PA BOOKS on PCN
PA Books features authors of books about Pennsylvania-related topics. These hour-long conversations allow authors to discuss both their subject matter and inspiration behind the books.
PCN - Pennsylvania Cable Network
Show overview
PA BOOKS on PCN has been publishing since 2016, and across the 10 years since has built a catalogue of 342 episodes. That works out to roughly 320 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence, with the show now in its 2026th season.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 57 min and 59 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Arts show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 1 weeks ago, with 8 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2016, with 85 episodes published. Published by PCN - Pennsylvania Cable Network.
From the publisher
PA Books features authors of books about Pennsylvania-related topics. These hour-long conversations allow authors to discuss both their subject matter and inspiration behind the books.
Latest Episodes
View all 342 episodes"Philadelphia Merchants on Western Waters" with author Kim Gruenwald
"Rescuing the Republic" with author Andrew Browning
"King of the Gun Runners" with author Jim Miller
Hear the untold story of a forgotten American, John Hart, whose adventures helped pave the way for the United States' emergence as an international power. For nearly three years, Hart became the most visible of a disparate group of mariners between New York and Key West who tormented Spanish authorities, riled the US government, and became heroes to an oppressed people fighting to be free. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"Three Roads to Gettysburg" with author Tim McGrath
With a colorful supporting cast second to none, Three Roads to Gettysburg tells the story of Robert E. Lee, George Gordon Meade, and Abraham Lincoln, the monumental Battle of Gettysburg, and the immortal address that has come to define America. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"Unclaimed Valor" with Terrence Beltz
In August 1862, Pennsylvania quickly responded to President Lincoln's request for more troops. These devoted groups of mostly central Pennsylvanians, were to become the soldiers of the 130th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. Through their diaries, letters, memoirs, and personal accounts, the men tell their heroic story. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"Mud, Rocks, Blazes" with author Heather Anderson
Despite her success setting a self-supported Fastest Known Time record on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2013, Heather "Anish" Anderson still had such deep-seated insecurities that she became convinced her feat had been a fluke. So two years later she set out again, this time hiking through mud, rocks, and mountain blazes to crush her constant self-doubt and seek the true source of her strength and purpose. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"The Whiz Kids" with Dennis Snelling
Before the 1950 World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies were infamous for a record-breaking lack of achievement that dated from their conception in 1883 through the 1940s. Nicknamed the "Whiz Kids" because they had so many players under thirty, the 1950 Phillies team caught lightning in a bottle for one season and became legendary in Philadelphia and beyond. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"Theatres of the Body" with Lynn Matluck Brooks
Theatres of the Body is a critical examination of danced stage productions in antebellum Philadelphia. At the time, the city boasted the largest number of native-born ballet dancers in the young nation and also became a creative home to blackface star T. D. Rice, who helped popularize that performance genre. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"Fighting for Philadelphia" with Michael Harris
Award-winning author Michael C. Harris's impressive Fighting for Philadelphia: Forts Mercer and Mifflin, the Battle of Whitemarsh, and the Road to Valley Forge, October 5-December 19, 1777 rescues these important actions from obscurity, puts them in context with the Saratoga Campaign, and closes his magnificent trilogy that began with the battle of Brandywine and left off with the slugfest at Germantown. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"A Saddlebag Doctor of the Mahantongo Valley of Pennsylvania" with Lawrence Knorr
The life and medical practice of Reuben Harris Muth, M.D., a rural saddlebag doctor, is reconstructed from an extant set of physician's daybooks, chronicling his professional activity from 1858 until 1898. Experience a rare glimpse of early medical history from an economic and cultural perspective. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"Charles E. Hires and the Drink that Wowed a Nation" with Bill Double
Introduced at the 1876 Centennial Exposition and powered by an historic advertising campaign, Hires Root Beer - launched 10 years before Coca-Cola - blazed the trail for development of the American soft drink industry. Its inventor, Charles Elmer Hires, has been described as "a tycoon with the soul of a chemist." Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"A History of Philadelphia Sandwiches" with Mike Madaio
Philadelphia boasts some of the most delicious original sandwiches and passionate sandwich aficionados. From the classic cheesesteak to the delectable roast pork, the city's cultural and ethnic diversity has resulted in many of America's most established meals between bread. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"City of Brotherly Blood" with Mike Stack
Mike Stack was born to power and followed his father and grandfather into the ring of fire of Philadelphia politics. He was groomed for office, and was running in his early 20s. This is the story about all those Mike encountered in the often bloody, city of brotherly love. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"The Weather Gods Curse the Gettysburg Campaign" with Jeffrey Harding and Jon Nese
As the nation's future hung in the balance, the Weather Gods delivered a wrath of fury on Union and Confederate forces throughout the Gettysburg Campaign. Authors Jeffrey J. Harding and Jon M. Nese present firsthand accounts, harrowing narratives and groundbreaking meteorological research that reshapes how we view the Civil War's Gettysburg Campaign. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"No Longer Subjects of the British King" with Shawn McGhee
When news reached Parliament of the Boston radicals' destruction of the Royal East India Company's tea, it passed the Coercive Acts, a collection of punitive measures designed to rein in that insubordinate seaport town. The Coercive Acts unleashed a political firestorm as communities from Massachusetts to Georgia drafted resistance resolutions condemning Parliament's perceived encroachment upon American liberty. This project was financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Department of Community and Economic Development. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"The Year that Made America" with Tom McMillian
The untold story of how America's declaration of independence hinged on seven critical months in 1776 and the courageous votes that changed the world forever. This gripping account reveals the precarious path to American independence through a series of pivotal dates that history has nearly forgotten. While July 4th claims the glory, the actual vote for independence came on July 2nd-and even that historic moment almost didn't happen. This project was financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Department of Community and Economic Development. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"Threshold to Valley Forge" with Sheilah Vance
From December 12-19, 1777, Washington's Army encamped in the towering hills of Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania, fifteen miles from Philadelphia. Known as the Threshold to Valley Forge, the Gulph Mills Encampment is often forgotten or minimized, falling as it did between the more famous military engagements of the Philadelphia Campaign and the well-known experience of the army at Valley Forge. This project was financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Department of Community and Economic Development. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"A Killer at the Door" with Bruce Mowday
In summer 2023, Chester County, Pennsylvania, was shaken by the daring escape of convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante. Cavalcante scaled a prison wall, sparking a gripping two-week manhunt. He traversed forests, farmlands, and neighborhoods, evading law enforcement and causing schools to close, businesses to shutter, and streets to empty. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"Life, Liberty, and Death on the Appalachian Frontier" with Robert Swift
Learn about the stories of the men and women who traveled across the mountain ranges and through the valleys that made up the Appalachian region, focusing on the 18th century leading to the American Revolution and events that occurred mainly in Pennsylvania and New York. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com
"The Soul of Pittsburgh" with Ed Simon
Pittsburgh contains multitudes. From the decline of the steel industry and the exodus of a vast diaspora of Pittsburghers to its reinvention as a trendy mid-sized metropolis, the ethos of the Steel City remains ever-changing. This project was financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Department of Community and Economic Development. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com