Katharine Gerbner makes historical research accessible to broad audiences. She has participated in documentaries, interviews, podcasts, and radio shows on many topics, including the relationship between Christianity and slavery, the history of race and religion, and the importance of archival research and history education in the age of AI.
Documentaries
The Black Church
Dr. Gerbner explains the relationship between Christianity and slavery in early America as a guest expert in Episode 1 of The Black Church, a PBS documentary with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Watch the Trailer
Unspoken
As a guest expert for the Unspoken documentary, Katharine Gerbner describes how the conversion of enslaved people challenged the ideology of slavery.
Watch the Trailer
After the Flood: The Church, Slavery, and Reconciliation
In this documentary about the Church of England’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, Katharine Gerbner describes how missionaries tried to reconcile Christianity and slavery.
Watch the Trailer
Podcasts
Thinking Nation:
“Thinking Historically About the Codification of Race in Early America”
Dr. Gerbner discusses the legal, cultural, and religious contexts that cemented race as a tool to divide people and defend the institution of slavery in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Listen Now
History From the Old Brick Church:
“Religion, Race, Authority, and Freedom in the Atlantic World”
Dr. Gerbner discusses how Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians defended and benefited from the slave trade in Barbados and other English Colonies.
Listen Now
Ben Franklin’s World:
Episode 206, “Katharine Gerbner, Christian Slavery”
Why did Europeans and Americans enslave Africans? How did they justify their actions? Katharine Gerbner shows how Christianity influenced early ideas about slavery and its practice.
Listen Now
Jude 3:
“Christian Slavery with Dr. Katharine Gerbner”
Dr. Katharine Gerbner discusses her book “Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World.”
Listen Now
New Books in African American Studies:
“Christian Slavery”
Katharine Gerbner traces how religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the early modern period, as Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians settled and missionized the Protestant Atlantic world.
Listen Now
Found in Philadelphia:
“The Germantown Protest of 1688”
In this podcast about Philadelphia history, Katharine Gerbner explains the significance of the 1688 Germantown Protest, the first anti-slavery document written in North America.
Listen Now
Radio
KPFA:
“History of Slavery and the Invention of Whiteness”
A conversation with historian Katharine Gerbner about how religion has influenced our ideas about race, authority and freedom.
Listen Now
WAMC Northeast Public Radio:
“History Class: Christian Slavery”
Learn about the paradoxes and justifications of Christian Slavery in America.
Listen Now
Jefferson Public Radio:
“The Intertwining of Christianity and Slavery”
Dr. Gerbner details how a shared religion brought about some ethical gymnastics: how can a Christian person maintain bondage over a fellow Christian?
Listen Now
KPR Kansas Public Radio:
“Conversations: Katharine Gerbner”
As history shows us, whiteness was never about biology. It was – and remains – about politics.
Listen Now
WFAN:
“Public Affairs with Bob Salter”
Katharine Gerbner talks with Bob Salter about how to teach history in a way that makes it engaging and important for students.
Listen Now
Northern Spirit Radio:
“Spirit in Action”
Racism is deeply rooted in the USA, and entwined with religion. Katharine Gerbner helps to explain the history of our current moment.
Listen Now
Lectures & Book Talks
C-SPAN:
“Slavery and Quakers” at the Museum of the American Revolution
In a talk at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Katharine Gerbner describes the complicated history of Quakers and slavery in the 17th century. Far from being abolitionists, most Quakers in this period accepted slavery.
Watch Now
Harvard Divinity School:
“Christian Slavery in the Protestant Atlantic”
Katharine Gerbner discusses how religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the Protestant Atlantic world.
Watch Now
Moravian Archives:
“Religion, Race, and Freedom in the Moravian Missions to the Caribbean”
In this talk at the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Dr. Gerbner discusses the importance of the Moravian missionary records for understanding the history of race, religion, and slavery.
Watch Now
Interviews
Modern Reformation:
“Where Do We Go From Here?”
How does the church acknowledge its past—both good and bad—without falling into either unconstructive guilt or superficial virtue signaling?
Read More
The Junto:
Q&A with Katharine Gerbner, author of Christian Slavery
Katharine Gerbner discusses her book Christian Slavery and explains how she ended up writing about the history of religion and slavery.
Read More
Friends Journal:
Slavery in the Quaker World
Martin Kelly, the editor of Friends Journal, interviews Katharine Gerbner about how she came to research the role of Quakers in slavery.