The Evolution of Originalism

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Georgetown Law Professor Randy Barnett is the author of A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist, a new memoir about his remarkable legal career. He joins Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his role in the evolution of originalism from a philosophy of judicial restraint to one of constitutional conservatism dedicated to restoring “the lost Constitution.” Resources: Randy Barnett, A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist (2024) Randy Barnett, Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty (2014) Randy Barnett, “Two Conceptions of the Ninth Amendment,” (1989)  Ronald Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously (1978) Antonin Scalia, “Originalism: The Lesser Evil,” (1989)  National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012) “Originalism: A Matter of Interpretation,” NCC America’s Town Hall Program (2022) Stay Connected and Learn More: Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].  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. Donate

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Randy Barnett has published a new book, A Life for Liberty, The Making of an American Originalist.
0:06.0	It's a memoir about his remarkable legal career and the rise of originalism.
0:11.0	Hello friends, I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution
0:18.1	Center and welcome to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:22.8	The National Constitution Centers a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness
0:28.6	and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:32.4	In this episode, we'll discuss Professor Barnett's career as a Supreme Court advocate
0:37.1	and a constitutional scholar and his path-breaking role in transforming the understanding
0:42.0	of originalism from a commitment to judicial
0:44.2	restraint to a commitment to what he calls constitutional conservatism under which the
0:49.2	court can legitimately enforce limits on congressional power.
0:54.4	Randy Barnett is the Patrick Ho-Tung Professor of Constitutional Law
0:58.1	at the Georgetown University Law Center
1:00.4	and faculty director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution.
1:05.0	Randy, it is wonderful to welcome you back to We The People.
1:08.0	Well, it's great to be here, Jeff.
1:10.0	Thank you so much for scheduling this to talk about my book.
1:13.0	I really appreciate it.
1:14.4	I'm so glad to have the chance to talk with you about the book.
1:17.6	Congratulations.
1:18.8	And you note that you are perhaps the first American law
1:22.4	professor to have published a memoir.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -249 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from National Constitution Center, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of National Constitution Center and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.