50 States Speaker Series

Throughout 2026, please join the American Center in Moscow for “50 States,” a weekly series of livestreamed presentations highlighting unique cultural and historical elements, as well as “fun facts” on each of the 50 US states.

Each week, an American expert will lead a session on their state, highlighting topics such as local culture, food, music, regional accents and dialects, inventions, history, notable figures, famous books, films, or TV shows set in the state, national parks, major landmarks, and sports teams.

To watch all past talks in the series, please use the following playlists on YouTube and VK:

50 States playlist on YouTube: tinyurl.com/y6pevs4r

50 States playlist on VK: tinyurl.com/4s7msv5f

Schedule of Upcoming Events and Speaker Bios:

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Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 20:00 MSK: Massachusetts

Ryan Montoya is a family medicine physician and comic book artist whose identity, for better or worse, can be blamed on the state of Massachusetts. Moving to Mansfield at the age of 9, Ryan completed his elementary school in southern Massachusetts, his middle and high school in Boston, and university education in Cambridge. He received medical training in Worcester, got married in Braintree, and half of his kids were born in Longwood. Ryan and his family live and work internationally now, but will always consider Massachusetts home, and will find any excuse to extoll its virtues to an unsuspecting listener.

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Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 20:00 MSK: Louisiana

Food personality, radio host, and author, Poppy Tooker is passionate about food and the people who bring it to the table. For sixteen years, Poppy has combined these elements in her award winning, NPR affiliated radio show, Louisiana Eats! For many years, Poppy taught classic Louisiana cooking to locals and visitors alike. One of her most enduring favorites is seafood gumbo. In 2008, she beat Food Network star, Bobby Flay in a gumbo throwdown. In 2013, Wynton Marsalis chose Poppy to cook gumbo on CBS Sunday Morning as part of his “Ode To Gumbo.” He continues to attest Poppy’s gumbo is the closest to his own mother’s version. Poppy’s first book, The Crescent City Farmers Market won a Tabasco Cookbook Award in 2007. Louisiana Eats! based on favorite interviews from the early years of the radio broadcast won the Louisiana Library association’s book of the year in 2013. Poppy has also specialized in historical restaurant cookbooks including Tujague’s, Pascal’s Manale and Tony Mandina restaurants. With her motto, “Eat It To Save It” Poppy was instrumental in reviving many endangered foods and food traditions through the International Slow Food Movement. Named a “Hero of the Storm” by the Times-Picayune and recognized by the International Association of Cooking with their first, Community Service Award for her work reviving New Orleans restaurants and food providers following Hurricane Katrina. Southern Living magazine named Poppy a “Hero of the New South.”

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Wednesday, November 18, 2026, 20:00 MSK: Kentucky

Tommy Johns

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Tuesday, November 24, 2026, 20:00 MSK: TBD

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Wednesday, December 2, 2026, 20:00 MSK: Florida

Anne Hull

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ALL AMERICAN CENTER IN MOSCOW EVENTS ARE FREE OF CHARGE / ALL EVENTS OF THE AMERICAN CENTER IN MOSCOW ARE FREE OF CHARGE

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To watch this event live, tune in to the American Center in Moscow's YouTube channel and VK page . You can also watch the recording of this event on the same platforms after the event's end.

You can register below and leave your valid email address to receive a reminder 30 minutes before the online event begins.

To join other AMC Online programs, please check the American Center's website and TimePad calendars.