We the People

On May 15, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of President Trump’s executive order which seeks to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. Legal scholars Gabriel Chin of the University of California, Davis School of Law; Amanda Frost of the University of Virginia School of Law; Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond School of Law; and Ilan Wurman of the University of Minnesota Law School join Jeffrey Rosen to debate the scope of the citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.   Resources Gabriel J. Chin and Paul Finkelman, “Birthright Citizenship, Slave Trade Legislation, and the Origins of Federal Immigration Regulation,” UC Davis Law Review (April 8, 2021)  Ilan Wurman, “Jurisdiction and Citizenship,” Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No.25-27 (April 14, 2025)  Amanda Frost, “The Coming Assault on Birthright Citizenship,” The Atlantic (Jan. 7 2025)  Kurt Lash, “Prima Facie Citizenship: Birth, Allegiance and the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause,” SSRN (Feb. 22, 2025)  Amanda Frost, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, U.S. House of Representatives (Feb. 25, 2025)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2025

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, historians Rick Atkinson, author of The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777; Mary Beth Norton, author of 1774: The Long Year of Revolution; and Rosemarie Zagarri, author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic, join Jeffrey Rosen to explore the events leading to the first shots of the American Revolution, the battles themselves, and the colonists’ response to this pivotal moment in history. Resources Rick Atkinson, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777  (2019)  Mary Beth Norton, 1774: The Long Year of Revolution (2020)  Rosemarie Zagarri, Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic (2008)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

Steven Calabresi of Northwestern University and Samuel Estreicher of New York University join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the statutory authority for President Trump’s tariffs and whether they violate federal law or the Constitution. Resources Samuel Estreicher & Andrew Babbitt, “Are Tariffs an Emergency Power?,” Lawfare Blog (April 3, 2025)  Steven Calabresi, “President Trump's New Tariffs Are Unconstitutional,” Volokh Conspiracy (April 5, 2025)  Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief, Emily Ley Paper v. Trump, 3:25-cv-00464 (N.D. Fla., April 3, 2025) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2025

National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen leads a special panel discussion with Federal Judges Association President Judge J. Michelle Childs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and past president of the Federal Judges Association; Judge Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida; and Judge Stephen R. Bough of the U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri. The judges explore threats to the judicial branch and the importance of judicial independence and civic education in maintaining the rule of law. This program was presented in partnership with the Federal Judges Association.  Resources  Michelle Childs, Justice Jackson Lecture: “The Republic is Safe as Long as the Courts Remain Open” (April 1, 2025)  Code of Conduct for United States Judges  John Roberts, 2024 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary (December 2024)  Federal Judges Association Civics Challenge Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

Best-selling author Michael Lewis discusses his new book, Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service, with Jeffrey Rosen. As government programs face political headwinds, Lewis and his favorite writers examine the human stories of the heroic civil servants who make government work and why their contributions matter.  This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall series on March 26, 2025.  Resources Michael Lewis, ed., Who Is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service (2025) Michael Lewis, “The free‑living bureaucrat,” The Washington Post (March 2025) Michael Lewis, “Directions to a journalistic gold mine,” The Washington Post (Nov. 2024) Michael Lewis, The Premonition: A Pandemic Story (2022) Michael Lewis, The Fifth Risk (2018) CURE ID Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 27 March 2025

Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime authority, to summarily deport suspected members of a Venezuelan gang. He also invoked a Cold War-era statute to deport a student activist at Columbia University. In this episode, Adam Cox of New York University and Ilya Somin of George Mason University join to discuss the scope of the president’s deportation power and to evaluate whether the administration violated the due process or speech rights of the deportees.  Resources  Adam Cox and Cristina Rodríguez, The President and Immigration Law (2020)  Ilya Somin, Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom (2021)  Adam Cox and Ahilan Arulanantham, “Explainer on First Amendment and Due Process Issues in Deportation of Pro-Palestinian Student Activist(s),” Just Security (March 12, 2025)  Ilya Somin, “The Case Against Deporting Immigrants for ‘Pro-Terrorist’ Speech,” Volokh Conspiracy (March 10, 2025)  Ilya Somin, “What Just Happened: The “Invasion” Executive Order and Its Dangerous Implications” Just Security (January 28, 2025)  Adam Cox, “The Invention of Immigration Exceptionalism,” Yale Law Review (November 2024)  Bridges v. Wixon (1945) Harisiades v. Shaughnessy (1952) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2025

Kate Huddleston, senior legal counsel of litigation at the Campaign Legal Center, and Michael McConnell, Richard and Frances Mallery Professor and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, join Jeffrey Rosen to debate whether the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has acted lawfully in firing federal workers and freezing federal spending.  Resources Campaign Legal Center, Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (March 3, 2025)  Michael McConnell and Laurence Tribe, “Is Musk’s DOGE Dodging the Law?,” Open to Debate (March 7, 2025)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2025

