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When taco trucks first arrived in the United States in the 1970s as workers from Mexico migrated to California, the menus combined Mexican food with American tastes. Now, food trucks are used for almost any cuisine imaginable and have revolutionized the way food is sold throughout the United States; however, Mexican food trucks have not always been welcomed by local governments, the public, and the culinary world. Today on cultureXchanges, we are having an engaging conversation with scholar and filmmaker Dr. Robert D. Lemon on the contribution of Mexican food trucks to urban space, public policy, and American cuisine. 

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web page do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

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In 2001, the U.S. Department of State launched the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), a program to help preserve cultural heritage worldwide and to officially incorporate cultural preservation and protection into American diplomacy. AFCP supports international preservation projects that span a wide range of cultural heritage initiatives, including the preservation of historic buildings, archaeological sites, ethnographic objects, paintings, manuscripts, indigenous languages, and other forms of traditional cultural expression. Since 2001, the Fund has supported more than 1,000 projects in over 130 countries with local museums, ministries of culture, nonprofits, and other organizations. Furthermore, AFCP projects provide professional development for American cultural heritage professionals and students from nearly all 50 states. In this episode of cultureXchanges, we are speaking with Dr. Martin Perschler, program director for the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation at the U.S. Department of State. 

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web page do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

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Wampum, small beads made from shells, were at the center of diplomacy in North America in the early 17th century. The exchange of strings and belts adorned with wampum were diplomatic tokens, gifts, and most notably, treaty markers between Indigenous peoples and Europeans. On this episode of cultureXchanges we speak with Darren Bonaparte, cultural historian from the Akwesasne First Nation and current director of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web page do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

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From Madonna’s “Vogue” to the film Paris is Burning, Ballroom has made tremendous impacts on popular culture through dance, fashion, language, television, and music in the United States and abroad. While the beginnings of the Ballroom scene are typically attributed to 1980s New York, the roots of this culture have been traced back to the 19th century. Ballroom historically served, and still serves, as a space for Black and Brown LGBTQ+ communities to build community through pageantry, dance, fashion, and performance while facing exclusion and danger in other nightlife and community spaces. On this episode of cultureXchanges we speak with Dr. Julian Kevon Glover, an academic, activist, and performer whose academic work focuses on Black and Brown queer cultural formations, performance, ethnography, embodied knowledge, and performance theory. 

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web page do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

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The banjo is an instantly recognizable sound that has become synonymous with American folk music, a genre traditionally associated with White musicians. However, the banjo was originally created by enslaved Africans and their descendants in the Caribbean and North America, widely recognized as an African American tradition with a West African heritage. The banjo heard in American music is a distinct blend of West African and European cultures that widely differs from the West African banjo sound. On this episode of cultureXchanges, we speak with Kristina Gaddy to uncover the history of the banjo and how its sound has developed as a result of cultural exchange. Ms. Gaddy is a Baltimore-based writer and the author of Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web page do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

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Museums Connect was a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). This initiative partnered museums in the United States with museums abroad to help foster cross-cultural engagement and exchange. On this episode of cultureXchanges, we speak with Dr. Richard J.W. Harker, author of Museum Diplomacy: Transnational Public History and the U.S. Department of State, about this program and the role it played in connecting transnational public history with international diplomacy.  

For a full transcript of this episode, please visit https://culture.meridian.org/podcast 

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web page do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  

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In 1958, at the age of 23, Texan pianist Van Cliburn won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow with his own arrangement of the beloved song “Moscow Nights.” Throughout his career, Cliburn continued to return to the Soviet Union for many televised performances and developed a lasting relationship with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. On this episode of cultureXchange, we speak with Maggie Estes, director of communication and digital content at the Cliburn Foundation on Cliburn’s legacy and how music plays a role in cultural diplomacy. 

For a full transcript of this episode, please visit https://culture.meridian.org/podcast 

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web page do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  

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