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Week Eleven in 250 to 250

Letters from an American · Heather Cox Richardson · last updated August 9, 2026 – 1:47 PM

This was the eleventh week of videos from the 250 to 250 Project that we’re producing to honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

It was another week of favorite stories and favorite people narrating, but I guess I feel that way every week. A number of this week’s videos were suggestions from the narrators themselves, making them even more fun for us than usual.

Our hope was for the videos to emphasize the agency of Americans—mostly everyday Americans—to change the country. Each falls into a category that defines what it means to be an American, including community, democracy, innovation, mobility, civil rights, education, conservation, and creativity. Having narrators choose their own topics added different facets of those stories to the ones we had previously chosen.

You can follow the project at the sites listed below, or under “videos” at my own YouTube page: Heather Cox Richardson. Or just wait until I send out the week’s roundup.

Norman Borlaug, Narrated by Tom Vilsack

Tom Vilsack is the former Secretary of Agriculture under the Obama and Biden administrations, the former governor of Iowa, and CEO of the World Food Prize Foundation. Vilsack is known for his significant contributions to global food challenge advocacy. Vilsack profiles Dr. Norman Borlaug, the Iowa-born scientist whose Green Revolution transformed global agriculture and saved more than a billion lives from famine.

Cherokee Phoenix, Narrated by Rebecca Nagle

is an award-winning journalist and citizen of Cherokee Nation. She is the host of the First America podcast. Nagle tells the story of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native-run newspaper in America, which fought for Cherokee land and sovereignty and still publishes today.

Route 66, Narrated by Ted Widmer

Professor Ted Widmer is a prominent American historian, award-winning historical author, and the former foreign policy speechwriter and senior advisor to President Bill Clinton. Widmer travels the history of Route 66, the iconic “Main Street of America” that carried Depression migrants, wartime troops, and postwar dreamers across the country.

Cornerstone of the Confederacy, Narrated by Vernon Burton

Vernon Burton, acclaimed American historian, author, and Judge Matthew Perry Distinguished Professor Emeritus, is globally recognized for his pioneering work on the American South, legal history, race relations, digital humanities, and the American Civil War. Burton examines the Confederacy’s Cornerstone Speech, in which Alexander Stephens declared slavery and white supremacy its founding principle—a claim the Union defeated and answered with the Reconstruction Amendments.

Dwayne McDuffie, Narrated by Al Letson

Peabody Award-winning storyteller and journalist, Al Letson, is an acclaimed writer and media host best known for the nationally broadcast investigative journalism show Reveal and for writing the limited series Mister Terrific: Year One for DC Comics. Letson profiles Dwayne McDuffie, the trailblazing writer and artist who brought realistic Black representation to comic books and animation.

Orange Plank Road, Narrated by Tyler McGraw

Digital historian Tyler McGraw is a writer for the Emerging Civil War community and host of the podcast The Unfiltered Historian. McGraw recounts how General U.S. Grant’s refusal to retreat at the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness marked the turning point that would wear the Confederacy down to surrender.

Indianapolis 500, Narrated by Lexy White

Lexy White is a social media producer, journalist and founder of Paddock Party LA, a social club dedicated to creating an inclusive community for female and queer Motorsport fans. White celebrates the Indianapolis 500, the storied race that fueled America’s car culture and became one of the nation’s greatest sporting traditions.

Coxey’s Army, Narrated by Maggie Bohara

Maggie Bohara is a writer and activist known for being the co-founder and director of the We Are America March (WAAM), a nonpartisan, volunteer-powered, and millennial-led, grassroots movement that organizes 160-mile walks to advocate for democracy and civil rights. Bohara tells how Jacob Coxey’s 1894 march of unemployed workers to Washington foreshadowed the New Deal’s public works programs.

Voting Rights Act, Narrated by Kevin M. Kruse

Dr. Kevin M. Kruse is a historian and Guggenheim Fellow whose work examines conflicts over race, rights, and religion. He is the author of White Flight and One Nation Under God, and co-editor of the New York Times bestseller Myth America. Kruse examines the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the crowning achievement of the civil rights era whose protections recent Supreme Court decisions have eroded.

“I Love Lucy,” Narrated by Fran Drescher

Fran Drescher is an iconic comedic actress, New York Times bestselling author, producer, healthcare advocate, and union leader best known for creating and starring in the hit sitcom “The Nanny” and who served as the president of SAG-AFTRA during the historic 2023 actors’ strike. Drescher celebrates “I Love Lucy,” the groundbreaking 1951 sitcom whose innovations—and its star Lucille Ball—set the standard for television comedy.

“Boys in Blue” Speech, Narrated by Tom Nichols

Dr. Tom Nichols is a bestselling author, political commentator, five-time undefeated Jeopardy! champion, and Professor Emeritus of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College. Here, Nichols profiles President James A. Garfield, who defied his era to champion Black civil rights more forcefully than any president until President Lyndon Johnson.

Robert Smalls, Narrated by Victoria A. Smalls

Victoria A. Smalls is a Gullah native of South Carolina, award-winning Gullah Geechee cultural preservationist, artist and curator, specializing in Reconstruction Era history, and Founder/Principal Consultant of Smalls Cultural Resources. Here, she tells how Robert Smalls escaped slavery by commandeering a Confederate ship and rose to become a Union captain and U.S. congressman.

Bretton Woods, Narrated by Senator Maggie Hassan

Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire is a lawmaker and attorney who is one of only three women in American history elected as both a U.S. Senator and a state governor. Hassan explains how the 1944 Bretton Woods conference in New Hampshire helped to create the modern global economic order.

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