Live at the National Constitution Center: Recent Episodes
National Constitution Center
Live constitutional conversations and debates featuring leading historians, journalists, scholars, and public officials hosted at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and across America.
To watch National Constitution Center Town Halls live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs at constitutioncenter.org/townhall. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube at YouTube.com/ConstitutionCenter.
The National Constitution Center and the Anti-Defamation League present an America’s Town Hall featuring legal experts Erwin Chemerinsky, Miguel Estrada, Gregory G. Garre, Frederick M. Lawrence, and Dahlia Lithwick to discuss the most significant decisions of the term, including cases on affirmative action, religious accommodation, social media regulation, voting rights, and more. Journalist Amy Howe moderates. Introductory remarks are provided by Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and Marjorie Zessar, chair of ADL’s Legal Affairs Committee. This program is presented in partnership with ADL.
Additional Resources
ADL, 2023 Supreme Court Review: Written Materials and Resources
Groff v. DeJoy (2023)
303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023)
Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (2023)
Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina (2023)
Moore v. Harper (2023)
Allen v. Milligan (2023)
Gonzalez v. Google LLC (2023)
Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh (2023)
Biden v. Nebraska (2023)
Department of Education v. Brown (2023)
Haaland v. Brackeen
National Constitution Center, “The Shadow Docket Debate"
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Described in The Federalist as “the celebrated Montesquieu,” Charles de Montesquieu was cited more often than any other author from 1760-1800. In what ways did his writings and ideas help shape the U.S. Constitution and the structure of American government? Join William B. Allen of Michigan State University, Thomas Pangle of the University of Texas at Austin, Dennis Rasmussen of Syracuse University, and Diana Schaub of the American Enterprise Institute, for a discussion on the political thought of Montesquieu and his influence on American democracy. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Additional Resources
Dennis Rasmussen, Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America's Founders
Diana Schaub, Erotic Liberalism: Women and Revolution in Montesquieu’s Persian Letters
The Federalist Papers
Dennis Rasmussen, The Pragmatic Enlightenment: Recovering the Liberalism of Hume, Smith, Montesquieu, and Voltaire
Thomas Pangle, Montesquieu’s Philosophy of Liberalism: A Commentary on the Spirit of the Laws
Thomas Pangle, The Theological Basis of Liberal Modernity in Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws
Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws: A Critical Edition, ed. William B. Allen
Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws (1748)
Thomas Pangle, “Considerations on the Romans,” in The Cambridge Companion to Montesquieu
Diana Schaub, “Montesquieu on the Liberty of Women," in The Cambridge Companion to Montesquieu
Montesquieu, The Persian Letters (1721)
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
A panel of libertarian and conservative scholars—J. Joel Alicea of The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, Anastasia Boden of the Cato Institute, and Sherif Girgis of Notre Dame Law School—join for an in-depth comparative look at the different strands of originalism as a constitutional methodology. We explore originalism’s modern history and application by current members of the Roberts Court through the examples of recent cases, and how originalism intersects with textualism and other interpretive approaches. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Additional Resources
Moore v. Harper (2023)
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen (2023)
Grutter v. Bollinger (2002)
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
National Constitution Center, "Second Amendment," Interactive Constitution
Bostock v. Clayton County (2020)
Counterman v. Colorado (2023)
John O. McGinnis and Michael B. Rappaport, Originalism and the Good Constitution
Randy Barnett and Evan Bernick, "The Letter and the Spirit: A Unified Theory of Originalism," Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Judge Amul Thapar and former Judge Bernice Donald, both of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, discuss Thapar’s new book, The People’s Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories that Define Him. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Additional Resources
Amul Thapar, The People’s Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories that Define Him
Kelo v. New London (2005)
Bernice Donald and Don Willett, "How to counter today’s tribalism and build ‘a more perfect union’," The Washington Post
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
Connick v. Thompson (2011)
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
In today’s polarized political climate, how can Americans foster constructive conversations and compromise across the political spectrum to address the nation’s most pressing issues? Ronnie Janoff-Bulman, psychologist and author of The Two Moralities: Conservatives, Liberals, and the Roots of Our Political Divide; Matthew Levendusky, political scientist and author of Our Common Bonds: Using What Americans Share to Help Bridge the Partisan Divide; and Kenji Yoshino, legal scholar and author of Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice, join for a conversation exploring the roots of America’s political divide, various strategies for overcoming partisan gridlock, and how and why to engage in difficult discussions to secure the future of democracy. Thomas Donnelly, chief content officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is made possible through the generous support of Citizen Travelers, the nonpartisan civic engagement initiative of Travelers.
Additional Resources
Ronnie Janoff-Bulman, The Two Moralities: Conservatives, Liberals, and the Roots of Our Political Divide
Kristen de Groot, “Matthew Levendusky’s Our Common Bonds,” Penn Today
Matthew Levendusky, Our Common Bonds: Using What Americans Share to Help Bridge the Partisan Divide
“Matt Levendusky on Our Common Bonds and Bridging Our Differences,” Annenberg Public Policy Center (2023)
"What is affective polarization?" Politics in Question podcast
Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow, Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice
Matthew Yglesias, "The Great Awokening," Vox
Mark Lilla, The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics
Marta Zaraska, "The Genes of Left and Right," Scientific American
Drew Desilver, "The polarization in today’s Congress has roots that go back decades," Pew Research Center
303 Creative LLC v. Elenis
Global Party Survey (2019)
Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin, Deliberation Day
Andrew Dobson, Listening for Democracy: Recognition, Representation, Reconciliation
Kristie Dotson, "Tracking Epistemic Violence, Tracking Practices of Silencing," Hypatia
Dolly Chugh, The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Free-speech advocates Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion, political activist, and chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative; Evan Mawarire, Zimbabwean pastor, democratic activist, and director of education at the Renew Democracy Initiative; and Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, discuss the state of free expression in the United States, Russia, Zimbabwe and around the world. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is presented in partnership with the Renew Democracy Initiative and the Center for Constitutional Design at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
Additional Resources
An Open Letter on American Democracy from Global Dissidents
“Forgotten Prisoners, Writing for Freedom – Egypt,” Frontlines of Freedom podcast
"Narges Mohammadi, PEN America"
Garry Kasparov, Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped
Evan Mawarire, 2023 Commencement Address at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service
Evan Mawarire, “This Flag - A Lament of Zimbabwe”
Kasey Meehan and Jonathan Friedman, “Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools,” PEN America
Suzanne Nossel, Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All
PEN America, Freedom to Write Index 2022
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
The Supreme Court’s “shadow docket”—cases in which the Court issues emergency orders and summary decisions without oral argument—has been subject to growing scrutiny. Supreme Court reporter Adam Liptak of The New York Times and Jennifer Mascott of the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School join Stephen Vladeck of The University of Texas School of Law for a conversation on Vladeck’s new book, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic, exploring the history and role of the shadow docket and the current debates surrounding the Court’s emergency rulings. Host Jeffrey Rosen moderates.
Additional Resources
Stephen Vladeck, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic
Stephen Vladeck, “Texas’s Unconstitutional Abortion Ban and the Role of the Shadow Docket,” Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee
National Constitution Center, “The Supreme Court’s ‘Shadow Docket’,” We the People podcast
Jennifer Mascott, “Jurisdiction and the Supreme Court’s Orders Docket,” George Mason Legal Studies Research Paper
Adam Liptak, “Alito Responds to Critics of the Supreme Court’s ‘Shadow Docket,” The New York Times
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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.
The Honorable Jeffrey Sutton, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, joins the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown, senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, for a discussion on McKeown’s new book, Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of William O. Douglas—Public Advocate and Conservation Champion, and the constitutional legacy of U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, one of the court’s longest serving justices. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
How did Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman statesman and philosopher, influence the Founding generation, the Constitution, and American political thought? Join Scott Nelson, author of Cicero, Politics, and the 21st Century; Benjamin Straumann, author of Crisis and Constitutionalism: Roman Political Thought from the Fall of the Republic to the Age of Revolution; and Caroline Winterer, author of The Culture of Classicism: Ancient Greece and Rome in American Intellectual Life, 1780-1910, for a conversation exploring the political ideas of Cicero, his impact on America, and what we can learn from him today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
For Native American Heritage Month, the National Constitution Center presents a discussion with historians H.W. Brands, author of The Last Campaign: Sherman, Geronimo and the War for America; Lori Daggar, author of Cultivating Empire: Capitalism, Philanthropy, and the Negotiation of American Imperialism in Indian Country; and Lindsay Robertson, author of Conquest by Law: How the Discovery of America Dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of Their Lands, for a historical overview of U.S. westward expansion, manifest destiny, and the impact on native peoples and tribes. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Historians Andrew Browning, author of Schools for Statesmen: The Divergent Educations of the Constitutional Framers; Nancy Isenberg, author of Madison and Jefferson; and Thomas Kidd, author of Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh, explore Thomas Jefferson’s life and legacy through the lens of his own education and what he read—and how those influences shaped the American idea. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube. You can find transcripts for every episode in our Media Library.
To conclude the National Constitution Center’s week-long celebration of Constitution Day and to celebrate the launch of our Constitution 101 course, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (Ret.) joined Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the NCC, for a private conversation with middle and high school students about the importance of civics education in America. Justice Breyer recently joined Justice Neil Gorsuch as honorary co-chair of the National Constitution Center.
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube. You can find transcripts for every episode in our Media Library.
With U.S. midterm elections approaching, experts and contributors to the National Constitution Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative—Edward Foley of The Ohio State University, David French of The Dispatch, and Ilya Somin of the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University and the Cato Institute—discuss election integrity, voting rights, and proposed election reforms to help bolster democratic guardrails in the United States. Ken Randall, Allison and Dorothy Rouse Dean and George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University, provides introductory remarks. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is presented in partnership with the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School and in conjunction with the National Constitution Center's Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative. Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube. You can find transcripts for every episode in our Media Library.
This summer, as a continuation of the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Drafting Project, teams of leading conservative, libertarian, and progressive scholars convened for a virtual constitutional convention. After debating and deliberating together, they drafted and proposed a series of amendments to the Constitution. In this episode, we share the presentation that the team leaders made, discussing the five amendments they all agreed upon. Caroline Fredrickson, senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice represented team progressive, Ilan Wurman, associate professor at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, represented team conservative, and Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, represented team libertarian. Other convention “delegates” included team progressive’s Jamal Greene of Columbia Law School; team libertarian’s Christina Mulligan of Brooklyn Law School and Timothy Sandefur of the Goldwater Institute; and team conservative’s Robert George of Princeton University, Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School, and Colleen Sheehan of Arizona State University.
Read the amendments along with introductions by the team leaders here.
This program is presented in conjunction with the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Drafting Project.
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube. You can find transcripts for every episode in our Media Library.
September 17 is Constitution Day in the U.S., celebrating the day that members of the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia in 1787. As a part of the National Constitution Center’s celebrations, we hosted a panel called “Originalism: A Matter of Interpretation.” Emily Bazelon of The New York Times Magazine, Rich Lowry of the National Review, Steven Mazie of The Economist, and Ilan Wurman of Arizona State University joined host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss whether the Constitution should be interpreted according to its original meaning, and if the Supreme Court is consistent in applying principles of originalism in its decisions.
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
Is the Constitution “anti-oligarchy”? What does it say about monopolies and antitrust? Legal experts Joseph Fishkin and William E. Forbath, co-authors of The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution, join law professor Katharine Jackson of the University of Dayton School of Law, and Adam White of the American Enterprise Institute, for a conversation moderated by Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center.
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned the landmark decision of Roe v. Wade and found no constitutional basis for a right to choose abortion. Teresa Stanton Collett of the University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota), David French of The Dispatch, Katherine Mayall of the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Mary Ziegler of UC Davis School of Law and author of Dollars for Life: The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment, join for a conversation exploring the role of the Supreme Court in shaping abortion rights under the Constitution, how U.S. abortion law after Roe compares to that of other countries, and what lessons the United States can learn from how abortion is treated by law in other nations. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is presented in partnership and generously sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Design at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
As January 6 hearings proceed on Capitol Hill, join the National Constitution Center for the launch of the Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy team reports. The project brings together three teams of leading experts— libertarian, progressive, and conservative—to identify institutional, legal, and technological reforms that might address current threats to American democracy. Team leaders Edward B. Foley, Sarah Isgur, and Clark Neily discuss their proposals. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Read the reports:
Sarah Isgur, David French, and Jonah Goldberg, Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy: Team Conservative
Edward B. Foley and Franita Tolson, Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy: Team Progressive
Clark Neily, Walter Olson, and Ilya Somin, Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy: Team Libertarian
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
As part of the National Constitution Center's two-day celebration commemorating Juneteenth, join a conversation with William B. Allen of Michigan State University and Hasan Kwame Jeffries of The Ohio State University exploring the history and meaning of the holiday, its connection to July 4 and the Declaration of Independence, and more. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
The National Constitution Center and the National Association of Attorneys General host a bipartisan conversation with Attorneys General Doug Peterson of Nebraska and Phil Weiser of Colorado exploring the role of state attorneys general, state law, and state police powers under the Constitution in addressing the potential dangers of various social media platforms to public health, privacy, and competition. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is presented in partnership with the Center for Excellence in Governance at the National Association of Attorneys General. Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
Richard Albert of the University of Texas at Austin, Nicholas Cole of the University of Oxford, and Alison Lacroix of the University of Chicago Law School compare the legal systems of the United States and the United Kingdom, including the ways both countries have influenced each other’s constitutional and political structures over time, from the COVID-19 pandemic to rising threats to democracy around the world. Lana Ulrich, senior director of content at the National Constitution, moderates. The program is presented in partnership with the University of Oxford.
