Museums have long been at the forefront of public engagement with the history and memory of the Holocaust. But as the possibilities of technology for discovery and learning about such an emotionally fraught subject expand, and the question of what the Holocaust has to teach us remains as thorny as ever, at museums old and new the goals of that public engagement are undergoing serious revision.

Anthropologist Yasmine Lucas has written widely on the ways in which Holocaust museums in North America—their curators, advisors, funders, and visitors—are navigating this moment. She takes a particular interest in the Montreal Holocaust Museum, which is preparing to open a more modern and interactive exhibit inside a new building in 2027. Lucas joins the podcast to discuss the role of the twenty-first-century Holocaust museum, how curatorial decisions respond to the reality of a dwindling survivor population, and the changing needs and demands of visitors in a climate of political and social divisiveness.