In this episode, best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson joins to discuss his new book, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, with Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, Isaacson explores the intellectual inspirations and drafting history of the Declaration’s famous second sentence, which lays the foundation for the American dream and defines the common ground we share as a nation.
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Today’s episode was produced by Bill Pollock and Griffin Richie. It was engineered by Bill Pollock. Research was provided by Griffin Richie, Anna Salvatore, Trey Sullivan, and Tristan Worsham.
Participants
Walter Isaacson is the bestselling author of biographies of Elon Musk, Jennifer Doudna, Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein. He is a professor of history at Tulane and was CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2023.
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 new book is Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle over Power in America.
Additional Resources
- Walter Isaacson, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written (2025)
- Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2004)
- David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739)
- Benjamin Franklin, “Apology for Printers,” The Pennsylvania Gazette (1731)
- John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (1690)
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