“I do see the world as it is, but I also see that we can do something about that. And the only way we can do something is when we imagine and dream — and then figure it out together.” ~ Philippa Pham Hughes

Happy Semiquincentennial!

How does one meaningfully mark the 250th anniversary of a declaration of independence – of the launch of a brave and optimistic experiment in representation and democracy? 

Should it be about looking backward? Forward? Inward? Outward?

All of the above, I think.

Washington DC-based social sculptor, speaker, and writer Philippa Pham Hughes and I luxuriate in curiosity, this crazy big milestone, and letting ourselves dream about the next 250 years.

We don’t take time to sit and pause and really reflect on those kinds of questions. We just take it for granted.

We talk about her 10-year exploration of what it means to be an American, the power of iterative processes, that the American Dream is many things but not pie, radical optimism, creating space for reflection and sharing, the power of art as a conversation catalyst, why we need each other to get anything done — and why seeking micro conversations over and over is so very, very important.

Listen to Ep. 330: Curiosity & A [New] American Dream, with Philippa Pham Hughes

Check out Philippa Pham Hughes and A [New] American Dream.

In DC in July and August? Be sure to check out the events at the Heurich House Museum.

Want to know more about the origins of Philippa’s work over time? Here’s our first conversation from 2020.

The good folks at Civity have tools to help us have the kinds of micro conversations Philippa and I talk about. I had a lovely conversation with Civity founders Malka Ranjana Kopell and Palma Joy Strand.

Looking for a little radical optimism? You might enjoy my conversation with Kevin Kelly, founder of Wired Magazine.

Theme music by Sean Balick; “Cradle Rocks” by Nursery, via Blue Dot Sessions.

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