We the Museum

A new podcast from Hannah Hethmon, creator of We the Museum and Museums in Strange Places . Produced for the Federation of State Humanities Councils, Humanities = is a show about real individuals, organizations, and communities making a real difference through the humanities. This show is a production of the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The first three episodes are now available wherev...

Let’s explore the power and possibility of pop-ups: temporary or ephemeral museum-y experiences. I’m joined by Maryland Humanities’ Robert Forloney for a discussion about the Smithsonian’s traveling pop-up program, Museum on Main Street, and how short-term exhibitions allow for more play, creativity, and risk-taking.  

Why are there mummies in your museum? Should they be there? What are visitors getting out of an encounter with ancient Egyptian remains? What happens when remains in museums become objectified and normalized to this extent? Is there an ethical way to display mummies? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Angela Stienne, a historian of museums and researcher in museum ethics based in Paris. You will n...

Can museums and historic sites be leaders in environmental conservation and restoration? The Ford House in Michigan recently won a grant of up to $7 million from NOAA to restore the coastal habitats of their lakeside property. I talked to Ford House’s President & CEO, Mark Heppner, and their  Landscape and Natural Areas Manager, Kevin Drotos, to learn more. They shared the progress so far on t...

Are museums welcoming spaces for transgender visitors and museum workers? Are academics in museum studies building out the theory needed for meaningful trans inclusion in museums? In this episode, we’re looking at how we in the museum field can support our transgender colleagues and community members, from museum studies classrooms to visitor bathrooms. My guest is Amelia Smith, a transgender muse...

There are a lot of systemic issues in our field related to labor. Ignoring these issues won’t make them go away. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at the problems around hiring practices in both the US and the UK. I chat about salary transparency, degree requirements, accessibility, and more with Sierra Van Ryck deGroot (Museum Hue) Ashleigh Hibbins (Fair Museum Jobs). They share ideas o...

There are 39 First American Nations in Oklahoma today, each with their own distinct culture and traditions. The newly-opened First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City is dedicated to telling all their stories—no small undertaking. In this episode, I speak to Dr. heather ahtone, FAM’s Director of Curatorial Affairs. She shares the history behind the museum, the Indigenous philosophy underpinning thei...

The field of exhibition design may be niche, but the number of museum workers who design and use design principles regularly is vast. So many of us use design to solve problems every day without even realizing it. This episode will warm up and inspire the design part of your brain, whether you’re a full-time exhibition designer, a curator, an educator, or on the marketing team. My guest is Tim McN...

In 2026, the American LGBTQ+ Museum will open its doors in New York City. They’ll be housed in a dedicated 4,000 sq. ft. space inside New York’s oldest museum, the New York Historical Society. In this episode, I chat with the LGBTQ+ Museum’s Executive Director, Ben Garcia, about the Museum’s origins and its inclusive, intersectional, and activist approach. We also get into a discussion about inequ...

What’s it like working in museums in Iceland? Katie Teeter is American, but she’s been living in Iceland for ten years. She works at two museums, one private and one public, and is finishing up a Master’s in Museum Studies at the University of Iceland. I chatted with Katie about her career and learned some cool facts about the Icelandic museum field. We the Museum is currently in-between seasons,...

The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is almost here. How can museums and history organizations use the Semiquincentennial to promote a fuller story of American history, practice ethical commemoration, increase visitation, and boost funding for the field? In this episode, I discuss these questions with Madeleine Rosenberg, Pomeroy Foundation Semiquincentennial Manager at the Ame...

Baltimore City Public Schools wanted to honor their food service workers, who plate up 88,000 free school meals a day and fed their community daily through pandemic closures. The Baltimore Museum of Industry wanted a project to foster social resilience. They collaborated to create Food for Thought, an exhibition featuring food service workers' portraits and voices alongside powerful facts about sc...

Whitney Plantation is the only former plantation site in Louisiana with an exclusive focus on slavery. In this episode, their Director of Education, Amber Mitchell, shares how two audio projects are helping educate even more people about the history and legacy of slavery. In 2021, they launched their first audio tour, a cutting-edge production that lets even more people visit the site. They also p...

Jared Jones still has trouble wrapping his head around the fact that the TikTok account he started at Sacramento History Museum has become possibly the most followed museum account on the entire platform, with over 2.4 million followers. In this episode, Jared shares with me the museum’s TikTok journey, how docent Howard became a minor celebrity, and what real-life impacts this engagement has had...

To paraphrase Adam Rizzo: museums won’t do the right thing by their workers just because we ask nicely. In a field rife with labor issues, museum workers are increasingly turning to unions. In this episode, Adam Rizzo of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Union shares their multi-year journey from hushed initial conversations to a three-week strike that was ultimately successful. He walked me through...

From day one, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has made it a priority to support Black history organizations and family historians around the country, not just in D.C. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Doretha Williams, who leads the museum’s Smith Center. I wanted to hear more about their community curation and digitization programs, where they travel to cities around...

Welcome to We the Museum, a new podcast for museum workers who want to form a more perfect institution. Here's a teaser for the first four episodes. In this trailer, you're hearing the voice of Dr. Doretha Williams (Center Director, The Center for the Digitization and Curation of African American History at the National Museum of African American History and Culture); Adam Rizzo (President, Local...