Overview

• The series is set to debut this autumn as part of C-SPAN’s programming marking the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.
• Episodes will be taped before live audiences at the Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the National Archives.
• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is scheduled to be the first guest, with John Grisham, David Grann, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Walter Isaacson, Stacy Schiff, José Andrés, and Arthur Brooks among the early lineup.
• David M. Rubenstein will lead on-location interviews at civic institutions known as repositories of American history and ideas.
• Production is led by C-SPAN’s Peter Slen and Marie Arana with CNN veteran Brian Rokus as senior producer, and CEO Sam Feist describes the program as a landmark cultural initiative.