'If You Can Keep It': The United States At 250

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4.3 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

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Summary

On July 4, 2026, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

President Donald Trump kicked off the countdown to the anniversary at a rally in Iowa – right as Congress passed his sweeping domestic policy bill.

But how has this country's identity changed in 250 years? And what innovations – in science, technology, and democracy – have led us to this moment?

In this installment of If You Can Keep It, we discuss what can we learn about the future of American innovation and democracy through its past.

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0:00.0	Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation,
0:07.4	working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org.
0:30.2	Next year, on July 4th, 2026, the U.S. celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
0:36.0	Earlier this month, President Donald Trump kicked off the countdown of the anniversary at a rally in Iowa.
0:39.2	Right as Congress passed his sweeping domestic policy bill.
0:46.4	Exactly one year from tomorrow, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America's founding with a birthday party, the likes of which you have never seen before.
0:51.6	But before the celebrations begin, what do we know about how this country's
0:55.9	identity has changed in 250 years? And what innovations have led us to this moment? These questions
1:02.2	are the focus of a new project by the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.
1:07.1	It's a bipartisan think tank dedicated to finding solutions to the nation's most pressing challenges.
1:12.6	The CSPC's report maps a timeline of the most important American innovations in 250 years,
1:18.8	from bifocals and the steamboat to cell phones and artificial intelligence.
1:23.7	The project also includes innovations in American democracy and examines what we need to do to make it another 250 years.
1:31.5	For this installment of our weekly series, if you can keep it, we discuss what we can learn about the future of American innovation and democracy by looking at its past.
1:41.6	I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast. We'll be back with our guests
1:45.2	in just a moment. Stay with us. Joining us in studio to discuss the project is CSPC president and CEO
1:57.1	Glenn Nye. He's also a former Democratic representative from Virginia's second congressional
2:02.1	district. Glenn, welcome to the program. Thank you for having me. Also with us is Lauren Harper.
2:07.0	She's a Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
2:11.8	That's an organization advocating for press and speech freedoms. Lauren, welcome back.
2:15.8	Thank you for having me. So, Glenn, let's start with this project at your organization.
2:20.2	It began as a project highlighting science and technology.
	...

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