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We the People

From Pursuit: Silence in Order to Listen

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

šŸ—“ļø 27 November 2025

ā±ļø 28 minutes

šŸ§¾ļø Download transcript

Summary

In our 12-part podcast series, Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen explores the founders’ lives with the historians who know them best and filmmaker Ken Burns shares his daily practice of self-reflection.Ā  The ā€œpursuit of happinessā€ 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.Ā  In the last episode of the series, listeners share some big and small changes that they have made. Plus, Jeffrey Rosen, filmmaker Ken Burns, and scholar Robert P. George explore Benjamin Franklin’s virtue of silence, which he defines as ā€œspeak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.ā€Ā  Ā  Listen to Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness on Apple Podcast and Spotify.Ā  Watch the full performance of the Pursuit of Happiness: Song Cycles by Jeffrey Rosen.Ā  Stay Connected and Learn More    Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected]Ā  Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtrĀ  Explore the America at 250 Civic ToolkitĀ  Learn more about the NCC’s and Arizona State University's new online course on civic virtue, 'What the Founders Meant by ā€œHappinessā€: A Journey Through Virtue and Character’ and sign up for email updatesĀ  Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debateĀ  Follow, rate, and review wherever you listenĀ  Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTubeĀ  Support our important work:Ā Ā  ⁠Donate

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello, friends, and happy Thanksgiving.

0:06.5

I'm Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome to

0:11.3

We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.

0:15.0

The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit, chartered by Congress, to increase

0:20.5

awareness and understanding of the

0:22.2

Constitution among the American people. This week, we're sharing the latest episode from our

0:27.6

new podcast series, Pursuit, the Founder's Guide to Happiness. Each episode features conversations

0:34.4

with filmmaker Ken Burns and other great American historians.

0:38.8

We explore what the pursuit of happiness meant to the founders

0:41.9

and how learning about the forgotten meaning of those words

0:45.2

change my life and can change yours.

0:48.4

All 12 episodes are available now.

0:50.8

Pursuit the Founders Guide to Happiness on your favorite podcast app.

0:56.2

Friends, this is Thanksgiving season, and I want to share my appreciation for everyone

1:00.9

who made pursuit possible.

1:02.9

To Ken Burns and the American historians who shared their rich and deep understanding

1:08.0

of the founders.

1:09.1

To Jennifer Blythe, James Martin, and Greg Stroman of Dickinson College

1:13.7

for collaborating with me on the songs.

1:16.4

To Bill Pollock, Griffin Richie, Annie Stone,

1:20.2

and our partners at PRX productions for their outstanding craft and care throughout.

1:26.2

And to the John Templeton Foundation for their support.

...

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