EAST LANSING, MI; Aug 6, 2026 -- WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University announces the premiere of Beyond 250, the latest in a collection of special programming commemorating the 250th anniversary of our nation.
Beyond 250 airs in mid-Michigan on Friday, August 7 at 6:00pm on WKAR-TV 23.1 and streaming on wkar.org and the free PBS app.
Beyond 250 examines how Americans have continually redefined citizenship, rights, power, and participation throughout the nation’s unfinished democratic experiment. Through expert conversations, historical context, and voices from Michigan communities, the program connects America’s past to the responsibilities of self-government today.
View a preview here: TRAILER | Beyond 250.
The hourlong special is hosted by Ashlee Smith, WKAR senior director of content and education. “This year, we've celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,” Smith comments in opening the show. “Today we move beyond celebration to reflection, asking a question fundamental to democracy. What does it mean to govern ourselves? As we look toward the next 250 years, we revisit questions every generation has wrestled with. Who belongs? Who holds power?”
To explore these questions, Smith is joined by panelists Richard Primus, of the University of Michigan College of Law; Emily Conroy-Krutz, Department of History at MSU; Charles Thomas, of the voter turnout organization When You Vote I Win; Matt Grossman, Department of Political Science at MSU; Brigid Beaubien, Upshur Institute for Civic Education at Eastern Michigan University; Ellen Zwarensteyn and Roneka Matheny from the Michigan Center for Civic Education; and Ashley Woods Branch, a journalist with Planet Detroit.
Beyond 250 is a WKAR original production. For more WKAR programming commemorating the founding of our nation, visit WKAR America 250 at wkar.org.