It’s difficult to fathom how Benjamin Franklin accomplished so much in a single lifetime. It’s equally difficult to imagine how to take such an incredible life and consolidate it into four hours of documentary film. In this episode, we cover both feats with writer Dayton Duncan and producer David Schmidt, two of the great minds behind Ken Burns' documentary on Benjamin Franklin. Dayton and David discuss Franklin’s life, the work that goes into creating a historical documentary film, and their process for deciding the best way to tell an American icon’s story in a pair of two-hour episodes.
If you enjoy this episode, check out Ben and Bob’s conversation with Ken Burns in episode #191.
If you want to learn more about American indepenence and the July 4th holiday, check out Ben's curated list on Hark audio!
If you want to catch Bob or Ben live, check out The Avett Brothers tour dates here and Ben's standup comedy schedule here!
This is a rebroadcast of RTN #229, which originally aired on April 4, 2022.
1984: The Year that Changed Music Forever w/ Michaelangelo Matos
#307 Music and Mind with Renée Fleming and Dan Levitin
Swept Away w/ John Logan and John Gallagher
#306 The Wide Awakes: The Forgotten Force that Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War w/ Jon Grinspan
Why Bushwick Bill Matters w/ Charles Hughes
#305 A Conversation w/ Jonah Goldberg – Recorded Live at Word of South Festival 2024
#304 National History Day w/ Cathy Gorn & Don Wildman
The Harlem Globetrotters w/ Ben Green
#303 The Election of 2016 (and Ever After) w/ John Heilemann (Third Party Series #8)
#302 The Election of 2000 w/ Doug Heye (Third Party Series #7)
#301 The Election of 1992 w/ Julian Zelizer (Third Party Series #6)
#300 The Election of 1980 w/ Rick Perlstein (Third Party Series #5)
#299 The Election of 1948 w/ Jefferson Cowie (Third Party Series #4)
#298 The Election of 1912 w/ Michael Patrick Cullinane (Third Party Series #3)
#297 The Election of 1860 w/ Michael Green (Third Party Series #2)
#296 The Election of 1824 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky (Third Party Series #1)
The Electoral College w/ Edward Foley
#295 The Pursuit of Happiness w/ Jeffrey Rosen
The Best Stories You've (Probably) Never Heard w/ Greg Jackson
The FBI w/ Stephen Underhill
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