America Was Defined by a Story. It’s Time for a New One.

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 [email protected]. We may use an excerpt from your response in a future episode.

This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. The rest of the show's production team includes Derek Arthur, Vishakha Darbha and Kristina Samulewski. Mixing by Pat McCusker. Original music by Carole Sabouraud and Pat McCusker. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.