

Worlds Turned Upside Down
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Worlds Turned Upside Down tells the story of the American Revolution as a transatlantic crisis and imperial civil war through the lives of people who experienced it. For many modern citizens of the United States, "the cause of America" that gave birth to a new nation in 1776 and the heroic stories we tell ourselves about its founding remains "in great measure the cause of all mankind." But for the people who lived through it, the revolutionary era upended their lives in ways they could have never imagined. The crisis that engulfed the Atlantic world in the late eighteenth century inspired British Americans, Indigenous nations, enslaved Africans and African Americans, Europeans, and other peoples to question their loyalties, challenge authority, seek freedom, and resist revolutionary change.
Worlds Turned Upside Down is narrated and written by Dr. Jim Ambuske.
Worlds Turned Upside Down is narrated and written by Dr. Jim Ambuske.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 16, 2025 • 1h 7min
Episode 22: The Siege
Hours after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, rebel British Americans begin laying siege to Boston, trapping thousands of civilians and soldiers in town for months with dwindling supplies, compelling the British to make a costly assault on nearby Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. Featuring: Rick Atkinson, Lindsay Chervinsky, Brad Jones, and Rosemarie Zagarri. Voice Actors: Adam Smith, Grace Mallon, John Turner, Annabelle Spencer, Evan McCormick, John Terry, Spencer McBride, and Peter Walker. Narrated by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Music by Artlist.io This episode was made possible with support from a 2024 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Help other listeners find the show by leaving a 5-Star Rating and Review on Apple, Spotify, Podchaser, or our website. Follow the series on Facebook or Instagram. Worlds Turned Upside Down is a production of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

Nov 25, 2025 • 1h 18min
Episode 21: The Vengeance
The long-simmering rivalry between Virginians and Pennsylvanians for control of the Ohio Country leads to the 1774 massacre of Soyechtowa James Logan's family at Yellow Creek along the banks of the Ohio River, igniting a war for revenge with tragic results. Featuring: Robert Parkinson and Christopher Pearl. Voice Actors: Adam Smith, John Terry, Anne Fertig, and Evan McCormick. Narrated by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Music by Artlist.io This episode was made possible with support from a 2024 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Help other listeners find the show by leaving a 5-Star Rating and Review on Apple, Spotify, Podchaser, or our website. Follow the series on Facebook or Instagram. Worlds Turned Upside Down is a production of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

Oct 28, 2025 • 1h 9min
Episode 20: The Rebellion
With tensions mounting in British America over Parliament's Coercive Acts, colonists begin losing faith in King George III, while British soldiers march out of Boston to seize arms and ammunition in Lexington and Concord. Featuring: Rick Atkinson, Fred Anderson, Wendy Bellion, Katherine Carté, Frank Cogliano, Brad Jones, and Andrew O'Shaughnessy. Voice Actors: Anne Fertig, Adam Smith, Evan McCormick, John Turner, John Winters, Grace Mallon, Peter Walker, Craig Gallager, Spencer McBride, and John Terry. Narrated by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Music by Artlist.io This episode was made possible with support from a 2024 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Help other listeners find the show by leaving a 5-Star Rating and Review on Apple, Spotify, Podchaser, or our website. Follow the series on Facebook or Instagram. Worlds Turned Upside Down is a production of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

Sep 23, 2025 • 1h 11min
Episode 19: The Gambit
With British authority collapsing in North America, Britons on both sides of the Atlantic including Benjamin Franklin, Caroline Howe, and Lord Dartmouth engage in desperate and secret negotiations to avoid all the horrors of civil war. Featuring: Julie Flavell, Mary Beth Norton, Michael Hattem, and Frank Cogliano. Voice Actors: Grace Mallon, Amber Pelham, Evan McCormick, Adam Smith, Craig Gallagher, and John Terry. Narrated by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Music by Artlist.io This episode was made possible with support from a 2024 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Help other listeners find the show by leaving a 5-Star Rating and Review on Apple, Spotify, Podchaser, or our website. Follow the series on Facebook or Instagram. Worlds Turned Upside Down is a production of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

