In 1855, an outbreak of yellow fever devastated the port city of Norfolk, VA. Annette Finley-Croswhite (Old Dominion University) says the similarities with the handling of the coronavirus pandemic are chilling. And: Marie Antoinette had wacky hairdos and threw lavish parties. She was also smart and never said,“Let them eat cake.” Ron Schechter (William & Mary) has uncovered her secret library of banned books, which he says reveals a depth to her character not previously recognized.

Later in the show: Maggie Walker was an African American teacher and businesswoman and the first woman of any race to charter a bank in the United States. Colita Fairfax (Norfolk State University) says Walker was also a powerful civil rights leader in the former capital of the Confederacy during the repressive Jim Crow era. Plus: A town’s historical markers tell visitors the story of a place. But what do they leave out? We take a walking tour of Fredericksburg, Virginia’s historic markers and monuments with geographer Stephen Hanna (University of Mary Washington) to understand its untold stories.

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