Ep 005: The Polymath, Benjamin Franklin

 So what does Ben Franklin have to do with being more cultured and curious, you ask? Um, because his life was a beacon of inspiration. As a founding father of the United States, his contributions in shaping the nation were huge people. He drafted part of the Declaration of Independence. But beyond politics, his bulbous brain and multitude of talents in science and literature and innovation make him a timeless figure worth studying. His curiosity, wisdom, and commitment to self improvement make him the fucking poster child of this podcast, people. People. By understanding Franklin's life, we gain insight into the values of perseverance and civic duty, which I would argue are more important today than staring at our phones. So imagine this, it's December 1776, and Ben Franklin, who's already become world famous for his electrical experiments, embarks on a secret mission to France. He's 70, man, and he has zero diplomatic training, and he was charged with convincing France's monarchy to underwrite America's experiment in democracy? Why would they even want to help us? With only his charisma to draw from. He's got to basically engineer a Franco American alliance, yeah, no biggie, as the fate of American independence hangs in the balance. And 255 years later, pop culture is still fascinated with his story. And maybe one of the most unique adaptations was just released on Apple TV not long ago. It's called Franklin, the eight part miniseries, and it has Academy Award winner, Michael Douglas, who takes us on a ride through the world of Benjamin Franklin, who was widely admired as the first U S ambassador to France and the major American figure in the development of positive Franco American relations.