News

Week Thirteen in 250 to 250

Letters from an American · Heather Cox Richardson · last updated August 23, 2026 – 9:32 AM

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

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. Once again this week, some of our narrators chose their own topics adding wonderful new stories.

This was yet another week of spectacular narrators who themselves represent the innovation, talent, and civic-mindedness we were hoping to celebrate.

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.

Treaty of Portsmouth, Narrated by John Palfrey

John Palfrey, recognized as one of the best leaders in America by U.S. News & World Report, is an American educator, legal scholar, and author who serves as the president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He is the great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the Treaty of Portsmouth.

Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette, Narrated by Ben Wikler

is an American political organizer and New York Times best-selling author who served as the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from July 2019 to July 2025. Wikler’s latest book This Is The Plan: How to End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy is now available. Wikler profiles Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette, the Wisconsin reformer who battled corporate power and drove some of the Progressive Movement’s greatest victories.

I.M. Pei, Narrated by Billie Tsien

Billie Tsien is a renowned Chinese-American architect, co-founder of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, National Medal of Arts recipient, and lead designer behind the Obama Presidential Center. Tsien profiles architect I.M. Pei, whose bold geometric designs—from the National Gallery’s East Wing to the Louvre pyramid—helped define American modernism.

Edward R. Murrow, Narrated by Scott MacFarlane

is anchor of “Scott MacFarlane Reports” and Chief Washington Correspondent for MeidasTouch Network. MacFarlane has earned 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards and the Anna Quindlen Award for excellence in journalism from the Child Welfare League of America. Edward R. Murrow was a radio and television newscaster whose unflinching reports set the standard for American broadcast journalism.

Norman Rockwell, Narrated by Kahlil Greene

, the “Gen-Z Historian,” is a well-known digital educator, Peabody Award winner, and two-time Emmy nominee with an audience of over 50 million views across TikTok, Instagram, and author of History Can’t Hide on Substack. Greene profiles illustrator Norman Rockwell, whose beloved images of everyday American life evolved to confront war, civil rights, and the nation’s conscience.

Tlingits, Narrated by Rosita Worl

Dr. Rosita Worl is a Tlingit American anthropologist, educator, and president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute recognized as an expert in Southeast Alaska Native culture and history. Worl introduces the Tlingit people, “People of the Tides,” who have stewarded Southeast Alaska’s coasts since time immemorial and fought to defend Indigenous rights.

Wright Brothers Narrated by Governor Josh Stein

of North Carolina is lifelong public servant who previously served in the state Senate, as Senior Deputy Attorney General for consumer protection, and as North Carolina Attorney General. Governor Stein celebrates the Wright brothers, whose 12-second flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903 launched the age of aviation.

Head Start, Narrated by Jill Biden

Dr. Jill Biden is a highly regarded educator and former First Lady and Second Lady of the United States of America. Dr. Biden is a strong advocate for education, early learning initiatives, military families, and women’s health. Here, her history of Head Start reminds us that participation improves children’s language, literacy, and social skills.

Lemon Grove, Narrated by Marianna Vinson

Marianna Vinson is a first-generation Mexican-American educator. The Superintendent of the Lemon Grove School District, Vinson formerly served as the Deputy Director for the Office of English Language Acquisition at the U.S. Department of Education. In 1931, the San Diego County Superior Court ruled that the segregation at Lemon Grove violated California law.

Battle of Fallen Timbers, Narrated by Wes Siler

is an independent journalist who has spent the last 24 years writing about the intersection of public lands, conservation, and politics. He’s currently building a new Substack newsletter about those topics. He tells the story of the brief battle that forced Native American displacement from most of modern-day Ohio, opening it to white American settlement.

Mount St. Helens Eruption, Narrated by John Ebel

Dr. John Ebel is a highly regarded senior scientist at the Weston Observatory at Boston College whose expertise has made him the go-to source for media reporting on earthquakes in New England and around the world. He explains what happened in 1980, when Mount St. Helens erupted in the most destructive volcanic event in American history.

Woodlot Revolt, Narrated by Paula Peters

Paula Peters is a journalist, educator and activist. A citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, she travels internationally to speak and educate on the true Wampanoag story. Here she tells the story of the 1833 Woodlot Revolt, in which Wampanoag activists were arrested but the Wampanoag achieved a period of self-rule until 1870.

Mayo Clinic, Narrated by Dr. Stephen Ray Mitchell

Dr. Stephen Ray Mitchell is an award-winning medical expert who currently serves as the Joseph Butenas Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and Dean Emeritus for Medical Education at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Mitchell has chaired the North American Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) and has led accreditation visits to over 20 other Medical Schools. He tells the story of the founding of the Mayo Clinic, which pioneered many hallmarks of modern health care.

Wilma Mankiller, Narrated by Julie Reed

Julie Reed is a citizen of the Cherokee nation, Native American historian, author, and professor whose reflective essays include a widely syndicated piece about Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of Cherokee Nation.

View full article