Preservecast

Today we're joined by journalist and author Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, talking about her critically-acclaimed book, Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free, which came out in June of 2025 from Simon & Schuster. Named a New York Times Editors’ Choice, an Amazon Editor’s pick for Best History, and a must-read book featured in Oprah Daily, The Atlantic, Elle, Forbes, Harper's Bazaar, and on NPR's All Things Considered, among many others, Dickinson’s first book has been hailed as an exceptional biography and an essential read that “puts the American fashion icon Claire McCardell back in the pantheon,” according to Kate Bolick of The New York Times Book Review. Learn more, including where to purchase: https://www.eedickinson.com/          

Today we're joined by The Campaign for Historic Trades' Recruitment and Outreach Manager Jordan Riggs to talk about the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and The Campaign's role in this year's event, spotlighting the value of careers, training, and education in historic trades. The Campaign for Historic Trades, like PreserveCast, is powered by Preservation Maryland. 

Today we're talking with Nina Jean-Louis, a structural engineer passionate about bridging engineering, cultural heritage, and climate science to design culturally sensitive strategies that help communities safeguard their heritage sites from climate change impacts. Her research involves transdisciplinary methodologies merging qualitative and quantitative approaches to holistically quantify cultural landscape resilience in co-production with community relational values.

Today's episode features a first - a fashion historian, Brooklyn-based Summer Anne Lee. She has an MA in Fashion and Textile Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she currently teaches various courses in fashion history. Summer's research areas have included subcultural style and the history of women's underpinnings, and she is currently writing a book titled Presidential Fashion: An Illustrated History for the Yale University Press. Learn more: https://www.summerannelee.com/ As referenced: The Roaring Twenties and The Swinging Sixties: https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/roaring-and-swinging.php  

Trades Takeover is back! In this episode, Director of Historic Trades Natalie Henshaw speaks with John Chan, Principal and Executive VP for the Durable Slate Company. John is a nationally recognized expert in historic roofing and a passionate advocate for preserving traditional roofing methods. He started slate, tile and copper roofing at The Durable Slate Company while on college summer breaks in 1986 and joined the company full-time in 1989 after graduating from UCLA. After working through the ranks in the field, he became a principal of the company in 1992. In 1996, he relocated to open the Cincinnati branch, then went on to open the New Orleans branch in 2006. During this time, he worked on over 10,000 slate and tile roofs all over the United States and Europe. John’s expertise in slate and cooper roofing has led to his role as a board member of the National Slate Association. He also served as the organization’s president from 2012-2018, tripling the typical term limit for the position. Over the years, h

We're sitting down with historian and author of the new book, Designing the American Century: The Public Landscapes of Clarke and Rapuano, 1915–1965, Thomas Campanella. Tune in as we talk about two unsung giants of American landscape and urban design.  

Today we're on with Benjamin Prosky, president of the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation, working to advance education, innovation, and stewardship in the fields of historic preservation, decorative arts, and historic landscapes. Listen in as Ben covers his preservation journey and the resources the Foundation stewards. 

Join us as we sit down with Olive Theodore, founder of Walrus Boat Recycling, a nonprofit project centered around saving and upcycling boats, and the capital campaign manager of the Center for Wooden Boats, aiming to connect each of us to Seattle's living maritime heritage of building, exploring, and using small boats through hands-on experiences. Listen in as we cover all things maritime!

On this special-release episode of PreserveCast, we're sitting down with Jack Gary from Colonial Williamsburg’s Department of Archaeology to discuss the opening of a "new" site at Colonial Williamsburg. Today, on Juneteenth, Colonial Williamsburg is opening a powerful chapter of American history,  the Williamsburg Bray School, the nation’s oldest-known schoolhouse used to educate enslaved and free Black children. The site dramatically expands the narrative of Colonial Williamsburg, deepening how the museum tells the story of our country’s origins through the lens of race, education, faith, and community. The project also centers descendant voices, who are helping to shape how these stories are shared with the public. About Our Guest Jack leads all aspects of archaeological research within Colonial Williamsburg’s Department of Archaeology. He oversees a department of 30 professional archaeologists engaged in historical research, field excavation, laboratory analyses, and documentation of Colonial Williamsburg’

This week we're sitting down with Susan McMahon, Executive Director of the Landmark Trust USA, a nonprofit organization that preserves historic properties and makes them available as short-term vacation rentals. Susan has a background in community development and historic preservation. Historic preservation has always been a professional pursuit and a personal passion of hers. 

