A More Perfect Union is a media project that explores the complexities of our democracy in order to help strengthen it. Through radio programs, podcasts, and oral histories, A More Perfect Union examines American democracy’s founding documents: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence, through a cross-cultural lens. The project is presented by Humanities Washington, KUOW, Spokane Public Radio, and Northwest Public Broadcasting.
See below for the radio broadcast schedule. The oral histories, which will be turned into podcasts later this summer, will include interviews with Latino/a/x community members in Wenatchee, farming community members in Thurston county, and LGBTQ+ community members in the Tri-Cities and Spokane. More information about the oral histories and podcasts will come later in the summer.
A More Perfect Union invites all of us to reflect on our shared history and the American ideals that have animated our republic since its founding. How have different communities been included or excluded from our democratic systems? How have Washington cultural communities defined “liberty” based on their unique social circumstances? What challenges have these communities faced in their quest for liberty, and how have they tried to overcome them? How can we work to build a more just, inclusive, and sustainable democracy?
Radio partners:
KUOW broadcasts
June 21, 1:00 p.m.: Civic education (Listen)
June 28, 12:00 p.m.: Latinx voting rights (Listen)
July 5, 12:00 p.m.: Native American ideas of democracy
Spokane Public Radio broadcasts
June 21, 12:00 p.m.: Civic education (Listen)
June 28, 12:00 p.m.: Latinx voting rights (Listen)
July 5, 12:00 p.m.: Native American ideas of democracy
Northwest Public Broadcasting broadcasts
June 29, 7:00 p.m.: Civic education
June 30, 7:00 p.m.: Latinx voting rights
July 1, 7:00 p.m.: Native American ideas of democracy
The collaboration between Humanities Washington and radio stations KUOW, SPR and NWPB is an initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Pulitzer Prizes via the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The funding is a continuation of the Democracy and the Informed Citizen initiative.
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided funding through the initiative A More Perfect Union. The oral histories recorded and shared with the radio station partners above as well as Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College are all part of the project commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.
