Give Me Liberty: Charlottesville and the American Revolution from 1776 to 2026

Historian Benjamin Bernard and producer Sage Tanguay hand the microphone to their University of Virginia students to interview history-lovers and experts in Charlottesville. How did Charlottesville experience the Age of Revolutions? In the lead-up to 2026—which will represent the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence—what should citizens of our sister cities know about revolutionary historical memory today?

Sister Revolutions is a limited-run documentary series made possible by the Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission, Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia, and America 2026. You can learn more about each of these organizations on their websites: www.cvillesistercities.org, https://browncollege.virginia.edu/ and www.america2026.eu

• Sister Revolutions is produced and hosted by Benjamin Bernard and Sage Tanguay
• With production assistance from Sophia Moore
• French Transcription and Translation by Oriane Guiziou-Lamour
• Music in this episode was provided by Blue Dot Sessions

This episode featured the voices of:

• Iris De Rode
• Emily Hemlinger
• Kirt Von Daacke
• Brennen Muller
• Kay Slaughter
• Lara Howell
• David McCormick

Special thanks to

• Elizabeth Smiley of the Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission
• Ben Larsen of WTJU for running sound at our launch event
• Bertrand Van Ruymbeke of America 2026
• Prof. Ari Blatt, Chair of the University of Virginia French Department
• Florent Werguet, Head of international relations for the City of Besancon
• Hugo Toudic Associate director of the University of Chicago center in Paris

Sister Revolutions is hosted by Symposia: a production of Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia and the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM.