What started as long conversations between friends has turned into a collaborative project that blends historical insight with contemporary relevance. For Natalie Miller, Macie Kendrick, and Bridget Miller, three history majors with a shared passion for connecting the past to the present, launching a podcast felt like a natural next step.

“The three of us spend a lot of time together, and most of that time is spent talking about history or politics,” said Natalie, a senior double majoring in history and political science. “We can go on for hours about interesting historical topics and the connections we see to current events.”

Those conversations sparked a running joke about keeping a microphone on hand so they could record their conversations for a podcast. 

“By this point we already had the blog up and running and we thought, why not?” Natalie said. 

Natalie launched "The Past is Prologue" blog last spring as a way to connect history and politics. She quickly invited Macie, a senior history major with minors in international relations and national security and foreign affairs, and Bridget, a junior history major with a minor in international studies, to join. While the blog allowed the trio to explore current events through a historical lens, they quickly realized something was missing.

Transforming their work into "The Past is Podcast" allowed their personalities and different perspectives to shine in a way that was difficult to achieve in the blog format. Having previously created a podcast together for an assignment in one of their history classes, Macie and Bridget had a sense of what it could look like.

“We thought about it and decided we didn’t have anything to lose,” Bridget said. “The conversational format of podcasting feels very authentic to who we are and how we interact.”

Each student brings a deep love of history shaped by their experiences at Virginia Tech. “The faculty in the history department have truly shaped my love of history and expanded my view of history as a field,” Natalie said.

Macie echoed that influence, recalling how she initially chose to study history simply because she enjoyed learning it.

“During my first semester, I fell in love with the process of historical research and writing, and that love has only grown,” she said.

Creating the podcast has challenged them to apply the skills they’ve learned in new ways. Natalie acknowledged that the fast-paced format of the podcast has helped her as a writer, while Macie emphasized learning how to communicate research to broader audiences.

“I’ve developed the ability to synthesize information in a way that is both educational yet attainable for general audiences,” she said, noting the skills gained through brainstorming, research, and writing translate directly to their coursework.

Bridget agreed, calling the project “a really great learning opportunity” that has enhanced her research and analysis abilities and put her skills as a historian to the test.

Teamwork sits at the heart of the podcast. The trio share writing and production responsibilities and alternate between collaborative and individual episodes. For collaborative episodes, they agree on a topic and each work on a section to present, while individual episodes allow one person speak to the others on a topic they’re interested in.

“The discussions we have as a team have not only made our final product richer but have also taken us down avenues we may have never thought of if it wasn’t for this teamwork,” Macie said. “Being able to bring together our individual strengths has been such a beautiful experience.”

Despite busy schedules and a steep learning curve with technology, the most rewarding part of the project has been working together.

“It’s been really special to create something I am proud of with two of my best friends,” Natalie said.

The project has let them put their skills to use and stretch themselves as budding historians while reinforcing the flexibility a history degree can offer.

“This experience has shown me how many opportunities there are for what you can do,” Natalie said. “History is a really creative subject.”

Macie added that the skills they’ve learned through the history program “have been the bones of this project and shown me how valuable and applicable a history degree can be.”

All three students credit their professors and campus resources for making the project possible.

“We attribute so much of our passion for history to our professors and their knowledge and expertise,” Natalie said. “We are so grateful for the faculty that have shaped us and our love for history.”

Amid the learning, effort, and growth behind each episode, the experience remains grounded in friendship.

“At the end of the day, it’s just us hanging out and doing what we enjoy,” Bridget said. “Sometimes, historical discussions are just three friends sitting around and talking.”

All views expressed on "The Past is Podcast" and/or "The Past is Prologue" blog are individual opinions of the blog/podcast creators.

Written by Cammie Sgarrella