HISTORY FOR CHANGEMAKERS: SEASON 2 UNTEXTBOOKED RESUMES

PRESS RELEASE: OCT 18, 2021

BOSTON, October 18, 2021 - As the pandemic drags on and political divisions become ever more entrenched, the huge disparity between what is taught in schools and what our nation needs to heal and move forward has become abundantly clear. The History Co:Lab (formerly got history?), a systems change organization that was founded in 2018 to address this problem, teamed up with a group of young people last year to take action.  These student-changemakers who are tired of textbooks — yet hungry for the truth — worked with famous historians in a unique collaborative effort to create a podcast to change how teens engage with history.  “We need to understand and confront the past to be empowered for the future”, says Gavin Scott, one of the founding podcasters and leaders of the show. “We need the freedom to dig into the truth about the past. We need history to be a source of power for everyone.”

For Season 1, enthusiastic supporters eagerly jumped on board, including renowned historian Jill Lepore and former Joint Special Operations Commander (JSOC) General Stanley McChrystal, who, when asked his motivation for participating, responded, "The future is going to belong to the people who care about it. Our nation will be what we — and increasingly you — decide it will be, and anything I can do to help you prepare yourselves to decide well is my pleasure and my honor."

In May of 2021, the podcast was selected by Spotify from thousands of contestants as a NextWave podcast, honoring the innovative approach and radical ambition of the show. This season, 7 new podcasters and 8 podcasters from Season 1 once again engaged 15 acclaimed authors in conversations about their books.  Each episode is framed around a timely and relevant question chosen by the young podcaster, including "Can the War on Terror ever truly end?” and “Can protests save lives?”  A duo of teen musicians, Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton, composed and recorded the music. Editors Jeff Emtmann and Bethany Denton have again polished the episodes into a professional product. 

The first episode of Season 2 launched today, October 18, and 2 new episodes will follow every week until January. These and all of Season 1 and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google, and Spotify.

The History Co:Lab’s founder, Fernande Raine, marveled at the talent of the production team: "Grownups have been talking about the need for better history for decades.  I'm thrilled to see this podcast unleashing the power of amazing young people to actually get it done."

For more information, visit www.untextbooked.com and www.thehistorycolab.org

About UnTextbooked

UnTextbooked is a new kind of podcast. Teenagers from across America interview great historians to find answers to the big questions of today. Each episode features one teen podcaster, one book, and one historian, all tied together by our intrepid and charismatic teen host, Gabe Hostin. These conversations between teens and titans bring the full power of history to you with depth and vividness that textbooks lack. Real history, to help you find answers to your big questions. UnTextbooked is a project of The History Co:Lab.