Stay Connected and Learn More Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube
From lawsuits over the federal government’s vaccine mandates or the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of carbon emissions, the Supreme Court is debating the constitutional scope of the administrative state more vigorously than at any time since the New Deal. Join Lisa Heinzerling of Georgetown University Law Center, Ilan Wurman of Arizona State University Law, and William J. Novak, author of New Democracy: The Creation of the Modern American State, for a conversation exploring the rise of the administrative state, current cases about the scope of its power, and its future. Lana Ulrich, senior director of content at the National Constitution, moderates. Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
On today’s very special episode, we share the exciting events that happened at the National Constitution Center earlier this week. To celebrate the unveiling of the First Amendment tablet—once featured on the facade of the Newseum in Washington, D.C., now at its new home in the Grand Hall Overlook of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia—free speech defenders Randall Kennedy of Harvard Law School, former ACLU President Nadine Strossen of New York Law School, and Greg Lukianoff of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education join for a discussion of why the First Amendment matters today. A dedication ceremony with remarks from the Honorable J. Michael Luttig, former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; Jan Neuharth, chair and CEO of the Freedom Forum; and Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, follows. This program was presented in celebration of the newly installed First Amendment tablet at the National Constitution Center donated by the Freedom Forum, which works to foster First Amendment freedoms for all. The design and installation of the tablet was made possible by the Honorable J. Michael Luttig and Elizabeth A. Luttig. Watch the program video here: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/town-hall-video/why-the-first-amendment-matters-today Read Jeff's remarks here: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/remarks-from-the-first-amendment-tablet-ceremony Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.
Historians and biographers provide a historical look at some of America’s earliest justices—from John Jay, the first chief justice, to George Washington’s nephew Bushrod Washington and Pennsylvania Founding Father James Wilson. Join Gerard Magliocca, author of Washington’s Heir: The Life of Justice Bushrod Washington, Supreme Court historian Maeva Marcus of George Washington University Law School, and Walter Stahr, author of John Jay: Founding Father and Salmon P. Chase: Lincoln’s Vital Rival, as they discuss the impact of these early justices on American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
What are the leading proposals to combat election disinformation and are they consistent with the First Amendment? Richard L. Hasen, leading election law expert and author of Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics—and How to Cure It; Sarah Isgur, staff writer at The Dispatch and co-host of the legal podcast Advisory Opinions; and Catherine Ross, free speech expert and author of A Right to Lie? Presidents, Other Liars, and the First Amendment discuss. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
On February 5, Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderated a panel hosted by the National Council for the Social Studies as a part of their annual conference. The panel featured three former U.S. Secretaries of Education: Rod Paige (2001 – 2005), Arne Duncan (2009 – 2015), and John B. King, Jr. (2016 – 2017). They share stories of the teachers who shaped them, perspectives on teaching history honestly, and reflections on public education's contributions to democracy. Many thanks to the National Council for the Social Studies for providing the audio for Live at the National Constitution Center listeners. Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
The election of 1800—which marked the first-ever peaceful transfer of power between political parties in American history—gave birth to the country’s two-party system that still exists today. Join presidential historians Lindsay Chervinsky, author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, and Edward Larson, author of A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign, as they discuss one of the most contentious and partisan elections in U.S. history and what we can learn from it. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
The National Constitution Center and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, as part of their ongoing conversations about how to restore the guardrails of American democracy, present a conversation exploring recent proposals to protect the integrity of our election process. Join Charles C.W. Cooke, senior writer at National Review; Edward B. Foley, professor and director of the election law program at The Ohio State University; Michael T. Morley, professor at Florida State University Law; and Dawn Teele, SNF Agora Institute associate professor of political science, as they debate the merits of legislation pending in Congress and the states. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University as part of the National Constitution Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative, and made possible with support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and Mike and Jackie Bezos.
Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
The National Constitution Center and Renew Democracy Initiative present a discussion exploring how the rule of law is protected in constitutional systems around the world—including the United States—and how to ensure its survival when threatened by modern challenges. What happens to constitutions when legal and political norms are violated, and how can we defend rule of law and ensure that our civic institutions remain strong? The panel will feature a unique set of perspectives, including both foreign dissidents who have risked their lives to fight for freedom in their home countries—Garry Kasparov, chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative, and Judge Claudia Escobar, former magistrate of the Court of Appeals of Guatemala and distinguished visiting professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University—and legal experts Robert P. George and Kim Lane Scheppele of Princeton University. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Uriel Epshtein, executive director of the Renew Democracy Initiative, provides remarks. This program is presented in partnership with the Renew Democracy Initiative and the SNF Paideia Program at the University of Pennsylvania. It was streamed live on February 9, 2022. Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
Adam Liptak, New York Times Supreme Court reporter, and Nadine Strossen, free speech expert and author of HATE: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship, join leading First Amendment lawyer Robert Corn-Revere to explore the efforts at censoring unpopular speech throughout American history as described in Corn-Revere’s latest book, The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was streamed live on February 3rd, 2022. Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
Last week, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his decision to retire after 28 years on the Supreme Court. Justice Breyer joined Jeff Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, last spring-- for a live online program to discuss the Constitution, civility, the Court, and more. In light of Justice Breyer’s announcement, we wanted to revisit that conversation for today’s episode. Listen as the justice discusses how he goes about making decisions, shares some stories and life lessons from his time on the bench, and shares some of his favorite books and authors. He also explains why civic education is so important today, why people need to reach across the political divides more than ever, and why he's optimistic about the future of America. This conversation was one of our constitutional classes broadcast live to learners of all ages. All of the classes from the past school year were recorded and can be watched for free at https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Additional resources and transcripts available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
How are the U.S. and Indian constitutions alike—and how do they differ? Two leading Indian constitutional law experts and senior advocates at the Supreme Court of India—Arvind Datar and Menaka Guruswamy—join American comparative law expert Tom Ginsburg of the University of Chicago Law School to discuss the similarities and differences between the U.S. and Indian constitutions, and explore the biggest constitutional issues currently facing both nations. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was streamed live on January 25, 2022. This program is presented in partnership with the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
Where did the idea that “all men are created equal” come from, and what did those words mean when Thomas Jefferson wrote them in the Declaration of Independence? What has equality meant in America over time—and what does it mean today? William Allen, emeritus professor of political philosophy and emeritus dean at James Madison College at Michigan State University; Erika Bachiochi, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center; Ellen Carol DuBois, distinguished research professor at UCLA; and Jack Rakove, emeritus professor of history and political science at Stanford University, join to explore the idea of equality throughout American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was streamed live on December 15th, 2021. This program is made possible through the generous support of Citizens.
Live at the National Constitution Center is taking a break for the holidays! We’ll be back in January with more great shows that you won’t want to miss. In the meantime, take a listen to episodes from the archive, or head over to our other show, We the People, for some lively and civil constitutional debates. From all of us at the National Constitution Center, we wish you a happy and healthy new year.
Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.
How have poets and poetry—from John Milton to Mercy Otis Warren and Phillis Wheatley—influenced the Constitution and America’s core democratic principles? Join Vincent Carretta, editor of the Penguin Classics editions of the Complete Writings of Phillis Wheatley and professor emeritus of English at the University of Maryland, Eileen M. Hunt, full professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, and Eric Slauter, associate professor and director of the Karla Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture at the University of Chicago, for a discussion exploring the ways poetry has intersected with the Constitution and constitutional ideas throughout American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was streamed live on December 8th, 2021. Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Michael Burlingame, author of The Black Man’s President: Abraham Lincoln, African Americans, and the Pursuit of Racial Equality; Noah Feldman, author of The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, and the Refounding of America; and Diana Schaub, author of His Greatest Speeches: How Lincoln Moved the Nation, take a deep dive into the timeless speeches of one of America’s greatest presidents to reveal Lincoln’s constitutional vision and how his vision changed the course of the Constitution and American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was streamed live on November 22, 2021. Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
As part of their ongoing conversations about how to restore the guardrails of American democracy, the National Constitution Center and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University present a conversation exploring the role of the president in our constitutional system. Experts Jessica Bulman-Pozen, law professor at Columbia Law School, Saikrishna Prakash, law professor and author of The Living Presidency: An Originalist Argument Against Its Ever-Expanding Powers, and Stephen Skowronek, political scientist at Yale University, discuss the original conception of presidential power and its expansion over time; and provide their take on what reforms, if any, may be necessary. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is presented as part of the Renewing the Republic series, presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and as part of the National Constitution Center's Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative. It was made possible with support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and Mike and Jackie Bezos.
This conversation was streamed live on November 22, 2021. Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, join experts Maggie Blackhawk of New York University School of Law; Donald Grinde, Jr. of the University at Buffalo and co-author of Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy; Gregory Dowd of the University of Michigan; and Woody Holton of the University of South Carolina and author of Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution, for a conversation exploring the influence of indigenous people and tribal governments on the U.S. Constitution and American democracy, from before the Revolution to today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is made possible with support from TD Bank. This conversation was streamed live on November 19, 2021. Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Although the 15th and 19th Amendments to the Constitution enshrined the right to vote regardless of race and guaranteed women the right to vote more than 100 years ago, the struggle for Black women’s suffrage and representation is ongoing, and the history of the struggle still relatively unknown today. We discuss that history on this week’s episode, and highlight the key Black women figures throughout time who served as suffrage advocates, voters, and representatives—from Sojourner Truth to Shirley Chisholm. This panel features Nadia Brown, professor of government and chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Georgetown University and Idol Family Fellow at the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute at Villanova University; Bettye Collier-Thomas, professor of history at Temple University and co-editor of African American Women and the Vote, 1837–1965; and Martha Jones, Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and professor of history at Johns Hopkins University and author of Vanguard. Lana Ulrich, senior director of content at the National Constitution Center, moderates the discussion. This program was made possible through the generous support of the McNulty Foundation in partnership with the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women's Leadership at Villanova University. It’s part of the National Constitution Center’s Women and the Constitution, initiative. This conversation was streamed live on November 9, 2021.
Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
On this week’s episode, we’re sharing the audio from one of the Center’s weekly constitutional classes. The conversation features Akhil Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and one of America’s foremost teachers of the Constitution. Professor Amar joins National Constitution Center president Jeffrey Rosen to examine the key ideas at the heart of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution—including natural rights, the rule of law, and popular sovereignty—as well as how those ideas took shape and who pioneered them. This conversation is part of the National Constitution Center’s schedule of 2021-2022 live classes on the Constitution and other course offerings for middle school, high school, and college students. Each week during the school year, the Center offers three constitutional classes: Wednesdays at noon (Introductory Sessions) and at 2 p.m. (Advanced Sessions), and Fridays at 1 p.m. (All-Ages Sessions with Distinguished Guest Scholars). These public, 30-minute-long classes take place on Zoom, are streamed live on YouTube, and are recorded, captioned, and posted on our website. You can register for an upcoming class at constitutioncenter.org/learn or watch past classes in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/constitution. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last week, we hosted a discussion of how the U.S. Constitution was written and how it has changed over time, featuring two authors with different takes: professors Wilfred Codrington III of Brooklyn Law School and Charles R. Kesler of Claremont McKenna College. Professor Codrington unveiled his new book 'The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union.' Codrington tells the story of constitutional change through his focus on the amendments that he says have reshaped our founding document in order to create a more perfect union. At the same time, Professor Kesler presented his book, 'Crisis of the Two Constitutions: The Rise, Decline, and Recovery of American Greatness.' Kesler’s focus is on the Constitution as written in 1787, as opposed to a narrative of the progressive or “living” constitution, and argues that the two are at odds with each other. National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderates.
This conversation was streamed live on October 26, 2021.
Historian Gordon Wood unveiled his new book Power and Liberty: Constitutionalism in the American Revolution at the National Constitution Center earlier this fall. He was joined in person by Professor Edward Larson, author of Franklin and Washington: The Founding Partnership; and virtually by Professor Emily Pears, author of the forthcoming book Chords of Affection: Constructing Constitutional Union in Early American History, as well as Professor Lucas Morel, author of Lincoln and the American Founding. The panel discussed America’s earliest constitutional ideas, principles, and debates—from roots in the United Kingdom to the American Revolution through the Constitutional Convention and beyond. This conversation was held in person and streamed live on Constitution Day—September 17, 2021. This interview was edited for length and clarity. If you’d like to check out more content about the American Revolution, check out our constitutional class on the principles and ideas of the American revolution featuring renowned scholar Akhil Amar: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/educational-video/principles-of-the-american-revolution-with-akhil-reed-amar
What has patriotism meant over time, and how has civil debate shaped it? We hosted a discussion of that question last week featuring philosopher Steven Smith of Yale University, who shared insight from his new book, Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes. He was joined by historians Allen Guelzo of Princeton University and Sophia Rosenfeld of the University of Pennsylvania. They explored some of the key episodes of patriotism and dissent throughout American history—from the Revolution through the Founding and the Civil War to today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderated. This panel was streamed live on October 13, 2021.
