In this episode, Sabrina Lynn Motley, director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, discuss how their institutions are celebrating America’s 250th birthday. This conversation took place at Chautauqua Institution 2025 Summer Assembly.
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This conversation took place at the Chautauqua Institution on August 21, 2025.
This episode was produced by Bill Pollock and Griffin Richie. It was engineered by the Chautauqua Institution and Bill Pollock.
Participants
Deborah Sunya Moore is the Chief Program Officer and Senior Vice President for Chautauqua Institution. She is responsible for establishing and leading programmatic vision for Chautauqua’s four program pillars: Education, Arts, Religion and Recreation.
Sabrina Lynn Motley is the director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Motley’s most recent exhibitions speak to her interest in the creative lives of women and the role of traditional arts in contemporary life.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. His newest book, Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle over Power in America, is out in October 2025.
Additional Resources
- Jeff Rosen, The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton and Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America
- Chautauqua Institution, Sabrina Lynn Motley and Jeffrey Rosen
- National Constitution Center, America’s Town Hall
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