America In Pursuit As the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, NPR and Member stations explore America’s enduring quest for life, liberty, and happiness in a series called America in Pursuit.
Special Series
America In Pursuit
Linguist and New York Times columnist John McWhorter joins Lara Downes to explore how American songs pursue happiness while masking pain. Lydia Daniller hide caption
‘Get Happy!’: Why smiling through the pain is the DNA of American songs
How Dizzy Gillespie helped forge a new jazz era in America
A group of protesters, now known as the Gang of 19, stops traffic in Denver in July 1978. Denver Public Library/Rocky Mountain News Photograph Collection/WH2129-2022-280 hide caption
How an act of civil disobedience in 1978 Denver helped propel disability rights
Adam Gopnik, author and staff writer for The New Yorker, joins pianist Lara Downes to explore the story of American music and its immigrant roots. Lara Downes hide caption
Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson and pianist / NPR contributor Lara Downes in conversation at Stevenson's Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Ala. Lynne Dobson hide caption
To public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson, U.S. history is a ‘Deep River’
Pianist Lara Downes (left) and historian Jill Lepore convene to discuss what America was like just before the founding of the United States. Peter Doran hide caption
Searching for America in song with historian Jill Lepore
Pierre L'enfant designed the look of the U.S. capital but died in obscurity
