Jul 21, 2026 · 26 min · 10 segments
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Josh Perelman about the power of museums to shape memory, identity, and emotional connection. Through the story of The First Salute exhibition, the conversation…
Josh PerelmanGuestAbbyHostBrenda CowanHostAs there are more and more sort of places vying for people's attention, um, so with this in mind, what role do you think museums and cultural institutions play, and do they foster conversation across generations and communities?
It's a pleasure to be here, and it's a pleasure to be, uh, in this conversation, um, with Abby, who I work so closely with on The First Salute.
You know, it's a fascinating question because 10 years ago I would have had one answer, five years ago I might have had a different answer, and today I certainly feel that there is real tension in the relationship between museums as educational institutions, museums as experiential institutions, and the larger social complexities and political complexities we're experiencing in society.
Truth or the idea of objectivity has always been, you know, a contested terrain.
But in the environment we are living in right now, museums have to navigate a very, very, very difficult situation in which they both want to maintain their commitment to accuracy, to storytelling that reveals new ideas about our past and present, and challenges people to think about their lives, their histories, and maybe inspire them in their futures.
But it is very difficult to engage in those practices when we have such deep skepticism in our society about authority, about information, and about truth.
Are you finding that the conversations across generations are different now than they were, let's say, going back ten years or, or even more?
On one hand, the good news for museums is, you know, statistics continue to show that museums are places that people trust.
On the other hand, I would say in the last two to three years, I have never experienced more difficult generational conversations, not only about kind of the larger story of our nation, the Weisman is a museum focused on American history, and also because the Weisman is a museum focused on American Jewish history.
Part of the challenge of our time is that there are generational conversations happening that are both new, complex and difficult, especially when you're in a culturally specific museum.
Mm-hmm.
As there are more and more sort of places vying for people's attention, um, so with this in mind, what role do you think museums and cultural institutions play, and do they foster conversation across generations and communities?
It's a pleasure to be here, and it's a pleasure to be, uh, in this conversation, um, with Abby, who I work so closely with on The First Salute.
You know, it's a fascinating question because 10 years ago I would have had one answer, five years ago I might have had a different answer, and today I certainly feel that there is real tension in the relationship between museums as educational institutions, museums as experiential institutions, and the larger social complexities and political complexities we're experiencing in society.
Truth or the idea of objectivity has always been, you know, a contested terrain.
But in the environment we are living in right now, museums have to navigate a very, very, very difficult situation in which they both want to maintain their commitment to accuracy, to storytelling that reveals new ideas about our past and present, and challenges people to think about their lives, their histories, and maybe inspire them in their futures.
But it is very difficult to engage in those practices when we have such deep skepticism in our society about authority, about information, and about truth.
Are you finding that the conversations across generations are different now than they were, let's say, going back ten years or, or even more?
On one hand, the good news for museums is, you know, statistics continue to show that museums are places that people trust.
On the other hand, I would say in the last two to three years, I have never experienced more difficult generational conversations, not only about kind of the larger story of our nation, the Weisman is a museum focused on American history, and also because the Weisman is a museum focused on American Jewish history.
Part of the challenge of our time is that there are generational conversations happening that are both new, complex and difficult, especially when you're in a culturally specific museum.
Mm-hmm.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