Last week, we hosted a discussion of a major issue at the forefront of national police reform: whether qualified immunity for police officers should be reformed—and if so, how? Qualified immunity is a defense that government officials—like police officers—can raise in response to civil lawsuits for money damages that are brought for alleged violations of constitutional rights. Under current U.S. Supreme Court precedent, unless an officer violated a “clearly established” law of which a reasonable person would have known—the officer can invoke qualified immunity. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Gloria Browne-Marshall, professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Leonard Kesten, an attorney who has litigated hundreds of cases involving the application of qualified immunity; and Rafael Mangual, senior fellow and head of research for the Policing and Public Safety Initiative at the Manhattan Institute. The panel unpacked the qualified immunity doctrine, how it plays out in real world cases, and whether it needs reform. This panel was a partnership with WHYY’s Your Democracy initiative, supported by the Sutherland Family. It was streamed live on October 7, 2021.
Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The Supreme Court today continues to vigorously debate the scope of religious exemptions—which allow individuals or organizations to be exempt from following certain laws that they say burden their religious beliefs—in high-profile cases such as Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021). This episode dives into the current and historic debates over religious exemptions in a panel featuring Douglas Laycock, author of the five-volume series The Collected Works on Religious Liberty; Vincent Phillip Muñoz, author of God and the Founders; and Kathleen Brady, author of The Distinctiveness of Religion in American Law. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is presented in partnership with the University of Notre Dame's Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government.
Check out additional programming about religious exemptions at https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library?amendment=14909 and below:
We the People episode, "The Future of Church and State at SCOTUS" https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/podcast/the-future-of-church-and-state-at-scotus
On Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021): We the People episode, "Religious Groups, Foster Care, and the First Amendment" https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/podcast/the-future-of-church-and-state-at-scotus
Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
We’re back with new episodes sharing our fall programming! On September 17—Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution—three judges from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals joined host Jeffrey Rosen for a panel. The judges shared an inside look into some of their rulings that then became blockbuster Supreme Court cases. Judge Cheryl Ann Krause discussed her ruling in the case involving a cheerleader who was punished for a Snapchat, Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. Judge Stephanos Bibas spoke on his decision in one of the major Trump campaign challenges to the 2020 election results, Donald Trump for President, Inc v. Secretary Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And Judge Marjorie Rendell shared insight into her decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, the case spurred by the city barring Catholic Social Services (CSS) from placing children in foster homes because CSS refused to allow same-sex couples to be foster parents. The judges also reflected on their work more broadly, their efforts to find compromise among colleagues with differing opinions, and their important roles in American government.
Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The Anti-Defamation League, or ADL, recently presented a Supreme Court term review panel hosted virtually at the National Constitution Center. Moderator and veteran Supreme Court journalist Dahlia Lithwick was joined by Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of Berkeley Law, former Solicitor General of the United States and current Supreme Court advocate Paul Clement, Georgetown Law professor Frederick Lawrence, and NYU Law professor Melissa Murray. This panel was streamed live on July 8th, 2021. Learn more about the 2020-2021 Supreme Court term by checking out our companion podcast We the People. Recent episodes feature experts of all viewpoints detailing and explaining the importance of the key Supreme Court decisions from this past term. Search “We the People" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, or visit our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.
Earlier this summer, we partnered with The Cultural Services of the French Embassy on a pair of programs comparing the freedoms of religion and speech in France and in the United States, and how those freedoms are protected in the two countries. In this program, a panel of experts from both countries explores how freedom of speech and press as guaranteed by the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen differs from freedom of speech and press in America under the First Amendment of the Constitution—as well as how laws and courts in both countries protect those rights and address issues over controversial speech. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Marc-Olivier Bherer, staff editor and reporter for the French daily Le Monde and Nieman Fellow at Harvard in the 2021 class; Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America and author of Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All; Geoffrey Stone, professor at the University of Chicago Law School; and Hélène Tigroudja, law professor at Aix-Marseille University in France and a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee. This panel was streamed live on June 1, 2021. Check out another program from our partnership with the French embassy, “Religious Liberty in France and America,” and more programs on free speech in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The National Constitution Center and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University recently presented a conversation exploring how significant the role of “we the people” should be in governing. The panel debated whether more power should be returned to the American people and, if so, what reforms should be enacted to meet that goal? National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Dan McLaughlin, senior writer at National Review Online and professor Hahrie Han, co-author of Prisms of the People: Power and Organizing in 21st Century America and the inaugural director of the SNF Agora Institute. This panel was streamed live on June 23rd, 2021.
Check out additional programs from our Guardrails of Democracy initiative, including "How to Restore the Guardrails of Democracy," in our Media Library.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
State constitutions influenced the drafting of the U.S. Constitution and continue to shape constitutional rights today. The Virginia Constitution of 1776 in particular influenced both the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. As we get ready to celebrate Independence Day, National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen joined experts for a two-part conversation on state constitutions. First, Rosen was joined by A.E. Dick Howard of the University of Virginia. Professor Howard is an expert on the Virginia Constitution of 1776 and Virginia’s current constitution, which he helped draft and is commemorating its 50th anniversary this year. Rosen was then joined by two experts on state constitutions: Judge Jeffrey Sutton, author of 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law, and professor Emily Zackin, author of Looking for Rights in All the Wrong Places: Why State Constitutions Contain America’s Positive Rights. This panel was streamed live on June 28, 2021. If you’re interested in learning more about state constitutions, check out some of our past programs including this Town Hall program featuring Judge Jeffrey Sutton, “Why State Constitutions Matter.” Register for our 2021 Annual Supreme Court Review on July 8 at constitutioncenter.org/debate.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.
Should the government or private companies identify and regulate truth and lies? Join Martha Minow, professor at Harvard Law School and author of the new book, Saving the News: Why the Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve Freedom of Speech, Paul Matzko of the Cato Institute and author of The Radio Right, and Jonathan Rauch, author of the new book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, for a discussion the history of American protection for free speech values and how they are challenged by the social media landscape today. They also discuss current debates about the regulation of online speech, from content regulation to algorithmic disinformation, and what reforms, if any, might promote the free trade in ideas and expression in the future. Newton Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission during the John F. Kennedy administration, provides remarks. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Jeffrey Rosen moderates a conversation looking back at some of America’s greatest Supreme Court justices in history, including Chief Justice John Marshall, one of the founders of constitutional law; Justice John Marshall Harlan, famous for his dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson in which he argued against the doctrine of “separate but equal;” and others—from Justice Benjamin Curtis to Justice Antonin Scalia. Rosen was joined by Robert Strauss, author of the new book 'John Marshall: The Final Founder;' Peter Canellos, editor at Politico and author of the new book 'The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America's Judicial Hero;' and Elizabeth Slattery, a lawyer at the Pacific Legal Foundation and co-host of 'Dissed,' a podcast about important dissents. Register to join us live for upcoming online programs at constitutioncenter.org/debate and check out past programs in our media library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution, including:
“Robert Strauss: America’s Worst Presidents” featuring Strauss discussing his book 'Worst. President. Ever: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents'
If you’d like to learn more about Chief Justice John Marshall, check out our 2019 program “The Man Who Made the Supreme Court” featuring acclaimed historian Richard Brookhiser
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.
The National Constitution Center and With Honor Action—a group dedicated to promoting the leadership of military veterans in public service—hosted a discussion exploring the state of Congress with members of the For Country Caucus, a bipartisan group of military veterans serving in Congress and dedicated to working together in a nonpartisan way to create a more productive government. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, was joined by Representatives Jared Golden (D-ME), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Peter Meijer (R-MI), and Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks (R-IA). This program was presented with support from With Honor Action and as part of the National Constitution Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last week, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a live online program to discuss the Constitution, civility, the Court, and more. In a wide-ranging conversation, the justice discusses how he goes about making decisions, shares some stories and life lessons from his time on the bench, and shares some of his favorite books and authors. He also explains why civic education is so important today, why people need to reach across the political divides more than ever, and why he's optimistic about the future of America. Finally, he answers questions from the audience and describes how he’s been spending his time during the pandemic (including Zooming with his law clerks and meditating).
This conversation was one of our constitutional classes broadcast live to learners of all ages. All of the classes from the past school year were recorded and can be watched for free at https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.
Additional resources and transcripts available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
What were the key texts, authors, and sources the framers looked to when drafting the Constitution? Scholars Richard Albert of the University of Texas at Austin, Jonathan Gienapp of Stanford University, and Colleen Sheehan of Arizona State University explore what books were on the shelves of founders like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, and where some of the ideas behind the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution came from, in a conversation moderated by National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. They discuss the influence of ancient and contemporaneous philosophers, thinkers, and writers—including Plutarch, Aristotle, Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, John Locke, Emer de Vattel, William Blackstone, David Hume, and more.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library
Scholars Bernadette Meyler of Stanford Law School, Alison LaCroix of the University of Chicago Law School and co-editor of the new book, Cannons and Codes: Law, Literature, and America's Wars, and political scientist Catherine Zuckert of the University of Notre Dame and Arizona State University recently joined Jeffrey Rosen for a discussion exploring the ways literature—including the works of Daniel Defoe, James Fenimore Cooper, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Tracy Smith, and others—has intersected with the Constitution and American democracy from the nation’s founding, to the Civil War, and beyond.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.
Preeminent legal scholar Akhil Reed Amar of Yale Law School, host of the Amarica’s Constitution podcast, joins National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the big constitutional questions confronted by early Americans, as described in Amar's groundbreaking new book, 'The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840.'
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.
In light of the critical events and national debates over the past year about race, rights, and equality, the National Constitution Center hosts a discussion exploring the question: “Do we need a third Reconstruction?” Last week, Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; professor Wilfred Codrington III of Brooklyn Law School; political scientist William Allen; and professor Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond School of Law and author of a new two-volume series, The Reconstruction Amendments. They explored the first Reconstruction following the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movement as a kind of second “reconstruction”—and then considered whether we need a third era of reconstruction in America today.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Additional resources and transcript available at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
On the heels of election 2020, bills that may change voting and the election process have been introduced at the federal level and in numerous states including Georgia. In this panel, experts discuss the most significant legislation being considered, the constitutional issues they present, and what the Supreme Court might say. Theodore Johnson of the Brennan Center for Justice; Rich Lowry of the National Review; Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute; and Kim Wehle, author of What You Need to Know About Voting—And Why, join Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. The National Constitution Center and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University presented this new panel in their ongoing partnership of conversations about how to restore the guardrails of American democracy. This program was also made possible with support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
This week we’re sharing a constitutional class taught online featuring Harvard historian, New Yorker staff writer, and podcast host Jill Lepore. Professor Lepore explores the ideas that animated the founding of America, sparked the constitutional convention, and continue to shape American life today. She also answers questions about the convention and more from both National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen and from the students in our virtual audience, via our Chief Learning Officer Kerry Sautner. For more information on past and upcoming National Constitution Center classes, visit constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/online-civic-learning-opportunities.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In 1789, both the U.S. Bill of Rights and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen guaranteed American and French citizens the freedom of religion. How has the concept of religious liberty been applied, protected, and interpreted in both countries over the past two centuries? French political scientist Denis Lacorne and law professor Mathilde Philip-Gay join American political scientist Jonathan Laurence and law professor Michael McConnell for a discussion exploring the similarities and differences. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was presented in partnership with The Cultural Services of the French Embassy as part of a series on freedom of religion and speech in France and the United States.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library
Dorothy Wickenden, executive editor at The New Yorker and author of the new book The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights, and Thavolia Glymph, Duke University historian and author of the book The Women's Fight: The Civil War's Battles for Home, Freedom, and Nation, discuss the early days of the abolition movement and the fight for women’s rights, the complicated relationship between the two movements, and heroes like Harriet Tubman who served as leaders of both. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program is made possible through the generous support of the McNulty Foundation in partnership with the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women's Leadership at Villanova University, and is presented as part of the Center’s Women and the Constitution initiative.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library
This week, back in 1973, the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam, and America’s eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War ended. In 2019, the National Constitution Center hosted a program featuring activist Kim Phúc Phan Thi, and we’re sharing that conversation from our archives this week. When she was nine years old, Phuc was severely injured, running from her bombed village, when an Associated Press photographer captured her and others in one of the most famous photographs from the Vietnam War, which later won the Pulitzer Prize. In this moving program, Phúc discusses her firsthand experience of the Vietnam War and its impact; Mark Bowden, contributing writer for The Atlantic and author of Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam offers historical context; and classical composer and jazz trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe performs and discusses the piece he was moved to compose after seeing Phúc’s photograph. Phúc was also awarded the Jeffrey Rosen moderates.
Last week, experts joined NCC President Jeffrey Rosen to consider how we can foster compromise under the Constitution and in American politics today. They also explored prominent issues in the news including whether or not to end the filibuster; if Congress might benefit from less, not more, transparency; and how to incentivize legislators to work together in a more bipartisan way. The panel featured political scientists Steven Teles of Johns Hopkins University and Sarah Binder of the George Washington University and the Brookings Institution; Daniel Stid, director of the U.S. Democracy Program at the Hewlett Foundation; and Reihan Salam, president of the Manhattan Institute. This program was presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Judge Jed Rakoff unveils his new book 'Why the Innocent Plead Guilty and the Guilty Go Free: And Other Paradoxes of Our Broken Legal System' with former Judge Paul Cassell of the University of Utah College of Law, Carissa Byrne Hessick of the University of North Carolina Law School, and moderator Jeffrey Rosen. They discuss the current challenges in American criminal justice today and share innovative proposals for reform.
