This episode, we're speaking with Elizabeth Merritt, the founding director of the American Alliance of Museums' Center for the Future of Museums. We'll discuss strategic foresight -- what it is, how it's done, and why we need it. We'll also talk about the free strategic foresight workshops she will lead in Tennessee in August 2024 for cultural organizations. There are still spots available for this professional development opportunity. Find more information and sign up here.

During the interview, Merritt mentions her weekly Dispatches from the Future of Museums newsletter. You can subscribe here. She also mentions the 2024 edition of TrendsWatch, which can be found here.

In this episode, we're speaking with Tim Henderson, Humanities Tennessee's executive director. We'll discuss how the organization has changed over its 50-year history and how the humanities can be used to make a brighter future for Tennesseans.

In this episode, we're speaking with poet, woodworker, and professor Lacy Snapp about the Tennessee Young Writers' Workshop. This year, the Young Writers' Workshop is hitting the road with three sessions across the state. We'll discuss what students can expect from this creative writing experience as well as why stories and writing are important.

The Young Writers Workshop is open to high school students (incoming Fall 2024 Freshmen through outgoing Spring 2024 Seniors ages 14-18 as of May 29, 2024). They will be held May 29-31 at the Kingsport Public Library, June 3-5 at the Memphis Public Library, and June 6-8 at the Putnam County Library. Interested students can still register for these free workshops here.

In this episode, we're speaking with Catherine Meeks Quinlan, an Associate Lecturer of English at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is also the project director of a recently awarded National Endowment of the Humanities Implementation Grant to create a new humanities-informed environmental studies major at the university. We'll discuss the program, why it's needed, and what she envisions program graduates doing in Chattanooga and beyond.

Music by LAURENT BUCZEK⁠ & ⁠Mike Kripak⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠.

In this episode, we're speaking with Joyce Washington, a member of the Weakley County Reconciliation Project, about the future she envisions for her Northwest Tennessee community based on open, honest, and courageous conversations.

This episode builds on Humanities Tennessee's March 26, 2024, digital conversation United We Stand: Racial Reconciliation in West Tennessee. This panel was the first in a series of programming that are part of the National Endowment for the Humanities’ “United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture" initiative. HT’s focus with this programming during our 50th anniversary year is to explore Tennessee’s collective imagination as a tool shaping a safer, more just civic life in which all Tennesseans belong.

Music by Mike Kripak from Pixabay.

Since January 2024, Humanities Tennessee's Shared Futures Lab has been interviewing past and current recipients of Humanities Tennessee support about their projects and potential future implications. We share those stories on the News section of the Humanities Tennessee website.

This prequel episode features stories about the documentary How to Sue the Klan, repatriating Native Belongings at the McClung Museum, and how Tennessee History Day shapes future citizens. If you’d like to read more, visit www.humanitiestennessee.org and click on the News tab.

Welcome to Humanities in Action: Building a Better Future! This podcast from Humanities Tennessee's Shared Futures Lab explores how people are using the humanities to create the futures they want by making changes today.