The 18th Century Doctor, Civic Leader and Renaissance Man Benjamin Rush was one of the youngest

signers of the Declaration of Independence, edited and named Thomas Payne's Common Sense,

implemented medical practices that helped the Continental Army win the Revolutionary War,

made sure Benjamin Franklin attended the Constitutional Convention and shaped the medical

and political landscape of the newly formed United States.

Yet, despite his outsized influence, the varied and interesting life he led in the

close relationships he had with other founding fathers like George Washington, Thomas

Jefferson and John Adams, Rush is hardly to remember today.

That's because of just how close his relationship with his other founders was.

Rush was a personal physician to them and their families, and after his death, they

suppressed his legacy, not wanting the intimate and unflattering details he recorded in his

letters and journals to be publicized.

In fact, his memoir was considered too dangerous to be published and wasn't found for nearly

150 years.

My guest will reintroduce us to this forgotten figure, his name is Stephen Fried and is the

author of Rush, Revolution, Madness, Visionary Doctor, became a founding father.

Taylor Shoe Stephen takes us through Rush's fascinating life.

From his self-made rise out of an inauspicious childhood, Tauy is able to reconcile and

his strange Jefferson and Adams before his death.

And what Stephen has learned from studying a character who lived through very fraught and

not totally unfamiliar times.

The show is over, check out our show notes at a-wim.is slash rush.

...