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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.
Follow Along | #WeAreAmerica250
Substack | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Bluesky | Threads
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
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
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
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
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.