“The United States has always been a work in progress.”

If you were invited to sit at a table with someone you’ve never met before and answer handwritten questions from a wooden box about the state of America, would you run the other way? The Work in Progress invites strangers from across generations and geographies to engage in candid discussions about America’s ever-evolving democracy, identity, and definitions of community — and where the heck we go from here. Guided by questions posed by Executive Producer Robert Reich, participants sit down in a series of conversations with one another to explore the country they’re living in now and the one they still believe is possible.

Participants

The Work in Progress features discussions and musical performances with 86 people across 7 locations.

  • Chuy Renteria

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Editor of Little Village magazine & father of two daughters.

  • Cameron Gingerich

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Pig farmer, Christian and father.

  • Mary Lindstrom

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Chair of the Iowa Federation of Young Republicans.

  • Bruce Cheney

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    (1943 - 2026) was a proud Republican and Buddhist.

  • Oliver Weilein

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    City councilor & a Democratic Socialist.

  • Jim Ellison

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Retired long-haul trucker.

  • Dave Alberhasky

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Has run the Foxhead Tavern for 60 years.

  • Mary Swander

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Former Poet Laureate of lowa.

  • Tiara Phillips

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Builds community through her organization Bitchin' Events.

  • Melissa Stout

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    City clerk & coach of her kids' sports teams.

  • Paulina Ocegueda Gomez

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Community advocate and HR professional.

  • Barbara Morrison

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Psychiatric nurse & board president of her local library.

  • Leo Ochiltree

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Retired farmer & postal worker.

  • Merrill Knouse

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Helped bring rural electrification to eastern lowa.

  • Paul Drumm

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Retired farmer & trucker.

  • Tom Moeller

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Worked on his family farm and at John Deere.

  • Pieta Brown

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Singer, songwriter, photographer & filmmaker from lowa.

  • Barbara Western

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    CEO of one of Iowa's only Black-owned century farms.

  • Todd Western IV

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Urban farmer & works in social media marketing.

  • Maggie Paulos

    JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA

    Retired teacher & mother of 8.

  • Zach Peterson

    Organizer for Teamsters Local 238.

  • Jim Rosenau

    ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

    Artist & woodworker in Berkeley, California.

  • Jim Chilton

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    5th generation Arizona cattle rancher.

  • Laiken Jordahl

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Conservation advocate in the desert Southwest.

  • Petey Mesquitey

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Resident storyteller on KXCI 91.3 FM.

  • Alfred Quiroz

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Professor of art at the University of Arizona.

  • Alvaro Enciso

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Artist & humanitarian from Colombia.

  • Mariachi Aztlán de Pueblo High School

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Youth mariachi group from Tucson.

  • Cindy Gebremariam

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Runs an Ethiopian restaurant with her husband Amanuel.

  • Amanuel Gebremariam

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Founded Zemam's Ethiopian cuisine in 1993.

  • Amber Parker

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Pursuing an M.S. in software engineering.

  • Angela Garcia

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Private chef working with flavors from her Mexican heritage.

  • Chucki Begay

    PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA

    Musician & grandmother born on the Navajo Nation.

  • Mary McFadden

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Holds an Associate of Arts degree from Malcolm X College

  • Dan Machalinski

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Technical director at Chicago's Looking Glass Theater.

  • Jesse White

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Former six-term Sec. of State of Illinois & founder of a tumbling team.

  • Antonio Robles Levine

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    (aka BLESSTONIO) is a full-time DJ and producer.

  • Candy Klein

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Retired teacher and celebrated fabric store employee.

  • Martin Klein

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Retired stagehand for the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

  • Brad Klein

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Standup comedian who performs in both English and ASL.

  • Rabbi Jessie Wainer

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Associate Rabbi at Congregation Etz Chaim.

  • Fr. Juan Carlos Vargas Carrillo

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago

  • Rose Silverman

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Leads the Jews United for Justice's dismantling antisemitism initiatives.

  • Fern Finkel

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Great-grandmother, retired businesswoman & teacher.

  • Cindy Chui

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Realtor & member of the Asian Real Estate Association of America

  • The Shannon Rovers

    COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

    Celebrating 100 years of playing the bagpipes.

  • Dave Kelly

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Boat builder and the grandson of Maynard Bray.

