Anne Fertig, PhD

Anne Fertig, PhD Profile Photo

Host

Anne Fertig is the Digital Projects Editor at the Center for Digital History at the George Washington Presidential Library and the acting lead producer of the George Washington Podcast Network. A trained literary and book historian, Dr. Fertig completed her Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022. In addition to her work at the George Washington Podcast Network, she is the founder and co-director of Jane Austen & Co.

A Presidential Primer
Oct. 23, 2023

A Presidential Primer

The State of the Union address may be an annual tradition now, but when Washington prepared to give his address in 1790, the expectations weighed heavily upon him. To prepare for this momentous occasion, Washington turned, p…
Guests: Anne Fertig, PhD , Curt Dahl , Douglas Bradburn, PhD
A Gift from Spain
Oct. 9, 2023

A Gift from Spain

Washington bought a copy of Don Quixote on the last day of the Constitutional Convention. But what is so significant about this Spanish story? And what did Benjamin Franklin and the Spanish ambassador have to do with it? In …
Guests: Curt Dahl , Anne Fertig, PhD , Douglas Bradburn, PhD
A Syllabus for War
Sept. 25, 2023

A Syllabus for War

George Washington’s commitment to professionalism went hand-in-hand with his leadership as both a general and a president. He believed strongly in creating an American army that adhered to new models of professional military…
Guests: Anne Fertig, PhD , Joseph Stoltz , Curt Dahl , Alexandra Montgomery
An American Way of Farming
Sept. 11, 2023

An American Way of Farming

Farming was Washington’s greatest passion, and he devoted himself to the study of new and emerging agricultural practices. Associate Curator Jessie Macleod discusses how enslaved men and women at Mount Vernon put some of the…
Guests: Anne Fertig, PhD , Jessie MacLeod , Curt Dahl
Aug. 28, 2023

"Murder Heaped Upon Murder"

A message scrawled in the leaves of an antique book may seem like a trope for a gothic novel, but it is also a hidden clue into the life of Martha Washington. Like George, Martha Washington enjoyed reading and collecting boo…
Guests: Anne Fertig, PhD , Samantha Snyder , Curt Dahl
Touring Revolutionary America
Aug. 14, 2023

Touring Revolutionary America

Come take a journey through Revolutionary America through the eyes of a French aristocrat and natural historian. While many remember George Washington’s famous friendship with the Marquis de Lafayette, fewer are aware of his…
Guests: Anne Fertig, PhD , Curt Dahl , Iris de Rode
Mapping George Washington's America
July 31, 2023

Mapping George Washington's America

In the early American Republic, nationhood represented more than just an ideal. It also required a novel approach to visualizing the space and geography of the new country. Washington wanted to literally put the United State…
Guests: Anne Fertig, PhD , Curt Dahl , Alexandra Montgomery
Faith and Freedom
July 17, 2023

Faith and Freedom

In the aftermath of independence, the American branch of the Church of England faced an identity crisis. The head of the Anglican Church, after all, was the King of England. So what were the faithful Anglicans to do? Make th…
Guests: Jennifer Seiter , Anne Fertig, PhD , Curt Dahl
The Case of the Missing Magazine
July 3, 2023

The Case of the Missing Magazine

When this magazine disappeared from George Washington's library, it wouldn't reappear until a hundred years later--and in the unlikeliest of places. In this episode of Secrets of Washington's Archives, research librarian Sam…
Guests: Samantha Snyder , Anne Fertig, PhD , Curt Dahl
Learning to be George Washington
June 19, 2023

Learning to be George Washington

Published in 1679, The Compleat Surveyor was a textbook for those training in the field of surveying, including a young George Washington. But don’t be fooled by its simple description: its early influence on Washington woul…
Guests: Dana Stefanelli , Curt Dahl , Anne Fertig, PhD