Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street

It's getting hot outside. School is out and July 4 is just around the corner. Summer is here! What does the summer season mean to you? Americans are full of great summer stories. Whether you're meeting a bear on a road trip to Yellowstone or holding on for dear life during a wild whitewater rafting experience, we all have a summer story to tell. These stories are about much more than the fun we ha...

Explore the many ways that people contribute their skills, their passions, and their time to activities that benefit their hometowns. No matter where we live, we benefit from working together to improve the quality of life in the world around us. Listen in as today's storytellers talk about their experiences in serving their communities.

"Too often, the women were unsung, and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achivements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built American was as vital as that oft eh men whose names we know so well." -- President Jimmy Carter, 1980 proclamation announcing Women's History Week. Since our country's founding, women have been at the forefront of community servic...

In addition to our families, we also share ties that bond us with friends, neighbors, and companions in shared interests like religious, cultural and civic groups. These ties are on prime display in small towns and neighborhoods all over the country. We rely on each other, no matter where we live. We carry a package mistakenly dropped at our door over to our neighbor. We gather together to help fa...

"How do people have fun in your town?" was one of the most interesting questions Stories from Main Street asked of rural Americans over the years. Never let anyone say that life in small towns or rural communities is boring. While a community may look quiet from the outside, there's a ton of life bubbling within -- from town events to enjoying the natural landscape to swimming with an alligator. (...

Welcome back to the Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street! It's the holidays, and for many of us, that means food. Our foodways connect us in intimate ways to our families, to history, and tradition. In this episode, we're going to hear from people around the country who see food as a way to remember the people they've lost, and to continue valuable traditions from their ancestors. You might even...

Welcome back to Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street! We're relaunching this series during an introspective time of year, with Halloween just around the corner. Come join us around the campfire for some spooky, eerie, enchanting stories from rural America. Our storyteller today is Joe Perry, a member of the Choctaw Nation in Poteau, Oklahoma. Joe was born in 1956 and remembers a childhood runnin...

Young people throughout the country bring new perspectives and attitudes to our history and our culture. But often, they don't feel welcome to the conversations that adults have about community and culture. Since 2012, the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street has been working with small towns that want to highlight youth perspectives. Young people explore topics related to history, culture, and cha...

Here's a sneak peek at our next special episode! Give a listen to the voices and the work of the next generation of rural Americans learning about their communities. Young people living in rural America are just like other American youth: interested in change, thinking about their futures, and ... sometimes feeling like adults aren't interested in what youth have to say. Our episode celebrating yo...

You've got to have friends! Personal and professional connections are critical to the development of healthy communities, whether they are rural or urban. In this final episode of our Spark! series, we're examing how two communities innovated around culture and heritage to overcome stagnation and division. In Helper, Utah, the city came together to design their own revitalized main street and plan...

In this episode, we're taking a closer look at two very different rural communities that embody technological innovation. In Taos, New Mexico, solar energy is used to power high-speed internet and a jobs training hub for locals that want to stay local. In Chenango County, New York, there's a long history of innovative companies, from aerospace parts manufacturers to Chobani, the famous yogurt bran...

Rural America is full of places of innovation--towns where people work together to conceive new ideas and spark engagement by the community to implement them. Journey with us in this first episode in our look at rural innovation to explore two stories of social innovation, visiting towns that took risks and dreamed big to revitalize their downtowns, and show the community what was possible when th...

For many years, the conventional wisdom in the United States has been that rural America is hurting: facing impacts from outmigration, aging populations, and declining economies. The reality is remarkably different. America's small towns are not all the same. Yes, some are struggling, but many more are working together and utilizing the innovation and skills of their people to thrive. Stay tuned f...

We're excited to share an episode from our host Hannah Hethmon's podcast Museums in Strange Places . Back in 2019, Museums in Strange Places featured the amazing work of the Smithsonian's state and local partners in rural communities. Starting in Moreland, Georgia (pop. 382) in 1994, the Smithsonian, state humanities councils and local history organizations began a collaboration called Museum on M...

Apologies friends! This pod is the actual episode titled "My Vote, My Voice," which should have been originally posted back in October. "The Greater Good: Everyday Democracy" was actually uploaded. We're very sorry for this error. The other episode titles have been updated. Please listen! You have not heard "My Vote, My Voice" yet! Have you voted? What does voting mean to you? Hear from everyday A...

What civic responsibilities do we have as Americans? What do we owe to the process of democracy? What is the best way to voice our opinions and shape national and local policy? If we want to give back and do our part, where should we start? These are the questions asked and answered by everyday Americans in this episode. Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street is produced by Better Lemon Creative A...

Democracy can be messy. Americans share many common values and ideals, but views on how that works out in the democratic process and in public policy can vary widely. In this episode, you'll hear stories from everyday Americans about their experiences with democracy, polarization, unity, and the issues they care about most. Our storytellers grapple with the big questions about democracy: What leve...

Coming soon! What does "democracy" mean to you? As Election Day 2023 nears and the 2024 presidential campaign is already a daily news story, it is important to reflect on the ties that bind us together. American democracy is complex. It's more than just politics. Our culture, values and history -- national and individual -- play a big role in how we each approach democracy. Listen in as people tal...

Is rural America endangered, thriving, or just scraping by? The answer depends on who you ask and where you ask. As we finish our mini-series on change in rural communities, we're exploring the challenges and opportunities of rural life in the 21st century. Hear from everyday people reflecting on their communities and how they are adapting and reinventing themselves. View the episode transcript. V...

Rural America has always been more nuanced and diverse than you often see in popular depictions. People have always experienced rural America in different ways -- for better or worse -- and their experiences have helped shape our rural culture. In this episode, join us in exploring rural identity. What does it mean to grow up in a small townhow? How do people in rural areas build and maintain thei...

Listen in as rural Americans talk about the work -- creative, unique, and sometimes exhausting -- they do. It's a revealing look at how work helps form the backbone of American society, no matter where you live. We all contribute our efforts (paid or unpaid) to the life, economy, and character of our communities. Rural communities today are at a new crossroads -- a meeting point of ideas where the...

Welcome back to the Smithsonian's Stories from Main Street podcast! The stereotypical view of rural America is that life is quiet, people all think the same, there's not much fun stuff to do, and there are few opportunities. The truth is, just like in cities and suburbs, small-town Americans focus on family and community, work hard to make ends meet, and want their hometowns to thrive. The success...

Our waterways are one of our most precious shared resources. But in some places, we risk losing them to pollution, climate change, or overuse. In this episode, we hear from folks around the country talk about why their local waterways matter and why they believe in protecting them. Download episode transcript Stories used in this episode: Violet Spolarich on fighting pipelines and protecting water...

We sometimes take for granted that we humans have figured out how to swim and dive, and travel across great bodies of water on boats. But it is really quite amazing when you think about it. In this episode, we soak in stories about swimming, diving, and boating ... and think about leaving our natural habitat behind to explore. Download Episode Transcript Stories used in this episode: Hok-Si-La Mun...

What is it about water that can instantly improve our mood, stir up joy, or awaken our inner child? In episode 4, we dive into the joy of playing in the water as we listen to stories of swimming in summer, splashing in puddles, and letting the waves lick our toes. Download Episode Transcript Stories featured in this episode: One Dock at a Time, Maine to Florida Summers at the River in South Georgi...