Why did George Washington willingly give up power at the end of the Revolutionary War? Colleen Shogan talks with Douglas Bradburn to explore the man who would not be king, Washington’s extraordinary copy of the Constitution, and the formative moments that shaped the nation’s first president.

Featuring Douglas Bradburn, Ph.D., President and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Read President George W. Bush’s essay on George Washington at Inpursuit.org.

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Hosted by Colleen Shogan, Ph.D. Written and Produced by Jim Ambuske, Ph.D. Audio mixing by Curt Dahl of CD Squared. Music from Music Bed. In Pursuit is a podcast by More Perfect

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We call it the American experiment, and over the last 250 years, we've learned a lot about what's worked .....and what hasn't. From George Washington's willingness to surrender power to Mary Lincoln's fight for her own independence, we've aspired to the highest ideals and sometimes fallen short of them.

So what can we learn from Americans' quest to form a more perfect union? Join Colleen Shogan, the 11th Archivist of the United States, along with some of our nation's most prominent historians, journalists, and public servants as we go in pursuit of lessons from America's past to write the history of America's future. In Pursuit with Colleen Shogan premiers April 7, 2026. Brought to you by PRX.

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In Pursuit is a landmark initiative of More Perfect