In September-October 2025, author/political satirist C. J. Hopkins and photographer Hugo Fernandez will take a road trip back and forth across the USA, talking about America with people from all walks of life and of all political persuasions. Their adventures on the road, the stories and perspectives of the people they meet along the way, and Professor. Fernandez’s photographs will be published as a book, Strangers in a Strange Homeland (working title), by Arcade Publishing in 2026.
Here’s an excerpt from the press statement:
“A lot of other writers have done the American road trip thing. So that’s not new. What is unique, however, is the perspective I bring to it. I’m an American, but I have lived in Europe for twenty years. So, in a sense, I’m coming home to a country I have never been to before. I want to discover and explore that country as it is today, or as many parts of it as I can, as a stranger in a strange homeland.
Hugo Fernandez, a professor at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY, will also be seeing the country with estranged eyes. Having mostly worked with large-format photography for the last forty years, he’s returning to the handheld B&W style of his early work for this project.
In a broader sense, aren’t we Americans all ‘strangers in a strange homeland,’ no matter how far back our roots in the country go, or how long we may have been away from home? Except for the Native Americans, we’re all from somewhere else.
In these times of extreme political polarization, cultural fragmentation, confusion, anger, and fear, what is it, if anything, that still unites us as Americans? Where are we? How did we get here? Where are we headed? These are a few of the questions I am hoping to explore with the people we meet along the road.” — C. J. Hopkins
New York City — September 11. Kick off at George’s and 9/11 Memorial (1-3PM).
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — September 12. Lunch at Pat’s King of Steaks (1PM).
Washington, DC — September 13. Reading/discussion at The Big Board (7-9PM).
Hillsboro, West Virginia — September 14. Reading event at The Levels Depot (4:30PM).
Cincinnati, Ohio — September 16. Gathering at Madtree Brewery Oakley Taproom (7:30PM).
Chicago, Illinois — September 17. Visceral Adventure bonfire event (7PM).
Chicago, Illinois — September 18. Integrity Media Group event.
Peoria, Illinois — September 19. Gathering at a nearby horse farm.
Kansas City, Missouri — September 20. Joe’s BBQ with a theater impresario.
Council Grove, Kansas — September 21. Reading event at Carnegie Library (3PM).
Boulder, Colorado — September 23. Gathering at Bohemian Biergarten (2PM).
Pinedale, Wyoming — September 24. Gathering with locals.
Missoula, Montana — September 26. BBQ Gathering with locals. (12:00PM)
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho — September 27. Breakfast. (TBD)
Portland, Oregon — September 28. Gathering at Dick’s Primal Kitchen (1:30PM).
Gresham, Oregon — September 28. Reading event at The Scout Wine Bar (6PM).
Medford, Oregon — September 29. Reading event at Barnes & Noble (6-8PM).
Ashland, Oregon — September 30. Gathering at The Noble Fox (6-10PM).
San Francisco, California — October 3. Reading event at Adobe Books (5:30-8PM).
Los Angeles, California — October 6-8. Meetings with locals.
Sedona, Arizona — October 9. (TBD)
Santa Fe, New Mexico — October 10. Gathering with locals.
Santa Fe, New Mexico — October 11. Reading event at Club Paradiso (12-2PM)
Austin, Texas — October 13. Gathering with locals.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana — October 14. Town Hall event at Louisiana State University.
New Orleans, Louisiana — October 15-18. Meetings with locals.
Oxford, Mississippi — October 20. Town Hall event at Ole Miss: University of Mississippi.
Tennessee — October 21. (TBD)
Bakersville, North Carolina — October 22. Gathering with locals.
Washington, DC — October 24. Visiting The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
Greenwich, Connecticut — October 27. Town-hall event at St. Mary Church (4-7PM).
Kensington, New Hampshire — October 28. Gathering at Crows’ Feat Farm (4PM).
Support the America Road Trip Project via Freefunder:
Subscribe to C. J. Hopkins’ Substack for updates and reports from the road.
CJ Hopkins 