What Did the Founders Mean by “the Pursuit of Happiness?”
As we approach the nation’s 250th birthday, there’s no better person to spend time with to understand the minds of the Founders than our friend Jeffrey Rosen, acclaimed legal scholar and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. His knowledge about the formation and interpretation of the key founding documents is profound, and his deep analysis as a published author is prolific.
So, this week, we release a fan favorite that dissects one of the most meaningful phrases in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. In Jeffrey’s book, “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America,” Rosen argues that the Founders, influenced by the Stoics and other philosophers, viewed the word “happiness.” Virtue, not pleasure, is achieved by a lifelong search for meaningful work, self-development, and moral mastery, not instant gratification or things that make us “feel good.”
Debating Rosen’s view of happiness is philosopher Roger Crisp, Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford, Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St. Anne’s College, Oxford, and Director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. He offers nuanced views of the topic but argues that happiness is something slightly different — that it is okay to seek pleasure and embrace happiness where we find it.
It’s an extraordinary and timely philosophical debate by intellectuals who have thought deeply about the topic and a question relevant to all of us as we search for meaning and joy in our busy lives.
Arguing “Virtue”: Jeffrey Rosen, CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center; Author of “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America”
Arguing “Pleasure”: Roger Crisp, Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford; Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St. Anne’s College, Oxford
Guest Moderator: Nayeema Raza, Journalist and Host of “Smart Girl Dumb Questions”
PRX: https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/624380-the-pursuit-of-happiness-virtue-or-pleasure
AudioPort: https://audioport.org/index.php?op=program-info&program_id=331703&nav=&
This Summer, Dive into the history of recorded sound!
Sound Beat is a daily, 90-second public radio show that showcases recordings from Syracuse University Libraries’ Belfer Audio Archive, one of the nation’s largest sound archives.
Episodes feature a wide range of recordings from all musical genres, film scores, and great thinkers and political figures such as Albert Einstein and Teddy Roosevelt, and more. Listeners will hear fascinating rare gems, old favorites, and some never heard before recordings.
For more information about Sound Beat, check out our Program Listing
TREASURE ISLAND: A Telling for the New World
Otherworld Media presents TREASURE ISLAND: A Telling for the New World
8 hour-long episodes in a radio-movie-mini-series
A New Adaptation of the Classic by Robert Louis Stevenson – starring Keith David, John Goodman, and Glynn Turman. With an original score by multi-Grammy-winning Taj Mahal. Sound Design by multi-Oscar-winning Randy Thom of Skywalker Sound.
Available now on PRX and via Dropbox
FREE to all public radio stations
Preview available on PRX (https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/618968-treasure-island-preview)
Will AI Make Work Obsolete?
AI systems are now writing code, diagnosing diseases, designing buildings, and even generating art. Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Google DeepMind, and autonomous robots are reshaping industries once thought immune to automation. Goldman Sachs has estimated that approximately 25% of the global labor market could be lost to AI, sparking fears of a job apocalypse.
Will AI usher in a new era of prosperity and leisure or a future of unemployment and inequality?
Some of those concerned foresee a future where AI becomes so efficient and productive that nearly every job with human laborers will be at risk, generating fears of mass unemployment. Other people see a tool that is transformative and can augment human labor. Even though there may be disruptions to segments of the job market, history has shown that even in the wake of large-scale shifts—such as the industrial and information revolutions—the individual drive to work remained powerful.
As AI is being implemented into our daily lives, we debate the question: Will AI Make Work Obsolete?
This debate was produced in partnership with Johns Hopkins University.
This debate was recorded on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 6:45 PM at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, in Washington, DC.
The Best of Broadway and Hollywood
Footlight Parade: Sounds of the American Musical
Public Radio’s Most Popular and Longest Running Broadway and Hollywood Musical Program
Since 1998, Footlight Parade: Sounds of the American Musical has been presenting the best of Broadway and Hollywood, from the early 20th century to current hits: from Gershwin, Berlin and Rodgers & Hammerstein to Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The best of Broadway and Hollywood music including rarely heard recordings.
“Bill Rudman brings musical theater history to life with charm, wit, insight, warmth, convivial chat and a wealth of knowledge”.
Entertaining and insightful backstage stories, anecdotes, and historical perspectives from Host and Producer Bill Rudman, a nationally recognized authority on musical theatre.
“I don’t know which I prefer: the music or your informative and entertaining commentary. BOTH are excellent!”
Exclusive archival interviews with, and in-depth interviews with of such acclaimed artists as lyricist Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me), composer John Kander (Cabaret and Chicago) and singers Mandy Patinkin and the late Barbara Cook, and many more!
“Bill’s in-depth interviews with all manner of artists provide a permanent, irreplaceable archive.”
Cost: FREE
Length: 56:50
Available: PRX Automated Delivery, Downloads