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

About this episode

<p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/jia-lynn-yang" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Jia Lynn Yang</strong></a>, a New York Times journalist writing explanatory pieces about the ideas underlying the news.</p> <p>Background reading: </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/magazine/a-founding-story-to-unify-left-and-right.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Is there a founding story that can unify left and right</a>?</li> </ul> <p>Photo: Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>