What the Declaration of Independence still teaches us | Jay Lapeyre & Lawson Bader

What the Declaration of Independence still teaches us | Jay Lapeyre & Lawson Bader

From Defending Ideas by Sutherland Institute

June 2, 2026 · 54 min · Season 1 · Episode 149

About this episode

The episode discusses the enduring ideas of the Declaration of Independence and their relevance to contemporary challenges.

As America marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, an important question remains: what do the nation’s founding principles have to say about the challenges we face today? On this episode of Defending Ideas, host Nic Dunn is joined by Jay Lapeyre , co-founder of the Free Society Coalition, and Lawson Bader , president and CEO of DonorsTrust, to discuss the enduring ideas that shaped the American experiment. Their conversation explores individual dignity, natural rights, constitutional self-government, and how a renewed focus on America’s founding principles could help reduce political division and strengthen civic culture for the next 250 years. Show notes: Free Society Coalition: The Philadelphia Declaration Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

People in this episode

Host: Nic Dunn

Guests: Jay Lapeyre, Lawson Bader

Topics covered

  • founding principles
  • political division
  • civic culture
  • natural rights
  • constitutional self-government

Keywords

  • Declaration of Independence
  • founding principles
  • political division
  • civic culture
  • natural rights

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Free Society Coalition, DonorsTrust

Books & works: Declaration of Independence

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