On this week's PreserveCast we're joined by Kathryn Mayer, who built a searchable database of 19th-century coroner’s records with the Baltimore City Archives. We're chatting about her project and more about how to evaluate historic information. 

Today we're joined by Marion Werkheiser and Will Cook from Cultural Heritage Partners, a law firm that works to leverage humanity’s past to create a better future. With policy, funding, and staffing issues in the current political climate, the firm is working to educate the community and advocate for cultural heritage and historic preservation so our places are protected. Join us as we talk Section 106, executive orders, and other legal matters affecting the preservation community. https://www.culturalheritagepartners.com/

We're excited to sit down with Cristiana Pena, a digital communications expert in the preservation world. Cristiana is the social media director at CIRCA, where she creates an online community of old house enthusiasts by featuring real estate listings of historic properties. 

Today we're chatting with Amy Kehs, a brand strategist and communications expert for museums. She has owned Kehs Communications since 2000 and has worked for the most renowned and well-loved museums in the Washington, D.C. area. Her goal is to ensure that museums thrive in the next century and she hopes people will come to love museums as much as she does. She is the creator of the Love my Museum suite of services, free and affordable support for museum professionals, including the Love my Museum podcast. Learn more: https://www.lovemymuseum.com/

Today we're talking with Dr. Mary Anne Hunting and Dr. Kevin D. Murphy about their new book, Women Architects at Work: Making American Modernism, detailing the history of the women architects who left their enduring mark on American Modernism Dr. Mary Anne Hunting is an architectural historian and the author of Edward Durell Stone: Modernism’s Populist Architect. Dr. Kevin D. Murphy is the Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities and professor and chair in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Vanderbilt University. His books include Jonathan Fisher of Blue Hill, Maine: Commerce, Culture, and Community on the Eastern Frontier.

Today we're joined by Laura Zimmerman, Chair of the Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage, and Liz Shatto, Executive Director of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, about the history of the organization, this year's Washington County House and Garden Pilgrimage (Saturday, June 7th), and engaging the public around history and historic places.  For more information and tickets: https://www.mhgp.org/washington-county

Today we're talking with Hank Levine is the President of the Bethesda (Maryland) Meeting House Foundation and the Secretary of the Bethesda Historical Society. He was a prime mover in the Foundation’s 2023 purchase of the Bethesda Meeting House site and leads its ongoing efforts to preserve/restore the site and turn it into an active community asset.  He regularly leads walking tours of Bethesda and is a frequent speaker on the history of the community. Learn more: www.bethesdameetinghouse.org

Today we're talking with Jeffrey Ricketts, who, in July of 2022, took ownership of Mullen’s Folly in Calvert, Maryland. Mullen’s Folly is a log house located in northeastern Cecil County, Maryland. It was built possibly before 1789. It operated as a general store from 1789-1823 servicing the surrounding community with a wide variety of goods sourced in Philadelphia and Wilmington. After 1823, the building was converted into a house. From 1859-2022 the house was owned by four generations of the Berriker-FitzGerald family, until it was sold to Jeffrey, who is currently restoring the building to its late 18th-century appearance, and is rediscovering all of its lost history.  Learn more: https://www.eastnottinghamantiques.com/about-6  

Today we're talking with Dr. Cheryl Fogle-Hatch, founder of MuseumSenses LLC, a consulting firm that helps museums develop multi-sensory exhibits for everyone, regardless of their visual acuity. Creating exhibit content with tactile and audio components engages blind people with history, the arts, and sciences. Exposing sighted people to tactile and audio content creates an integrated experience for all visitors. Dr. Fogle-Hatch works with historic sites to improve their tactile experiences. Projects include: •           The Please Touch tour at Macculloch Hall Historical Museum in Morristown New Jersey •           Revolutionary Anthology: Power of Place exhibit at Fort Ticonderoga, New York •           Making History Accessible: Toolkit for Multisensory Interpretation, a digital publication produced by the Intrepid Museum and the NYU Ability Project.

Russ Carnahan, Honorary President and Strategic Advisor for Preservation Action, joins us today to discuss National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week. Congressman Carnahan served 4 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the St. Louis, MO region. He held several leadership positions including the Chairmanship of the bi-partisan Historic Preservation Caucus and the High Performance Building Caucus that focused on strategies that included use of green building technologies and policies for historic and new buildings. Previously as a state legislator, he was a champion of Missouri’s nationally known State Historic Tax Credit that has successfully spurred saving and restoring countless historic properties. Congressman Carnahan is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Law and is a principal in the firm Carnahan Global Consulting.