As America commemorates and celebrates its 250th Anniversary, Ted Reinstein looks back. Way back. Even years before independence was actually achieved, events took place that would shape how the new nation would look back at its founding. Paul Revere’s ride? One of the most momentous nights in U.S. history. And, like any big night, there was a bill. And America’s first expense report. Who knew? (The first bean counters even tried to stiff Revere!.) While many New Englanders pride themselves on knowing the difference between Bunker and Breed’s Hill, few know that the bad blood over this historical inaccuracy continues—meet Jed Breed, thirteenth-generation direct descendant of the Boston farmer whose name should be in the history books, not an answer in “Trivial Pursuit.” Find out why Concord and Lexington are still doing battle—not with the British, but each other. Visit historic Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, and find the one headstone the British used for target practice—and why.

All drawn from Ted Reinstein’s nearly three decades of reporting around New England, these stories and more are crafted into a just-under-an-hour talk. If you like history, enjoy learning a story behind the story, or just want a good laugh along with your 250th—“Greetings from Bunker Hill!”

Since 1995, Ted Reinstein has been a reporter for Boston/WCVB’s celebrated “Chronicle,” the nation’s longest-running, locally-produced nightly newsmagazine. He has been a contributing member of the WCVB editorial board since 2010.

Elsewhere on television, Ted has hosted specials for the Discovery Channel and HGTV. For the Travel Channel's photo/adventure series, “FreezeFrame,” he explored Hawaii's volcanoes, the caves of Puerto Rico, and the South Pacific islands of Tahiti. 

In 2002, he was part of a Chronicle team that received a prestigious National DuPont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism Award for Chronicle’s coverage of Boston’s Big Dig project. In 2018, he received an Emmy Award for his story on the “Good Night Lights” phenomenon in Providence, Rhode Island.

His first book, New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories, was selected by National Geographic Traveler as one of its “Best Picks.” He’s also the author of Wicked Pissed: New England’s Most Famous Feuds, Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier, and co-author, with his wife, Anne-Marie, of New England’s General Stores: Exploring an American Classic.

His newest book, Travels Through the Heart and Soul of New England was released in July 2024 by Globe Pequot Press.

Ted is a native of Winthrop, Massachusetts, and lives with his family just west of Boston.

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