ISSUED: 30 September 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — 黑料吃瓜网University鈥檚 Dr. Benjamin Bankhurst, director of the Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities, plays a prominent role in the latest episode of 鈥淯s & Them,鈥� a West Virginia Public Broadcasting podcast that examines cultural issues and divisions from multiple perspectives. The episode, 鈥淎 Fresh Look at America鈥檚 Origin Story,鈥� released September 25, revisits the founding of the United States from a nuanced perspective.鈥� 听
As the United States prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the episode highlights the tensions, divisions and ideological struggles that shaped the American Revolution.鈥疊ankhurst shared insights into how the conflicts played out in the region.听
鈥淗ere in the Shenandoah Valley, divisions ran deep; within months of the Beeline March, Continental soldier James Morgan was murdered by a Loyalist gang near Martinsburg, bayoneted to his cabin door. The area around that site is still known as 鈥楾orytown,鈥欌�� Bankhurst explained.听
He also emphasized that the Revolution was rarely a simple us-versus-them struggle, but rather a 鈥渨ar of ideas鈥� that extended across American communities.鈥�听
The episode was recorded during a community event held on September 4 at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education on Shepherd鈥檚 campus, where community members previewed Ken Burns鈥� PBS documentary series 鈥淭he American Revolution鈥� and took part in a community discussion led by a panel of historians. 听
Bankhurst participated in the panel alongside Raymond Smock, director emeritus of the Byrd Center and former historian of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Dr. Friederike Baer, an early American historian at Penn State Abington. The conversation was moderated by 鈥淯s & Them鈥� host Trey Kay.听听
To listen to 鈥淯s & Them: A Fresh Look at America鈥檚 Origin Story,鈥� visit or download the episode on major podcast platforms.听
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