FUTURE OF AMERICA'S PAST, THE Season 2


#201: "The Revolutions"
What does “freedom” mean to those outside the halls of power — and what did it mean during the
era of the American Revolution? Host Ed Ayers visits sites in Boston and Philadelphia to put that
question to curators, museum educators, a playwright, and a tribal preservation officer. He learns
about the ways in which women, Native Americans, and African Americans made the words of the
Revolution come true in their own lives. He discovers that some of the most inspiring stories of the
Revolution spring from people who remained on its margins.

#202: "Red Chicago"
On a hot day in 1919, an attack on African American teenagers near a Chicago beach stoked
long-standing tensions between white and black residents. Violence erupted — and its aftermath
shaped laws, housing, and opportunities for African American citizens for generations. Host Ed Ayers
visits Chicago during the 100th anniversary of what became known as “Red Summer.” He meets a
poet, performance artist, museum educator, and young people who are creating living memorials to a
long-ignored past.

#203: "Transcontinental"
High in the Utah desert in 1869, two locomotives met and a golden spike was hammered into new rails:
the first transcontinental railroad was complete. To mark the 150th anniversary of this feat, Utah
organized a statewide effort called “Spike 150,” with exhibitions and events engaging a diverse public.
Host Ed Ayers visits to learn about the railroad’s promise of prosperity. He considers the human costs,
with a descendant of a Chinese American railroad builder and a Native American tribal leader. And he
discovers how the environment and photography played key roles on the rails.

#204: "School Interrupted"
The Supreme Court decision outlawing school segregation began with a student strike in Prince Edward
County, Virginia. Justice didn’t follow that ruling — white officials in Prince Edward County closed
public schools rather than integrate. Host Ed Ayers learns about the drama that unfolded through
conversations with two of the student strikers. He discovers how black women activists defied the
school closures by starting grassroots schools, and he meets an author whose grandfather helped start
a whites-only “segregation academy.” In a museum at the school that started it all, Ed talks with a
descendant of strikers who inspires students today to take up the fight for justice.