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By Don Wildman

Hey everybody—I’m really looking forward to keynoting the AASLH Conference this September in Cincinnati.

Most folks know me from TV—Cities of the Underworld, Off Limits, Mysteries at the Museum—shows that put me in the role of a history adventurer, digging into forgotten places and forgotten stories. For over 25 years, it’s been a global journey through the strange, dark, and wondrous corners of the past. These days, I still pop up in shows like The Food That Built America and Hazardous History, but I’ve also taken on a new role: not just as a storyteller, but as an advocate for history itself.

At the conference, I’ll be reflecting on how that shift happened. Back in the early 2000s, cable TV brought history into millions of homes—edutainment had a real moment. But over time, that model faded. We now live in a fragmented, algorithm-driven media landscape, where complexity is often lost and truth feels negotiable. And it’s not just TV that’s changed. How Americans learn, teach, and talk about history is shifting too—fast.

I’m not coming to the podium to mourn that change—I’m coming to challenge it.

AASLH’s conference theme this year, The American Experiment, hits close to home. As we approach the 250th anniversary of American independence, we’re being handed a rare national moment: not just to celebrate, but to recommit. Recommit to truth-telling. To youth engagement. To the idea that understanding our past is essential to the health of our democracy.

In my talk, I’ll share what I’ve learned from recent projects like the American History Hit podcast, my work with National History Day, and public history initiatives across the country. I’ll make the case for a new kind of collaboration—one that brings together media makers, educators, museums, and civic institutions to re-center history in American life.

This anniversary isn’t just a milestone. It’s a crossroads.

If you’re coming to Cincinnati, I hope you’ll join me. We’ve got work to do—and I’m excited to be in that room, doing it together.