From Colonial Williamsburg: Past and Present Podcasts

"Attaining ideal beauty in the 18th century might require hog's lard, mousehide, toxic lead, and daily application of gin. Historical Interpreter Meg Brown shares her favorite discoveries."

Interested in making your own colonial cosmetic products? Click here for authentic 18th century recipes to cure dry-skin, freshen rooms, and create body fragrances.

From the Colonial Williamsburg website:

"What did the founders really intend for our democracy? Political Science Professor Quentin Kidd talks about how the government was built and how Americans have adapted it."

Colonial Williamsburg's Harmony Hunter interviews historian Cathy Hellier to discover the daily activities of young aristocratic girls in Colonial America. In addition, Hellier discusses the most important duty of young gentry girls: marriage.

Interested listeners can learn more about the adolescence of gentry girls by perusing this article by Cathleene B. Hellier.

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.

Carolyn Wilson, an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the historical figure she interprets, Betty Randolph, and the work involved in interpretation.

Hope Smith of Colonial Williamsburg talks about the work and fate of black women who followed the British army during the American Revolution, hoping to find their freedom.

Emily James, a Jamaican interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the roles she has played over the years, discussing the slave trade and the movement of slaves between the British West Indies and the North American colonies.

Kristen Spivey, a program manager in public history development at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the roles and rights of women in the colonies, looking at legal rights, fashion and dress, and participation in the trades.

Valarie Holmes, an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, discusses the life of slave Lydia Broadnax, cook to George Wythe, whose role she plays.

Corinne Dame, an actor-interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, describes the work involved in researching and portraying a variety of historical characters, including Frances Davenport, an upper-middling wife, married to Matthew Davenport, a clerk of the courts; Barbry Hoy, whose husband enlists in the Army during the Revolutionary War; and Elizabeth Maloney, who has two children with a slave.