About

Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant is a podcast that showcases 18th and early 19th-century women’s letters that don’t always make it into the history books. Join historian Kathryn Gehred and her guests as they explore the lives of women and the world around them through their letters. 

Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant is a production of R2 StudiosTM at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

About the Hosts

Kathyrn GehredProfile Photo

Kathyrn Gehred

Host

Kathryn Gehred has a master's degree in Women's History from Sarah Lawrence College and was part of a team of editors who completed The Papers of Martha Washington, a transcribed collection of all of Martha Washington's known correspondence published by UVA Press in 2022. She began releasing Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant in 2020 as a personal side project because she thought a podcast would be a great way to share some of her favorite 18th-century women's letters with the world

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Jeanette Patrick

Head of Studio

Jeanette Patrick is the Head of R2 Studios. She is a public historian and has an M.A. in Public History from James Madison University. At R2 Studios, she oversees the development and production of all the studio’s podcasts including Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant, The Green Tunnel, Worlds Turned Upside Down, and Antisemitism U.S.A. Patrick previously worked in the museum industry where she played a pivotal role in creating digital public history projects. Prior to R2 Studios, Patrick worked for George Washington’s Mount Vernon, where she managed the history and preservation website content and built many digital exhibits. She also wrote scripts for audio and AR tours, live-action films, and animated videos. With Jim Ambuske, Patrick co-created and co-wrote the podcast Intertwined: The Enslaved Community at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

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Jim Ambuske

Co-Head of Studio

Jim Ambuske is Co-Head of R2 Studios. He is a historian of the American Revolution, Scotland, and the British Atlantic World. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia in 2016 and he is the author and co-author of several publications on the American Revolution, transatlantic legal history, and King George III. At R2 Studios, Ambuske serves as the narrator, writer, and creator of the forthcoming series Worlds Turned Upside Down. He is also an executive producer of Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant, The Green Tunnel, and Antisemitism U.S.A. Before joining R2 Studios, Ambuske led the Center for Digital History at the Washington Library at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

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Hayley Madl

Audio Editor

Hayley Madl is a Ph.D. student at George Mason University. She currently works as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media and as a Podcast Producer at R2 Studios whose credits include The Green Tunnel and Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant. Hayley’s past work has centered on Indigenous expressions of sovereignty in treaty councils during the eighteenth century, particularly among the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations). Her current research focuses on the applications of 3D modeling and digital reconstruction to community memory and lost landscapes, especially within Indigenous communities.

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Rachel Bodily Birch

Rachel earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Brigham Young University and will complete a Master’s degree in History from George Mason University in 2024. Rachel's research focuses on nineteenth and twentieth century American religion, religious benevolence, and women’s history. She is especially interested in the importance of oral history. Rachel is a Graduate Student Affiliate at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media.