan Chiefdom.

To listen to this lecture, select "Part 2" under the April 19th listing.

Dr. Julie Solometo of James Madison University attempts to reconstruct the lives of Native Americans as they stood on the eve of and during contact with European colonists in North America.

To listen to this lecture, select "Podcast Part 1" under the April 19th listing.

The Union soldiers defending this pile of giant boulders just west of Little Round Top found themselves on the far left flank of the Federal line July 2, 1863. They were the first to take on Confederate Gen. James Longstreet's assault that day. This audio tour covers the fight for Devil's Den and the true story behind one of the Civil War's most famous photographs.

Author Danny Cassidy describes the origins of the word "dude," which he claims first came into use in late 19th-century New York among the Irish immigrant community.