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The Opinions

In a new series, David Leonhardt asks leading thinkers and politicians: What’s next.

By David Leonhardt

Produced by Jillian Weinberger

Donald Trump rose to power on a dark vision of American life: stagnation, lost greatness, unfairness. But he’ll eventually leave office — really, he will. David Leonhardt, an editorial director in Times Opinion, wants to know what’s next. What should America’s next story be? In the first in the series, he looks back to America’s founding story.

What do you think America’s next story should be? We want to hear from you. Record a voice memo on your phone and send it to theopinions@nytimes.com. We may use an excerpt from your response in a future episode.

Below is a transcript of an episode of “The Opinions.” We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect. You can do so using the player above or on the NYT Audio app, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

The transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

David Leonhardt: Today, “The Opinions” is starting something new: a series about our national story.

Right now, we’re obviously living through a pretty dark narrative. Americans are polarized and they’re frustrated, sometimes with good reason. But we’re not going to get out of this rut without a different story that can rally people to a new trajectory. That’s what this series will examine.

In the coming episodes, we’ll talk to historians, writers and policymakers to think about what that new story can be.

Audio clip of Jill Lepore: I like the word “determination.”

Audio........

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