250 Years Later, Why We’re Still Fighting About Our Founding

Two hundred and fifty years ago, the founding fathers gave rise to a new nation. They also gave rise to an enduring myth about their virtue and what that meant about America’s virtue as a country.

Jia Lynn Yang, a New York Times journalist, discusses how the founding myth has evolved, why we are still fighting about it and why it may hold the key to America’s future.

Guest: Jia Lynn Yang, a New York Times journalist writing explanatory pieces about the ideas underlying the news.

Background reading: 

• Is there a founding story that can unify left and right?

Photo: Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.