
Lulu Miller
NPR’s Lulu Miller, a Fellow at VFH, reads an excerpt from her forthcoming book, ‘Why Fish Don’t Exist’. Her reading is set to the live musical accompaniment of Wes Swing.

The End of Mormon Polygamy
Jane Barnes is an independent scholar in residence at Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. In 2007 she was the writer for the Frontline/American Experience documentary The Mormons and in 2012 …

The Art of Emancipation
Throughout the mid to late 19th century, Europe was in a state of social upheaval. Political changes, from the Revolutions of 1848 to the Franco Prussian war of 1871, swept …

Hands On History
A set of gnarled dentures hang in mid-air. It rotates, exposing dents, ridges, and wear, either from use or years. “Those are actually human teeth,” says Peter Hedlund, the lead …

Block the Vote
Millions of African Americans were emancipated in 1865 and given the vote. By 1901, almost all of them had lost that vote. What happened in those intervening years? VFH’s Encyclopedia Virginia explores the history of the Readjuster Party in Danville, VA and how it changed Virginia politics forever.

The Flip Side
A portrait of an unknown man from 1825 has a secret that shows the violence at the heart of slavery.

Stepping into Myth
One of the most persistent legends surrounding the Battle of Gettysburg, which took place 150 years ago, is that it was fought over shoes. Encyclopedia Virginia‘s Brendan Wolfe examines the real reasons behind the battle.