Additional resources and transcript available at Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This week, we’re sharing a constitutional conversation from our archives in honor of Women’s History Month. This program, hosted live at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, traces the history of the Equal Rights Amendment and explores the question of whether we need the ERA to ensure gender equality in the United States. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen was joined by University of Texas at Austin School of Law professor Cary Franklin, an expert in anti-discrimination law, and University of Pennsylvania Law professor Serena Mayeri, an expert on how social movements impact legal and constitutional history, to discuss that question and more.
Additional resources and transcript available at https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This week, we’re sharing a constitutional conversation from our archives. Leading legal scholars and historians Allen Guelzo, Martha Jones, Kurt Lash, and Darrell A. H. Miller tell the story of the 14th amendment and the “forgotten founders” who fought for it. Jeffrey Rosen moderates. This conversation was part of a symposium celebrating the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment co-hosted with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
National Constitution Center scholar-in-residence and UNC Law School professor Michael Gerhardt and recently joined us to unveil his new book Lincoln’s Mentors: The Education of a Leader. He was joined by leading historians H.W. Brands, author of the new book The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom, and Judith Giesberg, author of Sex and the Civil War: Soldiers, Pornography, and the Making of American Morality, in a conversation moderated by Jeffrey Rosen. They explored how Abraham Lincoln mastered the art of leadership, and how five men mentored an obscure lawyer with no executive experience to become one of America’s greatest presidents.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
On Presidents Day, National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderated a discussion about the diverse cast of characters that helped to found the nation, including America’s early presidents. Jeff was joined by historians Joanne Freeman of Yale who is also a host of the podcast Backstory, Robert McDonald of West Point, and Peter Onuf of the University of Virginia—all of whom are contributors to the new volume Revolutionary Prophecies: The Founders and America’s Future.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
How can we “restore the guardrails” of democracy? We examine that question and consider ways to strengthen American constitutional and democratic institutions against current and future threats and insurrections in the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Leading commentators Anne Applebaum, SNF Agora Senior Fellow, Pulitzer-prize winning historian, and staff writer for The Atlantic; Daniel Ziblatt, political scientist and a professor at Harvard University and co-author of How Democracies Die; Pulitzer-prize winning journalist George Will; and political scientist William Allen, join moderator Jeffrey Rosen for a wide-ranging conversation. This program is presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
Resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In the wake of election 2020, we partnered with the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law to present its annual symposium exploring the past, present, and future of presidential elections. Jeffrey Rosen moderates a three-part conversation. Panel one on the origins of presidential elections and the electoral college at America’s founding features:
William Ewald, professor of law and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kim Lane Scheppele, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs and the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University.
Jack Rakove, emeritus William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies, and Professor of Political Science and (by courtesy) Law at Stanford University
Panel two on the more recent history of presidential elections, including the 2020 election, features:
Edward Foley, the Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law at The Ohio State University where he also directs the election law program
Alexander Keyssar, the Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Guy-Uriel Charles, the Edward and Ellen Schwarzman Professor of Law at Duke Law School and co-director of the Duke Law Center on Law, Race and Politics
Panel three, looking ahead to the future of our presidential elections system features:
Jesse Wegman, member of The New York Times editorial board
Bradley A. Smith, Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law at Capital University Law School
Joel Benenson, founder and CEO of the Benenson Strategy Group
Matthew Dowd, chief political analyst for ABC News
Attorneys General Phil Weiser of Colorado and Mark Brnovich of Arizona join for a bipartisan conversation on issues facing their states today, and what the Constitution—particularly the system of federalism—means to them and why it matters. They discuss everything from the founders’ vision of states’ rights to key Supreme Court cases on the subject, to issues they’re focused on and tackling in their states now, including managing coronavirus relief, elections and election reform, tech policy, consumer protection laws and lawsuits, and more. They also discuss the crucial roles that local governments and state AGs play in the constitutional system, and how state AGs can work together in bipartisan coalitions to fill in gaps left by the federal government on a number of issues. This program is presented in partnership with the Center for Excellence in Governance at the National Association of Attorneys General.
Resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In this 2016 conversation from our archives, leading constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar of Yale Law School shares foundational lessons about the Constitution. He discusses his book The Constitution Today: Timeless Lessons for the Issues of Our Era with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In an online program hosted earlier this year, bestselling historian Lynne Cheney discusses her new book, The Virginia Dynasty, a vivid account of the intersecting lives and accomplishments of the first four U.S. presidents from Virginia—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Cheney explores how these friends and rivals led in winning independence, drafting the U.S. Constitution, and building a working republic. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Additional resources and a transcript are available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Jane Mansbridge, author of the award-winning Why We Lost the ERA, Carol Jenkins, president and CEO of the ERA Coalition and Fund for Women’s Equality, and Inez Feltscher Stepman of the Independent Women’s Forum joined to explore the Equal Rights Amendment and discuss their differing viewpoints on it with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. They shared insights from their research and advocacy for and against the ERA, debated whether it has met the requirements under Article V to be adopted into the Constitution, discussed its recent ratification in Virginia and Nevada, and ongoing litigation surrounding it, as well as what’s next and what would change if, someday, the ERA were adopted. This program is made possible through the generous support of the McNulty Foundation in partnership with the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women's Leadership at Villanova University and as part of the Center’s yearlong initiative, Women and the Constitution, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
A panel of experts dives into what the Founders—including Abigail and John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Mercy Otis Warren, and Phyllis Wheatley—learned from the Greeks and Romans, from their early education through adulthood, and how that knowledge came to influence founding documents such as the Constitution as well as the American idea. They also explore the Founders’ philosophical understanding of passion versus reason, the meaning of “happiness,” and more. Historians and authors Caroline Winterer and Carl Richard and Pultizer Prize-winning journalist Thomas Ricks joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
From Ben Franklin to George Washington to Abraham Lincoln—American founders and many early Americans read and revered Shakespeare. As a result, echoes of Shakespeare can be heard in some of the most fundamental documents in American history, including the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and Shakespearean themes and influences have resonated throughout some of America’s biggest crises, from the Civil War to COVID-19. Last week, three of America’s leading authorities on Shakespeare— Barry Edelstein of The Old Globe Theater in San Diego; Kevin Hayes, author of the new book, Shakespeare and the Making of America; and Lucas Morel of Washington and Lee University and author of Lincoln and the American Founding—joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a look at how Shakespeare has shaped the country, and how his work relates to American constitutional values today. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Religious freedom advocate Kristina Arriaga and scholar Stephanie Barclay of Notre Dame Law School joined constitutional scholars Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman, authors of The Religion Clauses: The Case for Separating Church and State, to debate what the Constitution says about the relationship between church and state and provide their take on the most recent religious liberty Supreme Court cases. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
A panel of experts from across the ideological spectrum joined National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen on November 11 to consider what the 2020 election and its aftermath demonstrates about the political parties, polarization, and the state of American democracy today. They also explored how debates over what “truth” means have grown over the last four years, how that manifested in the election and how people voted, and where we’re headed next, including the future of American values like free speech. The panel features Anne Applebaum and Yascha Mounk of the SNF Agora Institute and The Atlantic, David French of The Dispatch, and Charles Kesler of Claremont McKenna College. This program was presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Authors Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss their book The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again. The authors shared what they learned tracing more than a century of American history. They expand upon their thesis that the country went from an individualistic “I” society to a more community-oriented “we” society, then back again—remaining individualistic, unequal, and divided today—and how we can learn from that experience to become a stronger, more unified nation going forward.
As we asked in the intro—please rate, review and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts or leave us a rating and review on Stitcher, and follow the show on Spotify.
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
How are social media platforms dealing with disinformation in the midst of election 2020? Experts joined host Jeffrey Rosen to explore that question as well as the complex, persistent issues surrounding the regulation of online speech and content, and how all of that relates to the First Amendment and free speech norms. The panel featured David Hudson, Jr., First Amendment Fellow at the Freedom Forum; Professor Kate Klonick of St. John’s University School of Law, who’s studied and written about the creation of the Facebook Oversight Board; John Samples, Vice President at the Cato Institute, who’s a member of the Oversight Board; and Professor Nate Persily, co-director of the Stanford Program on Democracy and the Internet. This program was presented in partnership with the Freedom Forum, and its chair, Jan Neuharth, delivers opening remarks. For more on the 2020 election and nonpartisan educational resources, check out our recent election-related episodes of Live at the National Constitution Center, and visit the National Constitution Center’s election resources page—which includes informative podcast episodes, video lessons and more—at constitutioncenter.org/calendar/election-day-programming.
The biggest immigration controversies of the last decade have involved policies produced by presidents. Earlier this month, legal scholars Cristina Rodriguez, Adam Cox, and Michael McConnell joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to explore some of those controversies and consider what the president’s role in immigration law has been and should be, what the Constitution says, and how Congress fits in. Rodriguez and Cox are co-authors of the new book The President and Immigration Law. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
As the 2020 election approaches, this week we hosted program about the history of presidential elections. Experts Franita Tolson of USC Law, Edward Foley of Ohio State Law, James Ceaser of the University of Virginia, and Robert Lieberman of Johns Hopkins University joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the most contentious elections in American history—including one of the first controversial elections—1800—pitting Thomas Jefferson against Aaron Burr; the election of 1860 which set the stage for the Civil War; and the 2000 election which led to the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore. The panelists also explore the questions: How might controversy arise in the 2020 election, and what can we learn from history to try and avoid it? If you enjoyed this conversation, please check out last week’s episode to learn more about one of the elections covered in this conversation: The Hayes-Tilden Election of 1876. This program was presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This week, we partnered with Free and Fair with Franita and Foley, a podcast about democracy and elections hosted by election experts Professor Edward Foley of Ohio State Moritz College of Law and Professor Franita Tolson of USC Gould School of Law. They joined fellow elections scholar Professor Michael Morley of Florida State University College of Law and National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a live recording of their podcast—a discussion of one of the most contentious presidential elections in American history, the 1876 Hayes-Tilden election, and a history lesson about what it can teach us today. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The Constitution Drafting Project challenged three teams of leading constitutional thinkers from different ideological perspectives to draft their ideal constitutions. Earlier this week, “Team Progressive”—led by Caroline Fredrickson of Georgetown Law along with Jamal Greene of Columbia Law and Melissa Murray of NYU Law, and “Team Libertarian”—led by Ilya Shapiro along with Tim Sandefur of the Goldwater Institute and Christina Mulligan of Brooklyn Law—joined Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to present their constitutions. They explained their writing and drafting process, how they decided whether to start from scratch or revise the existing Constitution, what they kept and what they changed, how the two constitutions are similar and different, and more. Read the libertarian and progressive constitutions https://constitutioncenter.org/debate/special-projects/constitution-drafting-project and stay tuned for a constitution from “Team Conservative,” coming soon. The Constitution Drafting Project was generously supported by Jeff Yass.
The National Constitution Center recently hosted a special “Student Town Hall” with Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch. Justice Gorsuch spoke to students joining online from across the country about his career, the role of the judicial branch, and what it’s like to sit on the Supreme Court. Center President Jeffrey Rosen moderated. This conversation was recorded on September 17—Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. As Justice Gorsuch mentions, that evening, prior to her passing, the Center awarded Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg the 2020 Liberty Medal. Watch the Liberty Medal video mentioned by Jeff here https://constitutioncenter.org/liberty-medal.
