This week on History Happy Hour: Benjamin Franklin may be the most brilliant and innovative of our founding fathers. During his long life he invented bifocals, captured lightning with a kite, and so much more. Yet his most surprising innovation may have taken shape on his deathbed. Franklin made an incredible parting gift to the working-class people of Boston and Philadelphia—a deathbed wager that captures the Founder’s American Dream and his lessons for our current, conflicted age. Chris and Rick welcome Michael Meyer, author of Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet: The Favorite Founder's Divisive Death, Enduring Afterlife, and Blueprint for American Prosperity. A story that starts with Franklin’s death, and continues until today. Michael Meyer is the author of three critically acclaimed books, as well as articles in the New York Times and other outlets. He is a professor of English and the University of Pittsburgh, where he teaches nonfiction writing.
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