Guest: Stephen Fried

Dr. Benjamin Rush may not be a household name, but the young signatory of the Declaration of Independence lead a remarkable life. The Philadelphia native was a protégé of Benjamin Franklin, and co-authored a proclamation that inspired the Boston Tea Party. He founded Dickinson College, advocated for public education for women, and was a staunch abolitionist. In medicine, he was known as the “American Hippocrates,” and reformed medical training, revolutionized the treatment of mental illness, and saved many Philadelphians from the yellow fever epidemic. Historian STEPHEN FRIED has brought this lesser-known revolutionary figure to life in his new book, Rush: Revolution, Madness, and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father.