Last week, before the passing of constitutional icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the National Constitution Center awarded Justice Ginsburg the 2020 Liberty Medal for her lifelong efforts to advance liberty and equality for all. Following the Liberty Medal Ceremony, National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen discussed the justice’s legacy both before and after joining the Supreme Court bench with two of her former clerks—Kelsi Corkran and Amanda Tyler. The Liberty Medal Ceremony included a video tribute featuring performances by internationally-renowned opera singers and tributes from special friends of Justice Ginsburg. You can watch it at constitutioncenter.org/liberty-medal. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last month, the National Constitution Center hosted a musical performance and conversation about the women who fought for the right to vote. On this episode you’ll hear the premiere performance of RESOLVED — a song cycle about the 19th Amendment and the American women’s suffrage movement—by composer/soprano/creator Patrice Michaels, performed by renowned mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges and pianist Laura Ward and produced by NBCUniversal. Next, you’ll hear a discussion featuring scholars Marcia Chatelain of Georgetown University and Gail Heriot of the University of San Diego School of Law, and Center Exhibit Developer Elena Popchock exploring some of the iconic women highlighted in the performance who fought for the 19th Amendment and the Equal Rights Amendment. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the Center, moderates. This program was presented in partnership with Vision 2020’s Women 100 and as part of the Center’s yearlong initiative, Women and the Constitution, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the Center’s new exhibit The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote. As the highlight of the Women and the Constitution initiative, this Thursday, the Center will award the 32nd annual Liberty Medal to the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, for her efforts to advance liberty and equality for all. You can sign up to join the livestream of the special awards ceremony this Thursday at 6:30 p.m at constitutioncenter.org/liberty-medal. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The National Constitution Center is hosting a series of online constitutional classes this fall for students and learners of all ages. Last Friday, Center President Jeffrey Rosen and Chief Learning Officer Kerry Sautner were joined by David Coleman, CEO of the College Board. They discussed the founders, their flaws, and whether they still matter today. They also dove into the ideas of classical philosophers like Aristotle and Plato—and how their ideas influence the continual pursuit of a more perfect union . Our schedule of constitutional classes for the 2020-2021 school year is available here: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/online-civic-learning-opportunities. Check out all of our online educational resources: https://constitutioncenter.org/learn. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In the spring, the National Constitution Center hosted a series of online constitutional classes where students, teachers, parents, and learners of all ages joined in constitutional discussions with scholars from the National Constitution Center and guest speakers. As we gear up for more classes starting on August 31st, we’re sharing one of our favorite lectures from spring 2020 on today’s episode. Center President Jeffrey Rosen reviews 15 of the most important Supreme Court cases in American history in this lecture, which was given with high school students taking AP Government in mind but is great for learners of all ages! Jeff was joined by the Center’s Chief Learning Officer Kerry Sautner and by Stefanie Sanford from the College Board. Here's the list of cases covered in this episode:
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
United States v. Lopez (1995)
Engle v. Vitale (1962)
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
Schenk v. United States (1919)
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
Baker v. Carr (1962)
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Our schedule of constitutional classes for the 2020-2021 school year, which will begin on August 31, is now available online: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/online-civic-learning-opportunities. Check out all of our online educational resources: https://constitutioncenter.org/learn. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Our annual Supreme Court term review, hosted in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, recapped the landmark cases from this past term and previewed what’s to come next term. The panel featured Supreme Court experts Dahlia Lithwick, Erwin Chemerinsky, Paul Clement, and Frederick Lawrence. Karen Levit, National Civil Rights Counsel at ADL moderates, with opening remarks from National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last week, historians Martha Jones and Lisa Tetrault joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a conversation exploring the history and legacy of the 19th Amendment. The discussion highlighted the untold stories of women from all backgrounds who fought for women's suffrage and equality for all. Martha Jones is author of the new book Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All. Lisa Tetrault is author of The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women's Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898. This program was presented as part of the 19th Amendment: Past, Present, and Future symposium presented in partnership with All in Together, the George & Barbara Bush Foundation, the LBJ Presidential Library, the National Archives, The 19th, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. It’s as part of the National Constitution Center's Women and the Constitution initiative – a yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Learn more about the National Constitution Center’s new exhibit The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote here https://constitutioncenter.org/experience/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In the spring, the National Constitution Center hosted a series of online constitutional classes where students, teachers, and parents joined in constitutional discussions with scholars from the Center and guest speakers. As we gear up for more classes this coming school year, we’re sharing one of our favorite lectures from spring 2020 on today’s episode. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner for a conversation about the Constitution and slavery in America, including the history and legacy of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, ratified during Reconstruction. Our schedule of constitutional classes for the 2020-2021 school year, which will begin on August 31, is now available online: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/online-civic-learning-opportunities. Check out all of our online educational resources: https://constitutioncenter.org/learn. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In the spring, the National Constitution Center hosted a series of online constitutional classes where students, teachers, and parents joined in constitutional discussions with scholars from the National Constitution Center and guest speakers. As we gear up for more classes this coming school year, we’re sharing one of our favorite lectures from the spring on today’s episode. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Emily Bazelon—a lawyer, law professor, journalist, and podcast host who is staff writer at The New York Times Magazine and the Truman Capote Fellow at Yale Law School. Emily and Jeff answered audience questions about coronavirus’ potential impacts on the upcoming election—including how it impacted primaries in places like Wisconsin and what challenges it might pose for the general election in November. Our schedule of constitutional classes for the 2020-2021 school year will be available soon at: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/online-civic-learning-opportunities. In the meantime, check out all of our online educational resources at https://constitutioncenter.org/learn. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
What did the original Constitution say about the right to vote? How has that changed over time, and why? In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the 150th anniversary of the 15th Amendment in 2020, the National Constitution Center hosted a program featuring a panel of voting and election law experts who addressed those questions and more. They also reflected on the memory of legendary voting and civil rights advocate Congressman John Lewis, the anniversaries of two landmark suffrage amendments, and other key laws and Supreme Court decisions that changed the scope of suffrage in America. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Alexander Keyssar of the Harvard Kennedy School, Derek Muller of Iowa Law School, and Franita Tolson of the USC Gould School of Law. This program was part of the Center’s yearlong initiative, Women and the Constitution, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, and was made possible through the generous support of SteegeThomson Communications. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Recently, the National Constitution Center hosted a symposium bringing together contributors from The Battle for the Constitution website—a joint project from the National Constitution Center and The Atlantic that features essays exploring current constitutional issues from all perspectives. Today we’re sharing the second panel of the symposium: a conversation on the key constitutional issues raised by the coronavirus crisis. Jeffrey Rosen was joined by scholars Deborah Pearlstein, Polly Price, and Adam White to discuss how coronavirus has impacted democracy and the forthcoming 2020 election, public health law, the functioning of government, and more. Read The Battle for the Constitution including essays by these panelists here https://www.theatlantic.com/projects/battle-constitution/ Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last week, the National Constitution Center hosted a symposium bringing together contributors from The Battle for the Constitution website—a joint project from the National Constitution Center and The Atlantic that features essays exploring current constitutional issues from all perspectives. Today we’re sharing the first panel of the symposium: a conversation on the constitutional dimensions of policing and protests. Jeffrey Rosen was joined by former Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, as well as First Amendment expert and law professor John Inazu, and policing expert and law professor Tracey Meares. This program is presented in partnership with The Atlantic and in conjunction with The Battle for the Constitution website linked here http://www.theatlantic.com/projects/battle-constitution/. It is also made possible through generous support from the John Templeton Foundation. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
On June 19, 1775, The Continental Congress commissioned George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. Shortly after he received his commission, Washington left for Massachusetts and assumed command of the Continental Army in Cambridge on July 3, 1775. In honor of that anniversary and of the Fourth of July holiday this weekend, we’re sharing a program on Washington from earlier this year. Acclaimed historians Lindsay Chervinsky and Edward Larson joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss Washington and his role in the Revolutionary War and the Founding. Chervinsky is the author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution and Larson is author of Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This week, the NCC hosted a conversation on Congress in times of crisis featuring historians and co-hosts of the podcast Backstory Edward Ayers of the University of Richmond and Joanne Freeman of Yale University, and political scientist Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. They explored how Congress has handled crises of the past—particularly the Civil War, other key moments throughout American history in which Congress played a pivotal role, and the lessons those moments can teach us as Congress tries to navigate today’s challenges. NCC President Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constituitoncenter.org.
This week, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, America’s first female secretary of state, joined host Jeffrey Rosen to reflect on her experience in government, her views on the Constitution, and how women leaders play a more important role than ever in the world today. She also shared stories from her life as told in her new book Hell and Other Destinations. This conversation was part of the National Constitution Center’s yearlong Women and the Constitution initiative in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. This program is made possible through the generous support of The John P. & Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last Friday, the National Constitution Center hosted a national Town Hall program on policing, protests, and the Constitution. The wide-ranging discussions covered qualified immunity for police officers, the history of racial inequality, protests and the First Amendment, and more. Part two of the discussion, this panel, features Monica Bell of Yale Law School, David French of The Dispatch, Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Theodore Shaw of the University of North Carolina School of Law. Part one is a keynote conversation featuring Judge Theodore McKee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and you can listen to that here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/policing-protests-and-the-constitution-part-1/id1037423300?i=1000477348971 Jeffrey Rosen moderates. This week’s episode is a crossover with our companion podcast, We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate that you can listen to here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-the-people/id83213431 Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last Friday, the National Constitution Center hosted a national Town Hall program on policing, protests, and the Constitution. This episode features National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen’s keynote conversation with Judge Theodore McKee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Their wide-ranging discussion covered qualified immunity for police officers, the history of racial inequality, protests and the First Amendment, and more. Part two features a panel of leading scholars and commentators to further touch on these issues, and you can listen to it here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/policing-protests-and-the-constitution-part-2/id1037423300?i=1000477356597. This week’s episode is a crossover with our companion podcast, We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate that you can listen to here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-the-people/id83213431 Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George F. Will joins Saikrishna Prakash, professor of law at the University of Virginia, for a conversation on Prakash's new book, The Living Presidency: An Originalist Argument against Its Ever-Expanding Powers. They explore the expansion of presidential power from the founding era to today; provide their take on what, if any, constraints there may be on executive power; and whether originalism can provide a solution. National Constitution Center president Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Hosted on the 124th anniversary of the infamous decision, this virtual program tells the story of Plessy v. Ferguson in which the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of segregation.National Constitution President Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Steve Luxenberg, associate editor at The Washington Post and author of Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation, along with Dean Risa Goluboff of the University of Virginia Law School and Ted Shaw of University of North Carolina Law School. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Over the last two weeks, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments remotely, by teleconference, allowing the public to listen in in real time for the first time in history. The National Constitution Center recapped those arguments live on C-SPAN with advocates on either side of each case. This episode features the recap of Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Vance — disputes over whether President Trump must release his tax returns and other financial records to prosecutors and House committees. NCC President Jeffrey Rosen was joined by law professors Gillian Metzger and Andy Grewal to recap the arguments and dive into the case’s potential implications for presidential powers. Check out more Supreme Court argument recaps on our companion podcast We the People or on our YouTube channel. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In this virtual program, National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen is joined by Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. They discussed the constitutional and policy challenges posed by coronavirus—including the difficulties managing prison outbreaks and criminal justice proceedings, challenges to their stay-at-home orders from various groups, how best to allow religious worship to continue safely, and more. Attorney General Fox is also president of the National Association of Attorneys General, and this program was presented in partnership with NAAG and its Center for Excellence in Governance. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Conservative intellectual Yuval Levin discusses the decline in trust in American institutions as told in his new book A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream. He shares his findings on Americans’ growing distrust in institutions created by the Constitution—like Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court—as well as the press, political parties, universities, and religious institutions. He shares possible explanations for that distrust, its potential impact, and possible solutions. Levin is director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and he joined National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen via Zoom. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Today we’re sharing a “live” program that, because the Center is temporarily closed, was held virtually, over Zoom. National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen brought together Jesse Wegman, Amel Amed, and William Ewald to discuss the Electoral College. They detailed how the founders envisioned the Electoral College, how it’s evolved over time, and whether the system should remain or be reformed or replaced. Jesse Wegman is a member of The New York Times editorial board and the author of the book Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College. William Ewald is professor of philosophy and law at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on James Wilson, one of the Founders involved in the earliest debates about how the president should be elected. Amel Ahmed is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She’s the author of numerous books and articles including “In Defense of the Electoral College.” If you enjoyed this constitutional conversation, please tune in to our virtual programs. Check out our schedule of upcoming programs and join them live from any device by registering at constitutioncenter.org/debate. You can also watch the programs after the fact in our media library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution, on our YouTube channel, or right here on the podcast in the coming weeks. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This week, we’re sharing another program held back in March before the National Constitution Center went remote. This program is part of our yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. It features New York Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Hochul and former Congresswomen Melissa A. Hart and Donna F. Edwards. They explore the unfinished work of women’s suffrage and how the fight for constitutional change shaped women’s involvement in public life. They also discuss why females make up less than a quarter of Congress and what needs to be done to improve women’s representation in government. The conversation is moderated by Lauren Leader, co-founder and CEO of All in Together, a non-profit organization that seeks to empower women to participate in civic and political life. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Welcome to Live at the National Constitution Center, our newly-renamed podcast sharing live constitutional conversations held here at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and across America. The center is temporarily closed to the public due to coronavirus, but, before we went remote, we held a few programs that we’re excited to share here on the podcast in the coming weeks. This episode features conversations from an event held at the center in early March as part of our yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. In the first panel (00:00-12:00), NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen and Exhibit Developer Elena Popchock discuss the NCC’s forthcoming exhibit The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote. (At the time of this conversation, the exhibit was set to open in June but may now open later this year.) Next (12:00-end) Elena joins a panel featuring historian Lori Ginzberg, author of Elizabeth Cady Stanton: An American Life. They share an interesting look into Stanton—one of the most the charismatic and complex characters that shaped American history and feminism— in conversation with National Constitution Center Senior Director of Content Lana Ulrich. During this public health crisis, the National Constitution Center is hosting a series of virtual constitutional conversations, which we’ll also share on the podcast in the coming weeks. You can watch videos of those programs here and see the full schedule of upcoming programs here.
We’re changing our name! to Live at the National Constitution Center. New name, same podcast bringing you live constitutional conversations held here at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and across America. Check out these highlights from last season, and stay tuned for new episodes coming soon! Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. This trailer was engineered and produced by Jackie McDermott with production by Tanaya Tauber and Lana Ulrich and additional editing by Greg Scheckler.
