In our new podcast, Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen explores the founders’ lives with the historians who know them best. Plus, filmmaker Ken Burns shares his daily practice of self-reflection.
The “pursuit of happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in American history. When America’s founders wrote it in the Declaration of Independence, they intended it to mean happiness through lifelong learning and self-improvement.
To start our series, Jeffrey Rosen and Robert P. George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, trace how the meaning of the pursuit of happiness has changed over time. Then, American filmmaker Ken Burns, who has spent his “entire life trying to figure out the United States,” shares how daily self-reflection has given him new perspectives on what the founders faced 250 years ago.
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Participants
Robert P. George is the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He has served as chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and before that on the President’s Council on Bioethics and as a presidential appointee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.
Ken Burns has been a pioneering force in American documentary filmmaking for nearly half a century. He has directed and produced some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; and most recently, Leonardo da Vinci. His films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including 17 Emmy Awards and two Grammy Awards. His upcoming projects include The American Revolution, which will premiere on November 16th, 2025.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. He is also professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. His newest book, Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle over Power in America, is out in October 2025.
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Credits
Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness is produced by PRX Productions for the National Constitution Center. It is made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.
Episode 1: In Order to Be Happy is hosted by Jeffrey Rosen, featuring Robert P. George and Ken Burns with voice acting by Courtney Fleurantin and Charlie Warren.
© 2025 National Constitution Center. All Rights Reserved.
From PRX Productions: Genevieve Sponsler, Courtney Fleurantin, David Newtown, Sandra Lopez-Monsalve, and Jocelyn Gonzalez
From the National Constitution Center: Annie Stone, Griffin Richie, and Bill Pollock
The Golden Mean: Songs for the Pursuit of Happiness by Jeffrey Rosen. Arrangements by Greg Strohman. Featuring James Martin, Jennifer Blyth, and Greg Strohman.
© ℗ 2025 Jeffrey Rosen. All Rights Reserved.
