This Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition podcast outlines the life and impact of Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente (1934–1972), who, later in life, played professional baseball in the U.S. and became a hero and spokesman for Puerto Rico, as well as a civil rights activist.

Emmy-Award–winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns joins Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, to discuss his past work and his current project, The War, a seven-part series examining the ways in which World War II touched the lives of American families.

To listen to this video, scroll to "Ken Burns," and select "Watch the Video."

A talk with Dr. Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the new National Museum of African American History, about the new African-American Museum. This Smithsonian Institution museum has been decades in the making and soon will be assigned a location in downtown Washington, DC. "It is a challenge to make sure that this is a museum that allows people to revel in African-American culture," Dr. Bunch has noted, "but it [will also be] a museum that says what it means to be an American. Everyone will want to come here because it will help us understand courage and resiliency and other traits."

To view this lecture, scroll to "Lonnie Bunch," and select "Watch the Video."

Lynne Cheney talks about the way Americans have come to perceive their past. She uses her recent book, A Time for Freedom: What Happened When in America, as a jumping-off point for discussing her longstanding interest in the education of young people in American history.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to "Lynne Cheney" and select "Watch the Video."

Professor John Smolenski describes the French and Indian War (or Seven-Year War), looking at its significance in North American history and its neglect in popular memory and understanding.

Professor Karen Sawislak reviews the history of women in the workplace and women's work during the 19th century in the U.S. She looks at changes over this period and how this history is perceived and taught today.

Professor Jon Gjerde looks at how the concepts of democracy and citizenship have changed over the course of U.S. history. He focuses particularly on how these concepts have affected and reacted to immigrants and immigration throughout that history.

Professor Clarence Walker reviews the life of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, drawing on Douglass's first autobiography.

Michael Ray narrates a basic introduction to the Battle of the Alamo and popular memory of the battle. The presentation looks briefly at how films and fiction have reimagined the story of the Alamo and distorted historical facts.

Michael Ray narrates a basic introduction to the Puritan colonists in North America, emphasizing modern misunderstanding and stereotyping of Puritan beliefs and lifestyles.