In Search of the Great America

Hello! I am your host, Laura Milkins.

In Search of the Great America is a public history podcast project. Asking people to define their great America: past, present and future.

The mission is simple, to ask people to define their Great America (past, present and future) and to uncover the diversity, complexity, and community connections that already make us great. To find out what people really want for America, outside of the framework of politics and the media. With this project, I offer a non-judgmental space for people to share what they wish for themselves, their family and their community.

Each interview is only 15 minutes long. The guest will answer the following questions:

-Where did you grow up and what was it like? -Was there a time in history that you thought America was great and why? -What is great about America now for you? -What does your great America look like in the future? -Who are we when we are our best?

So… What’s your Great America?

ARTIST BIO I am an interdisciplinary artist living in Tucson, AZ. My work explores vulnerability, intimacy, and cultural norms, using variety of media: online-interactive performance, video, drawing, painting, and live radio/podcasting. Since 2012, I have taught Art and Visual Culture at Pima Community College. I received an MFA in painting from University of Arizona in 2008. In 2009, I was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico City.

My recent work includes The Depression Session, a website dedicated to de-stigmatizing depression, and to help listeners feel less alone in their struggles with depression. The Depression Session project was a way for me to relate to others, to understand my own depression, but more importantly, to give back in providing a source for others to find connections and resources.

Past work includes Of Birds and Men, 27 portraits of men in power accused by women of sexual harassment and abuse, facing a bird with the same letter as their name. Zero Packaging Project, a year without packaging; and Walking Home: stories from the desert to the Great Lakes, in which I walked 2,007 miles from Arizona to Michigan wearing a live webcam; Walking Stories: Mexico, I walked across Mexico City in the company of strangers, posting the stories they shared each night on a BLOG.

My work has been exhibited across the U.S., Mexico, and in France. I have received grants, awards, and international recognition for my work, including a Fulbright award to travel and work in Mexico City and a Tanne Foundation Award.