Today’s guest is Jon Grinspan. He is a curator and Jefferson Fellow at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. He is also a frequent contributor for the New York Times, focusing on history and youth issues. His article, D.I.Y. Education Before YouTube, was the inspiration for this podcast episode, describing the self-directed learning of 19th century youths and posing the question, “Is this old-fashioned culture of self-improvement making a comeback?” Learn more about his thoughts around this question as we dig a little deeper into some of the stories he shared in his article. Jon has a PhD in History from the University of Virginia, and will be publishing his first book - on young people's forgotten role in American democracy - next spring, titled The Virgin Vote.