Humanities in Action: Building a Better Future

In this episode, which is part of our special series Curating Tennessee: 1776-2076, we're joined by Liza Blair, a curator and museum specialist at Chattanooga State Community College and the curator of Humanities Tennessee's upcoming exhibit What If? Exploring the Future of Crafting and Growing . The exhibit opens August 8, 2026, at the Museum and Cultural Center at 5ive Points in Clevelan...

In our previous episode, Madeline Greene, the Curator of Collections and Education at the Museum & Cultural Center at Five Points in Cleveland, Tennessee, talked about ways Americans have taken care of each other. In this short bonus episode, you’ll hear about an artifact she thinks America’s Founders couldn’t have envisioned. This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a...

In this episode of our special series Curating Tennessee: 1776-2076, we're joined by Madeline Greene, the Curator of Collections and Education at the Museum & Cultural Center at Five Points in Cleveland, Tennessee. This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The i...

In our previous episode, Patrick Hollis, the executive director and curator at Mabry-Hazen House in Knoxville, Tennessee, talked about everyday objects that open discussions about the lived experiences of all the historic house’s past residents. In this short bonus episode, you’ll hear his ideas about what would flabbergast America’s revolutionaries.-- This episode is part of By the People: Conver...

In this episode of our special series  Curating Tennessee: 1776-2076 , we're joined by Patrick Hollis, the Executive Director and Curator at Mabry-Hazen House in Knoxville, Tennessee. This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Fede...

In our previous episode, Erin Medley and Aubrey Michaels from Red Clay State Park in Cleveland, Tennessee, discussed how they utilize their park’s landscape and programming to create a more perfect union. In this short bonus episode, you’ll hear them discuss a museum interactive America’s founding fathers couldn’t have imagined. This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a se...

In this episode of our special series Curating Tennessee: 1776-2076 , we're joined by Erin Medley, the Park Manager at Red Clay State Park in Cleveland, Tennessee, and Aubrey Michaels, one of the park’s interpretive rangers. This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners....

In our previous episode, you heard Tonya Staggs, the Executive Director of Historic Castalian Springs in Sumner County, Tennessee, share objects from their historic house museum that speak to the process of creating a more perfect union. In this short bonus episode, you'll hear her discuss an artifact she believes the founding fathers couldn't have envisioned. This episode is part of By th...

This episode continues our special series Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076. In this episode, Tonya Staggs, the Executive Director of Historic Castalian Springs in Sumner County, Tennessee, shares ways in which their historic house museum Cragfont represents the process of creating a more perfect union. This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven progr...

In this short bonus episode, John Ashworth, the President of the Dunbar-Carver Museum Association in Brownsville, Tennessee, shares an artifact that he believes the Founding Fathers wouldn't have imagined. This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative w...

Welcome to the seventh episode of our special series Curating Tennessee: 1776-2076! We're speaking with John Ashworth, the President of the Dunbar-Carver Museum Association in Brownsville, Tennessee. You'll hear John discuss the museum's collection of Haywood-Fayette newsletters, the museum's ongoing oral history projects, and what he imagines they might collect from future organiz...

In this short bonus episode, Rachel Helvering, the Executive Director of the James K. Polk Home & Museum in Columbia, Tennessee, shares an artifact that she thinks the Founding Fathers couldn't have envisioned. This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The ini...

Welcome to the sixth episode of our special series Curating Tennessee: 1776-2076! We're speaking with Rachel Helvering, the Executive Director of the President James K. Polk Home and Museum in Columbia, Tennessee. You'll hear Rachel discuss a portrait that represents President Polk's ideas about creating a more perfect union, and we'll imagine what type of future artifact could sho...

In this bonus episode, Adam Velk speculates about artifacts that he thinks may have been inconceivable to some of America's Founding Fathers. This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and...

For the fifth episode of our special series Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076, we're speaking with Adam Velk, the Museum Director of the Green-McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton, Tennessee. You'll hear Adam talk about two artifacts related to school desegregation in Anderson County, discuss plans for a new exhibit about the history of school integration around the county, and imagine what futur...

In this bonus episode, Wayne Dowdy shares an artifact that he believes would have been inconceivable to America's Founding Fathers. He also talks about the fragility and strength of democracy.

For the fourth episode of our special series Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076, we're speaking with Wayne Dowdy, the Senior Manager of the Memphis Public Libraries History Department. You'll hear about a document that speak to the ongoing process of creating a more perfect union, the importance of creating oral histories that speaks to our current moment, and what Wayne can imagine archiving i...

In this bonus episode, Tranae Chatman shares a category of artifacts from the Tennessee State Museum's collection that she thinks would have been inconceivable to the Founding Fathers. She also shares the types of artifacts she's collecting today for future curators of her museum.

In the third episode of our special series Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076, we're speaking with Tranae Chatman, the Curator of Social History at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. You'll hear about a group of artifacts that speak to the ongoing process of creating a more perfect union, the importance of collecting art that speaks to our current moment, and what we can imagine collectin...

In this bonus episode, Neecole Gregory shares an object from the Morton Museum of Collierville History's collection that would have been inconceivable to the Founding Fathers. She also shares the types of artifacts she's collecting today for future curators of her museum.

In this second episode of our special series Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076 , we're speaking with Neecole Gregory, the Director of the Morton Museum of Collierville History in Shelby County. You'll hear about a complicated artifact in their collection that reflects historical meaning making and the complicated process of creating a more perfect union. Gregory also shares a recently acquired...

In this bonus episode, Adam Alfrey discusses an object from the East Tennessee Historical Society collection that would have been inconceivable to the Founding Fathers. He also shares what he's interested in collecting today to help his future counterpart. If you haven't yet, we hope you'll listen to our previous episode to learn more about ETHS, Adam, and our Curating Tennessee series...

In this first episode of our special series Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076, we're joined by Adam Alfrey of the Knox County Public Library. As we prepare for America's 250th birthday, we're asking museum curators across the state to tell us about artifacts in their collections that represent the revolutionary process of creating a more perfect union. We’re discussing what they are collec...

In this episode, we're speaking with Dr. Warren Dockter, the President and CEO of the East Tennessee Historical Society and Vice Chair of the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial.  We’re talking about Tennessee’s role in the American Revolution, the work the Tennessee 250 Commission is doing throughout the state - including making grants to county commissions and organizat...

In this episode, we're exploring uncertainty - the awareness that we've reached the edge of our knowledge - and the role it plays in the public humanities. We'll start by looking at how the Neighborhood Story Project is designed with uncertainty at its core. We'll also look at what happens when the most stable part of a project, our appropriated federal funding, is revoked. Thank y...