  • Maynard Bray

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Maritime historian, author & expert on wooden boatbuilding

  • Susan Silverio

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Teacher, activist & chair of the Tranquility Grange.

  • Steve Beveridge

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Farmer & sawyer, has served in the US Army & the Public Works Dept.

  • Fateh Azzam

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Playwright & human rights consultant.

  • Adan Abdikadir

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Organizer with Maine Youth Justice.

  • Kade Kelly

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Has degrees in both History and Culinary Arts.

  • Adam Jalbert

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Hails from northern Maine and is a recovery advocate.

  • Jeff Belony

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Proud New Yorker and was a warehouse operations manager.

  • Chloe Maxmin

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Farmer and consultant to rural election campaigns.

  • Dan Allen

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Retired contractor, former public school teacher, and history buff.

  • Nick Smith

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Fourth-generation farmer at Bull Run Farm.

  • Jared Mitchell

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Award-winning taxidermist.

  • Lily Carlisle-Reske

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Organic farmer.

  • George Beasley

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Retired from the U.S. Foreign Service.

  • Robin Lane

    KNOX COUNTY, MAINE

    Composer, educator, music producer, and sound engineer

  • Janice Wesley Kelsey

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Teacher, school principal, and a life-long organizer.

  • Jenice Fountain

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Organizer fighting for Reproductive Justice, direct aid & reparations.

  • Frank Brocato

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Former mayor of Hoover, Alabama.

  • Jon Headrick

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Grew up in a NASCAR family and now does healthcare IT sales.

  • Marqus Dawson

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Studied at UAB-Huntsville to become a graphic designer.

  • Barbara Shores

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Author and Civil Rights activist.

  • Lissa Legrand

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Shakespearean actor, rock n roll bass player, & radio host.

  • Charles Edwards

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Retired parole officer and a devoted Christian

  • Elias Hendricks

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Birmingham-based artist who mixes soul with opera.

  • Ted Debro

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.

  • Andrew Dorough

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Electrical engineer and father of two.

  • Carolyn Satterfield

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Former Samford University professor.

  • Elisha Williams

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    First-generation college student who works in marketing.

  • Earl "Guitar" Williams

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA

    Soul King of Bessemer, Alabama, where he styles hair.

  • Kitty Simonds

    HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII

    Manages fisheries in the Western Pacific

  • John Simonds

    HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII

    Retired newspaper reporter and editor.

  • Kelsea Hosoda

    HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII

    Assistant Professor at the University of Hawai'i School of Medicine.

  • Jon Kamakawiwo'ole Osori

    HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII

    Dean of the Hawai'inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge.

  • Ulana Kalāhiki-Anthony

    HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII

    Hawai'i's first female longline fishing boat captain.

  • Anui Kalāhiki

    HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII

    One of the first women to work in fish processing on O'ahu.

  • Karen Murashige

    HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII

    Yoga instructor who worked for the US Navy for 35 years.

  • Led Kaapana

    HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII

    World-renowned & Grammynominated slack key guitarist.

  • Shaun Wilcox

    HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII

    Kahu (pastor), fisherman, & manager of water resources for O'ahu.

Meet the Team

Meet the directors, producers, and crew behind The Work in Progress.

  • Ian Cheney

    DIRECTOR

    Ian Cheney is an Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker who has completed fifteen feature documentaries, including King Corn, The City Dark, and Picture a Scientist.

  • Robert B. Reich

    EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

    Robert B. Reich is Professor of Public Policy emeritus at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, and served as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton.

  • Elliot Kirschner

    PRODUCER

    Elliot Kirschner is a New York Times best-selling author, an Emmy Award-winning news and

    documentary producer, and the director of the 2025 documentary, The Last Class.

  • Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse

    PRODUCER

    Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse is the Executive Director of Inequality Media and Inequality Media Civic Action, founder of CoffeeKlatch Productions, and producer of the 2025 documentary, The Last Class.

  • Meredith DeSalazar

    PRODUCER

    Meredith DeSalazar is an award-winning documentary and news producer whose previous credits include Observer, The Last Class, Shelf Life, Arc of Oblivion, and the Emmy-nominated Human Nature.

  • Ezra Wolfinger

    DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

    Ezra Wolfinger is an award-winning documentary and commercial cinematographer who shoots regularly for PBS NOVA and PBS Newshour, as well as clients ranging from the Smithsonian to National Geographic.