As part of the The Massachusetts Historical Society's look at the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, GBH's Debra Adams Simmons will sit down with Jordan Taylor of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Michael D. Hattem of the Yale-New Haven Institute to examine commentary in Revolutionary-era newspapers and broadsides, consider how understanding of the Revolution has changed over time, and reflect on how the public sees the nation’s founding today.
An experienced journalist and media leader, Debra Adams Simmons spent several years as executive editor, history and culture, at National Geographic. She also served as vice president, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at National Geographic Media where she worked across The Walt Disney Company, NatGeo's parent company, on strategic diversity initiatives. Debra has extensive reporting, editing and senior management experience. She previously was the editor and managing editor, respectively, of newspapers in Akron and Cleveland before joining The Plain Dealer's parent company, Advance Local, as a vice president.
Taylor is a historian and digital humanist specializing in early American media and misinformation. At Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios, he examines how prominent political figures confronted “fake news” in the nation’s early years.
Michael D. Hattem is an American historian, with interests in early America, the American Revolution, and historical memory. He received his PhD in History at Yale University and has taught at The New School and Knox College. He is the author of The Memory of ’76: The Revolution in American History (Yale University Press, 2024), which was a finalist for the 2025 George Washington Prize, and Past and Prologue: Politics and Memory in the American Revolution (Yale University Press, 2020).
