New York City will be at the center of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the United States, thanks to the largest-ever flotilla of tall ships to sail into New York Harbor — a reminder of the city's storied maritime history. It will be like ghosts of the past returning from a long voyage.

The parade of tall ships, known as Operation Sail, first assembled in New York waters for the 1964 World's Fair and later for the big U.S. Bicentennial of 1976. The city had a lot going on that year, most notably a financial crisis and a public spat with President Gerald Ford. But when television cameras turned to film the big event, they saw not just majestic ships, but a diverse array of New Yorkers, reinventing what it meant to be American.

Tom and Greg are joined on this show by Captain Jonathan Boulware, the President and CEO of the South Street Seaport Museum, to discuss the Seaport's unique connection to Operation Sail and the museum's latest exhibition, The Promise of Liberty: Words That Shaped a Nation, which places the nation's most important documents in a unique waterfront context.

This show was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon

If you're looking for a walk through New York's Revolutionary past, please check out the augmented reality app Echoes of Revolution NYC, launching on June 29, 2026.

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