Americans sometimes find themselves at the center of some of the biggest moments in constitutional history. John Tinker, one of the students who brought the lawsuit in the landmark student speech case Tinker v. Des Moines; Karen Korematsu, daughter of Fred Korematsu, petitioner in the Japanese internment case Korematsu v. United States; and Cheryl Brown Henderson, daughter of Reverend Oliver Brown, the petitioner in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, share what that’s like. They describe their families’ experiences bringing these landmark cases, how the outcome affected their lives, and how those cases shaped the Constitution and the country. February 24 was the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1969 decision in Tinker v. Des Moines. This program was recorded here at the National Constitution Center on Constitution Day 2017. We were lucky to have lots of students here at the Center and in the audience that day, so you’ll hear their questions for our panelists! Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This time of year back in 1916, Senate confirmation hearings were beginning for Louis D. Brandeis. After a lengthy confirmation process, Brandeis was confirmed as the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice, and went on to write landmark opinions on free speech, privacy, and more. In this 2016 program, National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen and Brandeis scholars Philippa Strum and Melvin Urofsky explain why Brandeis’ forward-thinking wisdom still matters today. They celebrated the launch of Jeff’s book Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet – part of the Jewish Lives biography series. Jeff recently discussed the book on the Jewish Lives podcast, and you can listen to that interview here. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
February 12th is President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, so we’re sharing a program that dives into one of the most pivotal periods of his political life. Sidney Blumenthal discusses his book Wrestling with his Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln 1849-1856 – the years when Lincoln emerged from political defeat and began to build his career on the national stage – in conversation with National Constitution Center Scholar-in-Residence Michael Gerhardt. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The Iowa Caucus kicked off the 2020 presidential primaries this week, so we’re sharing a primer on the history and influence of presidential campaigns. Communications scholar Geoffrey Cowan and historian David Greenberg explain how our primary system originated in the midst of Teddy Roosevelt’s quest for a third term, how campaigning and “spin” has evolved since then, and more in this program from 2016. NCC President Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Jeff’s mic cuts out briefly around 15 minutes in (sorry!) but it just lasts a few minutes so please stick with us! Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This Thursday is President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's birthday, so we’re sharing a program that explores how FDR and other presidents have dealt with America’s biggest constitutional crises. Historians and presidential biographers Annette Gordon-Reed, Sidney Blumenthal, and Sean Wilentz joined NCC President Jeffrey Rosen for this program held at Congress Hall, the first meeting place of the U.S. Congress, in Philadelphia in 2017. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Rep. John Lewis’ childhood aspiration was to be a preacher, and he practiced sermons in front of the chickens on his family farm in rural Alabama. Little did he know that he would soon lead the “freedom rides” fighting segregation in the south, give a keynote address at the March on Washington at age 23, and become a 17-term congressman. Rep. Lewis shares inspiring stories from that journey in this 2013 address delivered on Constitution Day here at the National Constitution Center, which we’re sharing in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Rep. Lewis discussed his graphic novel March: Book One which spans his youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and the battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins. He was joined by his co-author Andrew Aydin and NCC President Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
With the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump approaching, we’re sharing a past program featuring Joshua Matz – co-author (with Laurence Tribe) of To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment, counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, and an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law Center. Matz explains his belief that the creation of the impeachment power was a “gamble” taken by the Framers who hoped to impeach rogue presidents, and impeachment is not a “white knight” that can save our democracy. He shares insights from his book including scenarios in which he thinks impeachment must be used, as well as times when impeachment can harm the country more than help it, and gives informative historic examples of both situations. He sat down with NCC President Jeffrey Rosen just after the release of his book in 2018. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In light of the recent U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani – we’re sharing this program from fall 2017 on war powers and the Constitution. John Yoo of Berkeley Law, Deborah Pearlstein of Cardozo Law, and Ben Wittes, Editor-in-Chief of Lawfare, discuss the president’s ability to order unilateral airstrikes, the definition of “imminent threats”, and other topics that lend context to the current controversy. NCC President Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Two leading Fourth Amendment scholars join NCC President Jeffrey Rosen to trace the history and interpretation of the Fourth Amendment from the founding to today. They explain some Fourth Amendment basics like: What is a warrant? What are subpoenas? When and why can they be issued? They also dive into key Supreme Court opinions that interpreted the Fourth Amendment, and give their takes on whether the Court’s Fourth Amendment doctrine has kept up with the digital age.
This program was presented in partnership with the Federal Judicial Center.
Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joins National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his new book, Conversations with RBG: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty and Law—an informal portrait of the Justice through an extraordinary series of conversations, starting in the 1990s and continuing to today. They expand upon several of the conversations featured in the book, such as Justice Ginsburg’s favorite dissents, key gender cases she worked on throughout her career, and how to lead a productive, compassionate life of service. They also reflect on the performance that preceded the discussion. The discussion was preceded by a special performance of “The Long View: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Nine Songs” by Patrice Michaels, composer/soprano/creator and daughter-in law of Justice Ginsburg. This episode is a crossover with our companion podcast, We the People, where this Town Hall originally aired. The National Constitution Center gratefully acknowledges the Bernstein Family Foundation for its generous support of our education programs in Washington D.C. This program is made possible in part through support from the John Templeton Foundation. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
On June 8, 1972, the South Vietnamese air force dropped napalm on its own troops and civilians after mistaking them for North Vietnamese forces. Nine-year-old Kim Phúc Phan Thi, who was severely injured, was running from the bombed village when an Associated Press photographer captured her and others in one of the most iconic photographs from the Vietnam War, which later won the Pulitzer Prize. In this moving program, Kim Phúc discusses her firsthand experience of the Vietnam War and its impact; Mark Bowden, contributing writer for The Atlantic and author of Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam offers historical context; and classical composer and jazz trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe discusses the piece he was moved to compose after seeing Kim’s photograph. Hannibal performs that piece at the beginning of the program, after an introduction from moderator and NCC President Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last week, the National Constitution Center hosted a timely two-part discussion of impeachment. Part two features current and former members of Congress, including Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Vice Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which unveiled articles of impeachment against President Trump today. The panelists share their unique insights into what constitutes and impeachable offense and the current impeachment process—giving their candid takes on the facts behind the inquiry, what they think might happen, and how the process and outcome may affect the country as a whole. They also share their views on whether they might vote to impeach the president. Featuring:
Rep. Dwight Evans (PA-03)
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05)
Fmr. Rep. Charles Dent (PA-15)
Fmr. Rep. Ryan Costello (PA-06)
Moderator: Jeffrey Rosen – National Constitution Center President
Part one of our impeachment program featured leading constitutional scholars, including NCC Scholar-in-Residence Michael Gerhardt who testified before Congress as an impeachment expert, and you can listen to that episode here. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This week, the National Constitution Center hosted a timely two-part discussion of impeachment. In panel one, leading constitutional scholars break down the facts at the center of the current impeachment inquiry, and share their thoughts on what the Framers of the Constitution might think of whether those facts rise to the level of an impeachable offense under their conception of and the definition of impeachment. They also share their own views on whether or not the President should be impeached. Tune back in next week to hear panel two, featuring current and former members of Congress who also debate how they would vote on whether or not to impeach. Panel one features:
Michael Gerhardt – National Constitution Center Scholar in Residence, CNN impeachment expert, and professor at UNC Law School
Keith Whittington – professor of politics at Princeton University
Kimberly Wehle – professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and CBS News legal analyst
John Malcolm – Vice President of the Institution for Constitutional Government at Heritage
Moderator: Jeffrey Rosen – National Constitution Center President
Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This week, we’re sharing a past program on the Civil War and Reconstruction and public memory. Leading civil war historians Eric Foner, Thavolia Glymph, and Kate Masur explore the questions: How do we define Reconstruction? What was that period like politically and economically, for ordinary Americans and for the country’s leaders? How can we better understand the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments by contextualizing them in the history of Reconstruction? And how does that history connect to modern issues surrounding racial inequality, Confederate monuments, and more. Sherilynn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, moderates. This program was presented at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund in partnership with the Thurgood Marshall Institute. If you enjoyed this constitutional conversation and want to hear more from the panelists, please check out their other appearances on Live at America’s Town Hall:
Eric Foner on the Second Founding
Women and the Civil War: The Untold Stories featuring Thavolia Glymph and Kate Masur
Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Pultizer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner tells the story of the battle to inscribe equality into the Constitution. Foner traces the arc of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution—the “Reconstruction amendments”—from their dramatic pre-Civil War origins to today, detailing how they changed our founding document and shaped American history. He sits down with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen. This program was presented in conjunction with the Center’s exhibit Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This Town Hall celebrates the launch of host Jeffrey Rosen’s newest book, Conversations with RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law—an informal portrait of the justice through an extraordinary series of conversations, starting in the 1990s and continuing to today. Jeff has collected Justice Ginsburg’s wisdom from their many conversations on the future of the Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade, which Supreme Court decisions she would like to see overturned, the #MeToo movement, and how to lead a productive, compassionate life – illuminating the determination, self-mastery, and wit of the “Notorious RBG.” Dahlia Lithwick, veteran Supreme Court reporter and host of the Slate podcast Amicus, moderates. Check out Conversations with RBG on Amazon and listen to the audiobook on Audible. The audiobook also has its very own Alexa skill – Ask RBG. You can ask your Amazon echo things like, “Alexa, ask RBG about the #MeToo movement” and you’ll hear clips from the real-life interviews with Justice Ginsburg featured in the audiobook. This episode is a crossover with our companion podcast, We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate that’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Is the Constitution “democratic” enough? What does it mean to be a democracy as opposed to a republic—is there a significant difference, and why does it matter? Should institutions like the Senate and the Electoral College, which are sometimes criticized for being undemocratic, be reformed or abolished? Constitutional scholars and professors Randy Barnett of Georgetown Law and Vikram Amar of the University of Illinois College of Law sat down for a rich debate of these questions here at the National Constitution Center, moderated by NCC President Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Richard Stengel shares his insider account of the fight against the global rise of disinformation – describing how disinformation has been used by terrorist groups like ISIS; how it influenced the 2016 election; how it factors into the current impeachment inquiry; and more. Stengel led the Obama administration’s counter-disinformation efforts while serving as Under Secretary of State from 2013-2016. He previously served as head of the National Constitution Center and was the editor of TIME. Stengel unveils his new book Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do About It in conversation with NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
A group of legal scholars and reproductive rights experts visited the National Constitution Center earlier this fall to debate the question: should Roe v. Wade be overturned? Kathryn Kolbert, who argued the landmark reproductive rights case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Professor and legal historian Mary Ziegler, and President of Americans United for Life Catherine Glenn Foster joined our Senior Director of Content Lana Ulrich for a timely discussion of reproductive rights and the Constitution.
If you enjoy this constitutional conversation, please also check out our two-part debate on abortion and the Constitution on our companion podcast We the People (listen to part one here and part two here).
Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton visited the National Constitution Center last week to unveil their new book The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience. They shared stories of the gutsy women profiled in their book – some close to them, including Chelsea’s grandmothers; some historic figures like Claudette Colvin and Frances Perkins; and some modern day trailblazers like Greta Thurnberg, Abby Wombach, and the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. They also detailed the groundbreaking work done by these women in areas including equal pay, the Equal Rights Amendment, athletics, gun policy reform, and more. Sec. Clinton also explains why she thinks we are in a constitutional crisis and shares her thoughts on the current impeachment inquiry. The conversation, moderated by MSNBC correspondent Joy-Ann Reid with introductory remarks by NCC President Jeff Rosen, was held before a sold-out audience at the NCC. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last week, our companion podcast We the People was recorded live in front of our National Constitution Center audience for the first time! Host Jeffrey Rosen was joined by SCOTUSblog’s Amy Howe and John Elwood to preview the Supreme Court’s 2019 term, which began this week. They discussed this term’s blockbuster cases, including a trio of cases argued at the Court this morning which raise the question of whether Title VII, a federal statute prohibiting employment discrimination because of sex, also prohibits discrimination by employers based on gender identity and sexual orientation. They also dove into other major topics that will soon come before the Court, including immigration policies like DACA, abortion, the Second Amendment, and school choice. [Update: after this episode was recorded, the Supreme Court agreed to hear June Medical Services LLC v. Gee, the Louisiana abortion case mentioned in this discussion.] Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The National Constitution Center partnered with The Atlantic for constitutional conversations at the Atlantic Festival in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday – the day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House would initiate a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. Panels featuring scholars, journalists and legislators discussed the breaking news of the impeachment inquiry, as well as what separation of powers means in U.S. government today, the proper exercise of congressional power, and more. These conversations celebrated the launch of the new project “The Battle for the Constitution”— a year-long partnership between the National Constitution Center and The Atlantic that will explore the major issues and controversies surrounding the Constitution today from all sides of the debate. Visit the project’s website at https://www.theatlantic.com/projects/battle-constitution/. Panel one: Moderator Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center; Martha Jones, Professor of History at John Hopkins University; John Malcolm, Vice President of the Institute for Constitutional Government at the Heritage Foundation; Quinta Jurecic, Managing Editor at Lawfare. Panel two: Moderator Yoni Appelbaum, Senior Editor, The Atlantic; Jeffrey Rosen. Panel three: Moderator Elaina Plott, White House Correspondent, The Atlantic; Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX). Panel four: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA); Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in Chief, The Atlantic. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Justice Neil Gorsuch visited the National Constitution Center to celebrate Constitution Day and discuss his new book A Republic, If You Can Keep It. Justice Gorsuch, the Honorary Chair of the National Constitution Center’s Board of Trustees, sat down with President Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his passion for civics and civility, the importance of separation of powers, what originalism means to him, and why he is optimistic about the future of America. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Today, September 17, is Constitution Day – the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution back in 1787. To celebrate that anniversary, we’re sharing a conversation about the constitutional clashes that shaped our nation – between Alexander Hamilton and rivals like Burr, Madison, Jefferson, and Adams. Hamilton historians Carol Berkin, Jay Cost, and Tony Williams visited the NCC for a sit-down with President Jeffrey Rosen. This program celebrated the opening of the National Constitution Center’s exhibit ‘Hamilton: The Constitutional Clashes that Shaped a Nation.’ Please visit the exhibit now through December 31, 2019. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
“Habeas corpus” – a legal concept offering people the chance to challenge being held in jail unlawfully – originated with the Magna Carta in 1215, and was included in the Constitution via the Suspension Clause in Article I. Issues surrounding the scope of habeas rights have arisen throughout American history, from the Founding to the Civil War to Japanese internment during World War II. But the post-9/11 detention of American citizens and others accused of terrorism led to renewed debate about due process rights for citizens and noncitizens alike, as well as landmark Supreme Court cases interpreting the right of habeas corpus as it applies both at home and abroad—from Hamdi v. Rumsfeld to Boumediene v. Bush. Professor Amanda Tyler of Berkeley Law visited the NCC to discuss her involvement in the Hamdi case and to trace the history of habeas corpus, and discuss her book Habeas Corpus in Wartime: From the Tower of London to Guantanamo Bay. She sat down with NCC Senior Director of Content Lana Ulrich. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In this Town Hall, historian Ralph Young discusses his book Dissent: The History of an American Idea. Young details key moments of American dissent from the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, through the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, to modern movements like the Colin Kaepernick-led national anthem protests—and what they mean for constitutional change. NCC scholar-in-residence Michael Gerhardt moderates (and our National Constitution Center members chime in with questions). Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In this Town Hall, historian Patrick Charles and legal scholar Brandon Denning take a deep dive into the history of the right to bear arms in America – from colonial militias to concealed carry – and the ways that this history has intersected with how the Second Amendment has been interpreted over time. National Constitution Center Senior Director of Content Lana Ulrich hosts. For more on the Second Amendment and an upcoming Supreme Court case that could have major implications for gun rights – tune into this week’s episode of our companion podcast We the People, available this Thursday wherever you get your podcasts. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the start of American slavery, as the first ship brought enslaved Africans to the British colony of Virginia in August 1619. And, this time of year in 1787, the Framers were debating early drafts of the Constitution and wrestling with foundational questions about the new American republic – many of which surrounded the status of enslaved peoples. Historian Sean Wilentz reconsidered the Founders’ debates over slavery and the Constitution in this Town Hall – arguing that the original Constitution actually limited slavery’s legitimacy, and that the Framers did not formally enshrine the idea that there could be “property in man.” He discussed his book, ‘No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding’, with National Constitution Center President Jeff Rosen here at the NCC last fall. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
John Marshall—the fourth Chief Justice of the United States—led the Supreme Court for over 24 years, starting in 1801, and transformed it into the powerful branch we know today. This week, we’re sharing a conversation from last fall with Richard Brookhiser, senior editor of National Review and author of 'John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court', who visited the National Constitution Center to discuss Marshall’s legacy. He sat down with NCC Scholar-in-Residence Michael Gerhardt. If you enjoyed this constitutional conversation, please check out the most recent episode of our companion podcast We the People— "The Federalists vs. The Anti-Federalists"—which explored the biggest constitutional debates among Federalists like John Marshall and his famous Founding-Father peers. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The office of the presidency has forged some of our nation’s very best, and very worst, leaders. In this Town Hall, a panel of presidential biographers explores what makes or breaks a presidency, and how presidents are ranked over time. C-SPAN Executive Chair Brian Lamb moderates a conversation with National Constitution Center President Jeff Rosen, NCC Scholar-in-Residence Michael Gerhardt, and author and journalist Robert Strauss. First, C-SPAN President Susan Swain introduces the panel as well as CSPAN’s new book 'The Presidents: Noted Historians Rank America's Best—and Worst—Chief Executives'. This program was presented in partnership with C-SPAN. For more on The Presidents, visit c-span.org/thepresidents. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Earlier this summer, historians Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein visited the National Constitution Center to discuss their new book 'The Problem of Democracy: The Presidents Adams Confront the Cult of Personality'. Professors Isenberg and Burstein, both of Louisiana State University, discussed the lives and political careers of father and son presidents John and John Quincy Adams, and explored the politics of personality in early America. They sat down with Lana Ulrich, senior director of content at the National Constitution Center. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George F. Will returned to the National Constitution Center stage last month to discuss his new book, 'The Conservative Sensibility', a reflection on American conservatism. He sat down with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen for a wide-ranging conversation, sharing his thoughts on everything from natural rights and the Declaration of Independence through the Woodrow Wilson presidency and up to the Roberts Court. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Earlier this summer, the National Constitution Center hosted a conversation about the untold stories of women abolitionists, suffragists, and even soldiers during the Civil War. NCC Senior Director of Content Lana Ulrich sat down with noted historians Thavolia Glymph of Duke University, Kate Masur of Northwestern University, and Catherine Clinton of the University of Texas in San Antonio. These scholars told fascinating stories from the lives of women like Harriet Scott, Ida B. Wells, and Harriet Tubman. This event celebrated our new exhibit ‘Civil War and Reconstruction: the Battle for Freedom and Equality’ which Glymph and Masur helped produce as members of our exhibit's advisory board. This conversation was presented in partnership with Drexel University's national women's equality initiative, Vision 2020. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
NCC President Jeffrey Rosen recently traveled to Aspen, Colorado for the Aspen Ideas Festival, where he moderated a panel on the 2018-19 Supreme Court term featuring an all-star line-up of legal commentators: appellate lawyers and former Solicitors General Neal Katyal and Ted Olson, Harvard legal history professor Annette Gordon-Reed, CNN legal analyst Joan Biskupic, and New York Times Magazine staff writer and Yale Law School lecturer Emily Bazelon. The panel explored how the Court’s recent decisions – including the census citizenship question and partisan gerrymandering decisions – will affect our lives. They also discussed the future of abortion rights and of the administrative state at the Court, the dynamics of the new Roberts Court, and much more. This conversation was presented by the Aspen Institute as part of the Aspen Ideas Festival. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In this bonus episode of our series #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future, from the National Conference on the First Amendment at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh – artist and activist Simon Tam and his band The Slants tell their story and perform some of their music. Simon Tam led The Slants – an Asian-American dance-rock band – all the way to the Supreme Court to fight to trademark their band’s name, which they purposely chose as reclamation of a slur used against Asian-Americans. They eventually won their case, Matal v. Tam, when the Court unanimously decided that a federal law prohibiting trademark names that disparage others was unconstitutional because “speech may not be banned on the grounds that it expresses ideas that offend.” Since then, Tam and the band have toured the country speaking about the First Amendment and the Constitution, and Tam authored the book 'Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court'. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In part five of our series #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future, from the National Conference on the First Amendment at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh – NCC President Jeff Rosen sits down with college presidents David A. Thomas of Morehouse College, Robert Zimmer of the University of Chicago, and Teresa Sullivan, president emerita of the University of Virginia. Sullivan shares the challenges of serving as president during the “Unite the Right” protests in Charlottesville, and all three presidents discuss their efforts to foster free speech and intellectual diversity on their campuses. Later, you’ll hear from a panel of journalists who have reported in foreign countries. They share stories of the sometimes life-threatening situations they and their colleagues face, and of the disparities in press freedom around the world. The emcee you’ll hear from later on is Joy McNally. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
How do judges manage the personal challenges that their role often requires them to face, including unconscious bias, chronic stress, exposure to emotionally-charged circumstances, and public pressure and scrutiny? Current and former judges join in candid conversations about how they have managed these challenges and how they have approached their work. The first panel features moderator Michael Lewis, author of books like ‘Moneyball’ and ‘The Big Short’ and host of the podcast ‘Against the Rules’, in conversation with Justice Eva Guzman of the Supreme Court of Texas and Judge Charles Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The second panel is moderated by National Constitution Center President Jeff Rosen, who sits down with Executive Director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and former U.S. District judge for the Northern District of California Jeremy Fogel, former Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court Carlos Moreno, former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Deanell Reece Tacha. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Part four of our series #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future, from the National Conference on the First Amendment held at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh – explores the crucial role of the free press in American democracy, and the challenges that journalists and editors face today. The first panel – moderated by National Constitution Center President Jeff Rosen – features Harvard professor and former TIME magazine managing editor Nancy Gibbs, New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly, editor of Pittsburgh’s Tribune-Review Luis Fabregas, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman. The second panel features executive editors of the nation’s leading news organizations: Dean Baquet of The New York Times, Marty Baron of The Washington Post, and David Shribman, then of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. You’ll also hear from founder and CEO of Project Veritas James O’Keefe and CNN reporter Salena Zito. The MC you’ll hear throughout is Joy McNally, interim director of the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education at Duquesne University School of Law. These conversations were edited for length and clarity. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Constitutional scholar Bruce Ackerman discusses his new book, 'Revolutionary Constitutions: Charismatic Leadership and the Rule of Law'―an exploration of the origins, successes, and threats to revolutionary constitutionalism around the world—in conversation with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen. Professor Ackerman uses historical analysis and comparative constitutionalism to explore how constitutional change happens―here in the United States and around the world. If you’d like to hear more from Professor Ackerman, check out last week’s episode of our companion podcast We the People:“The Constitutional Stakes of the 2020 Election.”
