Connecting the Docs is a podcast from the State Archives of North Carolina. Our archivists use archival materials to bring you fascinating, true stories from around the Old North State. Sometimes archival records solve a puzzle, and other times, they start one.
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As the United States continues to celebrate its 250th anniversary, the nation has spent a lot of time remembering the success and strength of the Patriots who fought for their freedom from tyranny. From where we stand today, it is difficult to imagine opposing such a righteous cause, but those who fought for the British Crown were just as diverse and complex as their rebellious counterparts. In…
In 1976, the United States marked 200 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence—but it wasn’t just about fireworks and parades. On a national level, the Bicentennial celebrated famous leaders and events from 1776. As the country grappled with foreign and domestic issues, citizens reflected on what freedom meant. People in communities throughout North Carolina used the Bicentennial…
Connecting the Docs is back for a short commemorative series focused on the 250th anniversary of American independence! To start things off, we are joined by Professor Kathleen DuVal of the University of North Carolina. Professor DuVal is a Pulitzer Prize winning author of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America and a Carl W. Ernst Distinguished Professor of History in the College of Arts…
One of the nation’s most significant experiments in education and community took shape right outside of Asheville, North Carolina, and it started during the Great Depression. When a small group of students and teachers renounced their old university to begin building an educational community in Black Mountain, NC, they couldn’t have realized that it would attract and produce some of the world's…
North Carolina is known as the birthplace of the American outdoor drama. One of its longest running outdoor productions, Unto These Hills, celebrated its 75th anniversary this year. To capture the spirit of that diamond anniversary, Connecting the Docs host John Horan, podcast interns Chris Deitner and Amelia Gantt, and producer Danielle Shirilla had an opportunity to travel west to watch the show…
We all remember how difficult it was to grocery shop during the COVID-19 lockdown, but imagine if a government agency had legally allotted a certain amount of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or bread to each person per month...and kept it up for three years! It might seem impossible to fathom, but this was the nation’s reality only 80 years ago. In this episode, host John Horan hears from Microfilm…
Is it true that distance makes the heart grow fonder? Even with modern-day resources like instant messaging and video calls, long-distance relationships can be daunting, but it was a wholly different experience 80 years ago. Continuing our commemorative series on World War II, Reference Archivist Katherine Crickmore, Podcast Intern Chris Deitner, and Military Archivist Ashley Latta Post discuss…
Few images are burned into popular culture as deeply as that of Rosie the Riveter, the classic and ever-reproduced representation of female empowerment during WWII. Rosie endures as a metaphor for a time of incredible change for women, a time when the U.S. called women out of the home and into the workforce to support the war effort. Historic records and images, like Rosie, teach us about the…
This episode contains content that may be harmful or difficult to listen to, including discussion of language that reflects outdated, biased or offensive views as well as descriptions of conflict, racism, and violence. Welcome back to Connecting the Docs! To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II this year, our sixth season will examine those tumultuous years of war through…
During the 1800s, some free people of color and formerly enslaved people emigrated out of North Carolina. Many went north or to Haiti, and quite a few went to Liberia. Join host John Horan, former intern LaWanda McCullor and podcast regulars, Annabeth Poe and Katie Crickmore on this episode. Listen as the crew focuses on several letters and wills housed at the State Archives of North Carolina…