Jonathan Rauch, author of Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy, and Julian Zelizer, author of In Defense of Partisanship, join Jeffrey Rosen for a wide-ranging discussion on their new books and the rise of partisanship in America.  This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on March 3, 2025.  Resources Julian E. Zelizer, In Defense of Partisanship (2025)  Jonathan Rauch, Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy (2025)  Julian E. Zelizer, Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement (2021)  Jonathan Rauch, “Christian Renewal and the Future of American Democracy,” Brigham Young University Wheatley Institute (Jan. 24, 2025)  Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024)    Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 6 March 2025

Jamelle Bouie and David French of The New York Times, Sarah Isgur of The Dispatch, and Melissa Murray of NYU School of Law join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the relationship between the Roberts Court and the Trump administration. They discuss how the Supreme Court might resolve open legal questions—including impoundment and the unitary executive theory—and debate the Court’s role in maintaining the separation of powers.   This conversation was originally recorded on February 22, 2025, as part of the NCC’s President’s Council Retreat in Miami, Florida.  Resources Melissa Murray (with Leah Litman and Kate Shaw), “Yes, We’re in a Constitutional Crisis” Strict Scrutiny podcast (Feb. 17, 2025)  Jamelle Bouie, Michelle Cottle, David French, and Carlos Lozada, “Opinion: Don’t be Fooled, ‘Trump is a Weak President’” The New York Times (Feb. 14, 2025)  David French, “The Trump Crisis Deepens,” The New York Times (Feb. 6, 2025)  Sarah Isgur and David French, “Lawless or Unwise?” Advisory Opinions podcast (Feb. 14, 2025) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 27 February 2025

President Trump’s far-reaching executive actions have given rise to a debate about whether the president is acting within the tradition of presidential power—or whether recent events represent a departure from the constitutional order and precedent. Melody Barnes of the University of Virginia Karsh Institute for Democracy, Charles Cooke of National Review, Joanne Freeman of Yale University, and Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the American tradition of presidential power and evaluate analogues to our constitutional moment from across U.S. history.  This conversation was originally recorded on February 20, 2025, as part of the NCC’s President’s Council Retreat in Miami, Fla.  Resources Yuval Levin, “A Rule of Thumb for the Executive Power Debates,” National Review Online (February 5, 2025)  Melody Barnes et al., Karsh Institute of Democracy Statement of Principles  Melody Barnes, Corey D. B. Walker and Thad M. Williamson, “Introduction: Can We Make American Democracy Work?,” in Community Wealth Building and the Reconstruction of American Democracy (2020)  Charles Cooke, The Conservatarian Manifesto: Libertarians, Conservatives, and the Fight for the Right’s Future (2015)  Charles Cooke, “The American System Works, and It Will Work If Trump Wins Again,” National Review (Dec. 15, 2023) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 21 February 2025

Jeffrey Rosen discusses the 14th Amendment with Sherrilyn Ifill, the head of the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy at Howard Law School and the former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Pamela Brandwein, author of Rethinking the Judicial Settlement of Reconstruction, and Ilan Wurman, author of The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment. They discuss the historical events that gave rise to the 14th Amendment and debate its original meaning. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on February 10, 2025, in partnership with the Federal Judicial Center.  Resources Ilan Wurman, The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment (2020)  Pamela Brandwein, Rethinking the Judicial Settlement of Reconstruction (2011)  Sherrilyn Ifill, “Why are U.S. courts afraid of the 14th Amendment? Because it’s radical,” The Washington Post (Nov. 23, 2023)  Sherrilyn Ifill, “Yes, this is America: Why I’m Creating the 14th Amendment Center for Law and Democracy,” Substack (July 7, 2023)  14th Amendment  Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964  The Civil Rights Act of 1866  The Reconstruction Amendments  Brown v. Board of Education  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 14 February 2025

Since January 20, 2025, President Trump has issued dozens of executive orders, several of which have attracted legal challenges. Steve Vladeck of Georgetown University Law Center and Gary Schmitt of the American Enterprise Institute join Jeffrey Rosen to parse the flurry of executive orders and preview the lawsuits they face. Resources White House Presidential Actions  “Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions”, Just Security  Steve Vladeck, “The Impoundment Crisis of 2025”, One First SubStack (Jan. 28, 2025)  Steve Vladeck, “Trump's Guantánamo Memo”, One First Substack (Jan. 30, 2025)  Gary Schmitt, “Presidential Impoundment, Explained”, The Dispatch (Jan. 17, 2025)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 7 February 2025