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Part three of our series #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future from the National Conference on the First Amendment, held at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh – explores what happens when press freedom collides with the interests of national security, and how the Supreme Court has ruled on those disputes, including the Pentagon Papers case. You’ll hear from one of the legendary lawyers involved in that case, Floyd Abrams, in conversation with National Constitution Center Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt. Next, Gen. Michael Hayden, the former director of the NSA and the CIA, and former Sec. of Homeland Security and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge sit down with former Dept. of Homeland Security official Paul Rosenzweig to discuss how they navigated situations that pitted “free speech versus national security” as agency heads. Finally, Google’s Vice President of News, Richard Gingras, explains how Google seeks to keep up with the latest developments in free expression online. The MC you’ll hear throughout is Joy McNally, interim director of the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education at Duquesne University School of Law. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This episode features a panel discussion on eugenics and its dark social, political, legal, and constitutional history. The National Constitution Center hosted a screening of the documentary “A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream.” Following the screening, NCC President Jeffrey Rosen sat down with the film’s co-writer Andrew Kimbrell, journalist and author of ‘The Guarded Gate: Bigotry, Eugenics and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians, and Other European Immigrants Out of America’ Daniel Okrent, and legal and bioethics scholars Paul Lombardo and Dorothy Roberts for a fascinating discussion of this dark chapter in American history. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In part two of our series #1AUSA–conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future, live from last year’s National Conference on the First Amendment at Duquesne University–you’ll hear stories of ordinary citizens who have had an extraordinary impact on the First Amendment. The first panel, on First Amendment history and landmark cases, is moderated by Duquesne President Ken Gormley with panelists NCC Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt, radio and television commentator Hugh Hewitt, NYU professor Stephen Solomon, and Tulane Law School Professor Amy Gajda. Next, one of those landmark cases is brought to life as President Gormley sits down with Mary Beth Tinker, a plantiff from a pivotal First Amendment case, and First Amendment historian Shawn Peters. Later, Ohio Governor John Kasich shares his thoughts on the special place that First Amendment protections hold among bedrock American freedoms. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last week, the National Constitution Center opened its new permanent exhibit ‘Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality’ –America’s first devoted to exploring how constitutional clashes over slavery set the stage for the Civil War, and how the nation transformed the Constitution after the war with the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. To celebrate the exhibit’s opening, NCC President Jeff Rosen sat down with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates is the host of a new PBS series about Reconstruction and the author of the new book “Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow”. In this conversation, Gates tells the story of Reconstruction – discussing the advancements of Reconstruction and the Reconstruction Amendments, how those advancements were thwarted by Jim Crow laws and the rise of hate groups, how the Civil Rights Movement fought against that backlash, and how we are still dealing with many of these issues and challenges today. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Today, we kick off our special series: #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future. This five part series will dive into the landmark cases and events that have shaped the First Amendment, and explore the technological, political, and legal developments that continue to shape it today. These conversations were held live last year at the National Conference on the First Amendment in Pittsburgh, hosted by Duquesne University and the Pittsburgh Foundation in partnership with the National Constitution Center. You’ll hear from journalists, judges, plaintiffs, and lawyers who have been at the center of some of the most consequential moments in First Amendment history. This first episode starts off with a panel moderated by NCC President Jeffrey Rosen. Jeff sits down with radio host Hugh Hewitt; Fox News contributor Juan Williams; and Professor Nadine Strossen of New York Law School. They discuss how private actors not bound by the First Amendment—like social media companies and media outlets— make decisions about how to regulate speech, and what to do about it. Next, you’ll hear from U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco and Third Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman, who share their personal experiences litigating and adjudicating First Amendment cases, in conversation with Duquesne University President Ken Gormley. Later, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shares a message about what the First Amendment means to her. The MC throughout is Joy McNally, interim director of the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education at Duquesne University School of Law. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
This episode features a lively debate exploring the question: Does President Trump have the constitutional and legal authority to use emergency powers to build a border wall? Our debaters are: Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, who voiced his support for the wall as a policy matter but argues the president acted illegally and unconstitutionally by unilaterally declaring a national emergency to fund the wall’s construction using various prior appropriations. Lowry debates Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington Law School and a nationally recognized legal commentator, who disagrees with the president’s immigration policy but believes President Trump acted constitutionally and within his delegated statutory emergency powers. In their debate, Lowry and Turley dive into the scope of presidential emergency powers under the law and the Constitution, the conflict with Congress over the president’s recent national emergency declaration committing federal funds to building the wall, and the historic and proper role of the U.S. military in the border conflict. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last week, CNN legal analyst and renowned Supreme Court biographer Joan Biskupic stopped by the National Constitution Center to discuss her new book "The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts." Biskupic details some of the most consequential decisions of Chief Justice Roberts’s tenure, and explores the dual motivations she sees in Roberts’s work: his desire to follow his conservative conscience, and his mission to uphold the Supreme Court’s institutional legitimacy. She sits down with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In a sold out event at the National Constitution Center last week, Preet Bharara discussed his new book “Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law” with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Preet is the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and host of the podcast “Stay Tuned with Preet.” He shared stories and lessons from his work as a federal prosecutor, offered his take on the aftermath of the Mueller investigation, and gave his view on what it means to uphold the rule of law and do justice. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
What happens when religious liberty collides with anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people or other minorities? Scholars and advocates from all sides of the debate join host Jeffrey Rosen for a civil dialogue to address this question head on. Jeff sits down with advocates who have represented both sides in legal cases about this issue: Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented the baker refusing to create a cake for a same sex wedding in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, and Tobias Wolff of Penn Law School, who has represented gay couples who have been denied similar services. Also on the panel were religion and constitutional law scholars Robin Fretwell Wilson of the Illinois College of Law and Elizabeth Clark of Brigham Young University Law School. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Should social media companies voluntarily adopt First Amendment free speech principles to govern speech and content posted and shared on their platforms? Is the First Amendment the best tool to combat challenges such as hate speech, disinformation, and other harmful content, or should carefully considered laws or internationally-focused policies be used to tackle these challenges? Is the problem too much, or not enough, regulation? Four experts explored these questions in a live Intelligence Squared Debate hosted at the National Constitution Center. The motion for debate was: “Constitutional Free Speech Principles Can Save Social Media Companies from Themselves.” Arguing for the motion was David French, senior writer for the National Review, and Corynne McSherry, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Arguing against the motion was Marietje Schaake, a Dutch politician and member of European Parliament, and Nate Persily, a professor at Stanford Law. John Donvan, Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News, hosts. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The National Constitution Center hosted a symposium on campus free speech and academic freedom on March 18, and this episode shares two panels from that event. On the first panel—Amy Wax of The University of Pennsylvania Law School, Anita Bernstein of Brooklyn Law School, and Cary Nelson of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne share what academic freedom means to them and discuss their differing views on how some on-campus controversies should be handled. Next, university administrators have the chance to respond, and detail how they have handled such controversies. The second panel features Dean Ted Ruger of Penn Law, President Tom Sullivan of the University of Vermont, President Ken Gormley of Duquesne University, and President Julie Wollman of Widener University. Note: The second panel includes a discussion of the University of Chicago principles—a set of guiding principles that some colleges and universities have adopted in an effort to show their commitment to free speech and expression—and you can read them here. This coming May, be sure to tune in to our special series on the First Amendment—in partnership with Duquesne University—on Live at America’s Town Hall. The series features audio of the 2018 National Conference on the First Amendment held at Duquesne University, which the NCC helped coordinate. We’ll be sharing conversations with leading First Amendment scholars, activists, journalists and more—from First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams and U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, to New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, and more. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Are we in the midst of a global crisis of decline in democracy? And is the United States vulnerable to that trend? Sharing insights from their book “How to Save a Constitutional Democracy,” University of Chicago law professors Aziz Z. Huq and Tom Ginsburg to explain why they think democracy might be headed for “death by 1,000 cuts” in places like Hungary and Poland and is at risk elsewhere in the world—but offer solutions to save it. They also evaluate the state of democracy in the United States through the lens of the Special Counsel investigation, access to the polls, and institutions like the Electoral College. National Constitution Center Director of Content and Constitutional Fellow Lana Ulrich moderates. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
With 2020 election campaigns gearing up, we’re sharing one of our favorite past programs that explores Citizens United, corporate speech rights, and much more. Adam Winkler, author of "We the Corporations: How American Business Won Their Civil Rights"and Kent Greenfield, author of "Corporations Are People Too",explain how corporations won their rights through landmark cases and showdowns—including the case of Henry Ford versus the Dodge Brothers. National Constitution Center Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt hosts this wide-ranging discussion of the history of corporations in America and the evolution of corporate law.
Exploring how the Bible influenced the American Founding and the creation of the Constitution—National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen is joined by leading religion scholars Professor Marci Hamilton of the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Daniel Mark of Villanova University, and author/historian Russell Shorto. This program was presented in partnership with the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center in Philadelphia. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In this special episode, we’re bringing you the chamber ensemble premiere performance of Notorious RBG in Song—a musical portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that illuminates aspects of her professional and personal life through song renditions of letters, conversations, and Court opinions—performed by Patrice Michaels. Michaels—composer, soprano, creator, and daughter-in-law of Justice Ginsburg— is joined by Inscape Orchestra's new music ensemble, pianist Andrew Harley, the a capella group Capital Hearings, and guest speaker Jeanette Lerman Neubauer. This program features musical selections from The Long View: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 9 Songs by Patrice Michaels, with music by Lori Laitman, Lee Hoiby, Stacy Garrop, Vivian Fung, and John Musto. The music director for this performance was Kuang-Hao Huang. Support for this program was generously provided by the Bernstein Family Foundation. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Michael Tomasky, special correspondent for The Daily Beast, stops by the National Constitution Center to discuss his new book If We Can Keep It: How the Republic Collapsed and How It Might be Saved. Speaking to a sold-out crowd, in conversation with NCC President Jeffrey Rosen, Tomasky tells of the unique history of American political parties, the rise of polarization and its negative effects on government, and possible solutions for healing the divides we face today. – like expanding the House of Representatives, eliminating the filibuster and the Electoral College, and encouraging moderate Republicans to run for office. Tomasky even offers his take on a possible presidential run by Howard Schultz. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Professor Holly Brewer of the University of Maryland, Dean Risa Goluboff of the University of Virginia School of Law, and Professor Lea VanderVelde of the University of Iowa College of Law detail the battle over race and equality across American history, from the Founding to Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Revolution. NCC president Jeffrey Rosen moderates. This program was presented in partnership with the Guggenheim Foundation. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
The first in a two-part series honoring African American History Month and chronicling the struggle for racial equality throughout American history—this episode features leading Reconstruction historians Thavolia Glymph of Duke and David Blight of Yale. Glymph and Blight explore the meaning of freedom, equality, and emancipation, in conversation with National Constitution Center scholar-in-residence Michael Gerhardt. This panel was part of the 2017 celebration of the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 14th Amendment held here at the NCC in Philadelphia. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Four star General Stanley McChrystal visited the National Constitution Center to discuss his new book - Leaders: Myth and Reality. The book was inspired by McChrystal’s own experiences working with numerous leaders as he served for thirty-four years in the US Army, eventually becoming commander of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Gen. McChrystal shares his insights into the complex question, “What makes a leader great?” and discusses real life leaders past and present from Robert E. Lee to Presidents Obama and Trump. National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Last week, National Constitution Center Members had the chance to attend a private film screening of the new biopic on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, On the Basis of Sex, which depicts Justice Ginsburg's early life and legal career and tells the story of the landmark case Moritz v. Commissioner—the first gender-discrimination lawsuit she argued in court. Following the screening, Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and author of the forthcoming book Conversations with RBG, hosted a Q&A to shed light on the real life trials and tribulations that inspired the film (spoiler alert!). Jeff was joined by panelists Carrie Rickey, film critic and chief book critic at Film Quarterly, Kelsi Corkran, appellate lawyer and former law clerk to Justice Ginsburg, and Marty Moss-Coane, host of WHYY’s weekday program Radio Times. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In celebration of Martin Luther King Day, we’re sharing the program “Remembering Birmingham: Civil Rights and Constitutional Change” held here at the National Constitution Center in 2017 and moderated by Jeffrey Rosen. This conversation features Sarah Collins Rudolph, a survivor of the September 1963 bombing of the 16th street Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, carried out by white supremacists, that took the lives of four young girls including Rudolph’s sister. Rudolph is joined by Steven Levingston, author of Kennedy and King and Hannibal Lokumbe, composer in residence at the Philadelphia Orchestra. Hannibal begins by playing a moving piece that he composed on the trumpet in honor of Rudolph and the other victims of the bombing. The panel then explores the tragedy's lasting impact on the civil rights movement and the African American community. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Justin Driver provides a provocative account of the role the Supreme Court has played in defining the rights of students in America's public schools—from race and drugs to religion and free speech. Driver, a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago Law School and former high school teacher, discusses his book The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind live at the National Constitution Center in conversation with NCC in-house counsel Lana Ulrich.
NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen sits down with Stephen B. Burbank of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Tara Leigh Grove of William & Mary Law School to explore the history of judicial independence and the federal courts in the 20th century and the progressive era. They focus in particular on the crucial role of Chief Justice Taft in shaping the judicial branch, some of the key Supreme Court rulings of the era, and how this history shaped the future of judicial independence for years to come. This program was presented in partnership with the Federal Judicial Center. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Dawn Langan Teele, author of Forging the Franchise: The Political Origins of the Women’s Vote, and Elaine Weiss, author of The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote (which has been optioned by Stephen Spielberg’s Amblin TV to be turned into a series or movie with executive producer Hillary Clinton) provide a stirring history of the long journey to women’s suffrage. They detail some of the key moments of the movement, the important political and constitutional ideas behind it, and the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Lana Ulrich, in-house counsel at the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was presented in partnership with Vision 2020’s Women 100: A Celebration of American Women, a national initiative headquartered at Drexel University. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In celebration of Bill of Rights Day—the anniversary of the ratification of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, December 15th—we’re bringing you one of our favorite conversations from Bill of Rights Day 2017. Gerard Magliocca discusses his book The Heart of the Constitution: How the Bill of Rights Became the Bill of Rights, which tells the untold story of the most celebrated part of the Constitution, with NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
NCC President Jeffrey Rosen sits down with three scholarly experts on James Madison—Professors Greg Weiner, Colleen Sheehan, and Larry Kramer—to explore everything Madison, including his views on the importance of time in politics, his desire for rule by reason rather than passion, and his vision for republican government. This panel was produced in partnership with The Atlantic as part of our national symposium, The Constitution in Crisis: What Would the Founders Think?
National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderates the first gathering of the Goldberg's: Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic; Michelle Goldberg, op-ed columnist for The New York Times; and Jonah Goldberg, senior editor of the National Review. These distinguished journalists share their insights into what James Madison would think of mainstream media, social media, and politics today. They explore everything from Twitter mobs and Facebook content regulation to the problems facing our American institutions, including Congress' decline in power, Americans' retreat from civil society, and heightened tribalism and partisanship. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Senator Chris Coons of Delaware breaks down the recent developments related to his efforts to pass legislation that would protect the Special Counsel. He also shares his plans to make the Constitution a bigger part of the work of the Senate, in a sit-down with his law school classmate, National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
In memory of President George H.W. Bush, the 41st president who passed away November 30th, 2018, we’re sharing a conversation with Jon Meachem, author of Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush. Ryan Lizza, then the Washington Correspondent at The New Yorker, moderated the conversation, held at the National Constitution Center in 2015.
Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Through a smash Broadway hit, Alexander Hamilton has reentered the American imagination. In this episode, Judge Ketanji Jackson, Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, University of Kentucky College of Law Professor Joshua Douglas, and attorney Vanessa Nadal discuss what Hamilton, both the man and the musical, have to teach us about the Constitution and the law. The panel explores the ways that Hamilton's resurgence has encouraged people of all ages to engage with America's early history, the stories of the Framers, and the legendary life of Hamilton. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderated this panel, produced in partnership with the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and presented live at the NCC. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Citizenship is central to many of today's most pressing constitutional debates, from proposals to end birthright citizenship and add a citizenship question to the census, to questions over the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. Illuminating all sides of these issues, Jaya Ramji-Nogales of Temple University, John Eastman of Chapman University, and Ruth Wasem of the University of Texas at Austin explore what it means to be a citizen today and consider the ways that citizenship is intertwined with core American values. This panel, presented in partnership with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and in conjunction with the exhibit And Europe Will Be Stunned, was moderated by National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen and the NCC’s new Vice President of Content and Development, Sheldon Gilbert.
Former special prosecutor Ken Starr shares his definitive account of one of the most divisive periods in American history in his new book, Contempt: A Memoir of The Clinton Investigation. Starr offers his unique perspective on the investigation that eventually led to the impeachment of President William J. Clinton. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss discusses his new book, Presidents of War, exploring presidential war powers and stories of presidents during wartime. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and author of the new book, 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law, explores four constitutional debates — school funding, the exclusionary rule, eugenics, and mandatory flag salutes — to shed light on the importance of state courts and state constitutions in protecting liberty. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin unveils her new book, Leadership In Turbulent Times - a culmination of five decades of acclaimed study in presidential history, comparing the leadership styles of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.