ABOUT

Hello! I am your host, Laura Milkins.

And I am going In Search of the Great America.

This project is a weekly podcast asking people to define their Great America: past, present and future. I am interviewing people from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and experiences in 100 cities and towns to get to know this country through these communities. I want to discover what makes each place special.

I am using the history of each town as a way to connect with guests in the community. My resident historian, Tom Prezelski, researches the history of each location, searching for a time in history when that city or town was considered “great” and who was and was not included in that great America. This could be an exciting economic boom time, a calm, peaceful moment in its history or a time when the town came together to solve a problem. Then we contact community organizations directly related to that history and ask them to nominate someone in their community to be interviewed for the podcast.

Each interview is 15 minutes and my guest will discuss their vision of a Great America. I hope to discover the diversity, complexity, and community connections that already make us great.

So… What’s your Great America?

Collective Visioning

“We don’t take a trip. A trip takes us.”
– Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Thank you so much for your interest.  I started this project to get to know America in the 21st century, with the task of asking as many people as possible, from a broad range of experiences and backgrounds, what their Great America looks like! The goal of this project is to ask people what their vision is for America and who we are at our best as a people and a nation.

• My interest in asking these questions is to find out what people wish for our country, because I am curious and excited to hear their answers. I also feel like this question has not been asked enough in simple, relatable terms.
• Collective visioning is the underpinning of all my projects. I believe that together we are capable of kindness, connection, and greatness.

In Search of the Great America

The heart of this project is the interviews. Each guest will answer the same questions:

• Where did you grow up and what was it like?
• Was there a time in history that you thought America was great and why?
• What is great about America now for you?
• What does your great America look like in the future?
• Who are we when we are our best?

 The mission is simple, to ask people to define their Great America: past, present and future. I believe collective visioning has the power to bring us together and point out both our strengths and weaknesses in a way that allows for a better, more inclusive future. I hope to uncover the diversity, complexity, and community connections that already make us great. To find out what people really want for America, outside of the framework of politics and the media.

What I wish that you will take away from this site:  a hopeful vision for America from a broad cross-section of the population.

Steinbeck Connection

Lately, I’ve been drawn to re-reading Steinbeck. He wrote wonderfully about difficult times and situations. When watching the news, I feel like this is also a difficult time and so many of us live in difficult situations. He wrote about his yearning for a better world, and more understanding of his fellow citizen. So, in 1960, for his book, “Travels With Charley: In Search of America”, he set out to travel the United States to discover “What are Americans like today?” This resonates distinctly with me and has provided some inspiration for this project. I feel a kindred spirit in the desire to meet my fellow citizen and know them better.

“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about.”
― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

About Me

I am an interdisciplinary artist living in Tucson, AZ. My work explores vulnerability, intimacy, and cultural norms, using variety of media: online-interactive performance, video, drawing, painting, and live radio/podcasting. Since 2012, I have taught Art and Visual Culture at Pima Community College. I received an MFA in painting from University of Arizona in 2008. In 2009, I was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico City.

My recent work includes The Depression Session, a website dedicated to de-stigmatizing depression, and to help listeners feel less alone in their struggles with depression. The Depression Session project was a way for me to relate to others, to understand my own depression, but more importantly, to give back in providing a source for others to find connections and resources.

Past work includes Of Birds and Men, 27 portraits of men in power accused by women of sexual harassment and abuse, facing a bird with the same letter as their name. Zero Packaging Project, a year without packaging; and Walking Home: stories from the desert to the Great Lakes, in which I walked 2,007 miles from Arizona to Michigan wearing a live webcam; Walking Stories: Mexico, I walked across Mexico City in the company of strangers, posting the stories they shared each night on a BLOG.

My work has been exhibited across the U.S., Mexico, and in France. I have received grants, awards, and international recognition for my work, including a Fulbright award to travel and work in Mexico City and a Tanne Foundation Award.

The Route

This is the preliminary route for my cross country journey in mobile radio lab, In Search of the Great America. I planned to visit all 48 contiguous states, asking people to define their Great America, past, present and future. Then I would fly the Hawaii and Alaska. But COVID-19 had other plans. Now I am traveling virtually to the 100 cities and towns along this route, asking local organizations to nominate someone in their community to participate in the interviews.

100 EPISODE locations in order

1. AZ – Phoenix
2. AZ – Show Low
3. NM – Albuquerque
4. NM – Springer
5. CO – Pueblo
6. CO – Denver
7. WY – Cheyenne
8. WY – Lander
9. UT – Salt Lake City
10. UT – Cedar City
11. NV – Caliente
12. NV – Las Vegas
13. CA – Los Angeles
14. CA – Mt Shasta
15. OR – Roseburg
16. OR – Portland
17. WA – Seattle
18. WA – Kennewick
19. ID – Boise
20. ID – Dubois
21. MT – Billings
22. MT – Baker
23. ND – Steele
24. ND – Fargo
25. SD – De Smet
26. SD – Sioux Falls
27. MN – St James
28. MN – Minneapolis
29. WI – Wisconsin Dells
30. WI – Milwaukee
31. IL – Chicago
32. IL – Galena
33. IA – Waterloo
34. IA – Des Moines
35. NE – Omaha
36. NE – Aurora
37. MO – Kansas City
38. MO – Nevada
39. KS – Fredonia
40. KS – Wichita
41. OK – Oklahoma City
42. OK – Ardmore
43. TX – West
44. TX – Houston
45. LA – Lafayette
46. LA – New Orleans
47. MS – Jackson
48. MS – Cleveland
49. AR – Little Rock
50. AR – Forest City
51. TN – Jackson
52. TN – Nashville
53. AL – Mooresville
54. AL – Birmingham
55. GA – Atlanta
56. GA – Tifton
57. FL – Crystal River
58. FL – Jacksonville
59. SC – Charleston
60. SC – Georgetown
61. NC – Charlotte
62. NC – Bath
63. VA – Virginia Beach
64. VA – Culpeper
65. MD – Baltimore
66. MD – Ocean City
67. DE – Odessa
68. DE – Wilmington
69. PA – Philadelphia
70. NJ – Red Bank
71. NJ – Newark
72. NY – New York City
73. CT – Bridgeport
74. CT – Milford
75. RI – Weekapaug
76. RI – Providence
77. MA – Boston
78. MA – Rockport
79. ME – Portland
80. ME – Rangeley
81. NH – Campton
82. NH – Manchester
83. VT – Chester
84. VT – Burlington
85. NY – Skaneateles
86. PA – Ridgway
87. OH – Chagrin Falls
88. OH – Columbus
89. WV – Buckhannon
90. WV – Charleston
91. KY – Pikeville
92. KY – Louisville
93. IN – Indianapolis
94. IN – West Lafayette
95. MI – Detroit
96. MI – Pentwater
97. HI – Honolulu
98. HI –  Lihue
99. AK – Anchorage
100. AK – Homer

I started in Arizona, where I live, and will end in Michigan, where I grew up. I am very interested in notions of home and how they determine our world view. The first question I ask each guest is, “Where did you grow up and what was it like growing up there.” 

The Podcast Questions:
-Where did you grow up and what was it like?
-Was there a time in history that you thought America was great and why?
-What is great about America now for you?
-What does your great America look like in the future?
-Who are we when we are at our best?