Aug 26, 2025 • 1h 1min
Episode 18: The Resurrection
Fourteen years after British forces conquered New France during the Seven Years' War, Parliament's passage of the Quebec Act in 1774 resurrects old fears of French Catholic tyranny in Protestant British America. Featuring: Katherine Carté, Christian Ayne Crouch, Brad Jones, and Jeffers Lennox. Voice Actors: Jan Hoffmann, Craig Gallagher, Emmanuel Dubois, Grace Mallon, Bertrand van Ruymbeke, Adam Smith, Anne Fertig, Annabelle Spencer, and Patrick Long. Narrated by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Music by Artlist.io This episode was made possible with support from a 2024 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Help other listeners find the show by leaving a 5-Star Rating and Review on Apple, Spotify, Podchaser, or our website. Follow the series on Facebook or Instagram. Worlds Turned Upside Down is a production of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

Jul 30, 2025 • 1h 3min
Episode 17: The Tyranny
In the wake of the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passes a series of coercive and intolerable acts to punish the tea destroyers and bring order to British America.

Jun 30, 2025 • 1h 9min
Episode 16: The Tea
British Americans' unquenchable thirst for tea and a looming financial disaster for the East India Company leads to a new crisis in North America when seven tea-laden ships are sent to the colonies in 1773, inspiring Bostonians to dump much of the cargo in Boston Harbor. Featuring: Benjamin Carp, James Fichter, Deepthi Murali, and Mary Beth Norton. Voice Actors: Craig Gallagher, Margaret Hughes, Grace Mallon, Norman Rodger, Annabelle Spencer, and John Turner. Narrated by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Music by Artlist.io This episode was made possible with support from a 2024 grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Help other listeners find the show by leaving a 5-Star Rating and Review on Apple, Spotify, Podchaser, or our website. Follow the series on Facebook or Instagram. Worlds Turned Upside Down is a production of R2 Studios at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

May 31, 2025 • 1h 20min
Episode 15: The Heavens Fall
The detainment of a West African-born enslaved Virginian named James Somerset in London leads to a court case decided by England's most powerful judge that challenges the foundations of slavery in the British Empire. Featuring: Christopher Brown, Trevor Burnard, Julie Flavell, and Chernoh Sesay, Jr. Voice Actors: Amber Pelham, Anne Fertig, Gillian MacDonald, Norman Roger, Craig Gallagher, and Adam McNeil. Narrated by Dr. Jim Ambuske. Music by Artlist.io This episode was made possible with support from a 2024 grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Help other listeners find the show by leaving a 5-Star Rating and Review on Apple, Spotify, Podchaser, or our website. Follow the series on Facebook or Instagram. Worlds Turned Upside Down is a production of R2 Studios at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

May 6, 2025 • 1h 26min
Episode 14: The Corruption
Join historian Marjoleine Kars and public historian Nathan Schultz as they dive into the tumultuous Regulator movement in colonial North Carolina. Kars explores how the Great Awakening inspired ordinary settlers to challenge corrupt officials, while Schultz recounts gripping tales from the Hillsborough courtroom riots and the dramatic Battle of Alamance. Discover the impact of land speculation and currency shortages on local rebellion, and unravel how these uprisings laid the groundwork for future American independence.

Mar 7, 2025 • 1h 27min
Episode 13: The Massacre
The podcast delves into the tumultuous events leading to the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. It explores the colonial resentment toward oppressive taxes and troop deployments, painting a vivid picture of Boston’s fraught atmosphere. Personal stories of soldiers and their families reveal the complexities of loyalty and fear, while critical moments like the infamous crowd confrontation highlight escalating tensions. The aftermath investigates the propaganda that shaped public perception and the legal battles that followed, challenging the narratives of both the army and the colonies.