New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie and political scientist Melvin Rogers, author of The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought, explore the ways key African American intellectuals and artists—from David Walker, Frederick Douglass, and W.E.B. Du Bois to Billie Holiday and James Baldwin—reimagined U.S. democracy. Thomas Donnelly, chief scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on Nov. 14, 2023.  Resources  Melvin Rogers, The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought (2023)  Melvin Rogers, The Undiscovered Dewey: Religion, Morality, and the Ethos of Democracy (2008)  Kate Masur, Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction (2021)  Jamelle Bouie, “How Black Political Thought Shapes My Work”, The New York Times (Feb. 11, 2023)  David Walker  David Walker, Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World (1829)  Jamelle Bouie, “Why I Keep Coming Back to Reconstruction”, The New York Times (Oct. 25, 2022)  Martin Delany  Jamelle Bouie, “What Frederick Douglass Knew that Trump and DeSantis Don’t”, The New York Times (June 30, 2023)  Jamelle Bouie, “The Deadly History of ‘They’re Raping Our Women’”, Slate (June 18, 2015)  W.E.B. Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 30 January 2025

Jeffrey Rosen interviews three contributors to the recently published compendium My Fellow Americans: Presidents and Their Inaugural Addresses, Michael Gerhardt, Kate Masur, and Ted Widmer. They reflect on President Trump’s second inaugural speech and discuss inaugural addresses throughout American history. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on Jan. 21, 2025.  Resources:  Yuvraj Singh and Ted Widmer, My Fellow Americans: Presidents and Their Inaugural Addresses (2024)  Martin Van Buren, Inaugural Address (March 4, 1837)  Donald Trump, Second Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 2025)  Andrew Jackson, First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1829)  Andrew Jackson, Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1833)  Grover Cleveland, Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1893)  Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1861)  Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1865)  Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1933)  John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 1961)  Joe Biden, Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 2021)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 23 January 2025

The Supreme Court will determine whether a Texas law requiring age verification for adult websites violates the First Amendment. Nadine Strossen of New York Law School and Adam Candeub of Michigan State University join Jeffrey Rosen to preview oral arguments in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, examine the text, history, and tradition of the First Amendment, and debate whether the Texas law is constitutional. Resources:  Nadine Strossen, Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights (1995, republished 2024)  Nadine Strossen, Brief of Amici Curiae First Amendment Scholars in Support of Petitioners, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton   Adam Candeub, Amicus Curiae Brief of Scholars in Support of Respondent, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton  Adam Candeub, “How the Supreme Court Can Protect Digital Childhood,” Law & Liberty (Jan. 9, 2025)  Free Speech Coalition, Brief for Petitioners, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton  Attorney General Ken Paxton, Brief for Respondent, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton  Judge Jerry Smith, Opinion of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton  Ginsberg v. New York (1968)  Sable v. FCC (1989)  Reno v. ACLU (1997)  Ashcroft v. ACLU (2004) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 16 January 2025

In TikTok v. Garland, the Supreme Court will determine whether TikTok—the social media platform used by an estimated 170 million Americans—can continue to operate in the United States under the ownership of a Chinese holding company. Jameel Jaffer of Columbia Law School and Zephyr Teachout of Fordham Law School join Jeffrey Rosen to debate whether the law that forces TikTok to be sold or banned violates the First Amendment.  Resources:  Jameel Jaffer, “Brief of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, Free Press, and PEN American Center as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners," TikTok v. Garland  Jameel Jaffer, “The Supreme Court Must Intervene in the TikTok Case,” The New York Times (Dec. 10, 2024)  Zephyr Teachout, “BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE ZEPHYR TEACHOUT AND JOEL THAYER IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENT,"TikTok v. Garland  United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Opinion of the Court, TikTok v. Garland  Arcara v. Cloud Books, Inc. (1986)  Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015)  Moody v. NetChoice (2024) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 9 January 2025

Jonathan Gienapp of Stanford University and Stephen Sachs of Harvard Law School join Chief Scholar Thomas Donnelly to discuss Gienapp’s new book, Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique. They review the history of originalism and debate the role of originalism in constitutional interpretation today. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on October 8, 2024.  Resources:  Jonathan Gienapp, “Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique” (2024)  Stephen Sachs and Will Baude, “Originalism and the Law of the Past” (Law and History Review, 2019)  Michael Stokes Paulsen and Vasen Kesavan, “Is West Virginia Unconstitutional?” (90 Cal L. Rev. 291, 2002)  William Baude, Jud Campbell, and Stephen Sachs, “General Law and the Fourteenth Amendment” (76 Stanford L. Rev 1185, 2024)  Jud Campbell, “Four Views of the Nature of the Union” (47 Harvard J. Law & Public Policy 2, 2024)  Fletcher v. Peck (1810)  District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)  United States v. Rahimi (2024)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 3 January 2025

Jeffrey Rosen explores the life and legacy of Gouverneur Morris, author of the Preamble to the Constitution. Joining him are Melanie Miller, editor of the Gouverneur Morris Papers: Diaries Project, Dennis Rasmussen, Hagerty Family Fellow at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and author of The Constitution’s Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America’s Basic Charter, and William Treanor, dean of Georgetown University Law Center. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on December 12, 2024.  Resources:  Dennis C. Rasmussen, The Constitution’s Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America’s Basic Charter, (2023)  William M. Treanor, Gouverneur Morris and the Drafting of the Federalist Constitution, (2023)  William M. Treanor, The Case of the Dishonest Scrivener: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of the Federalist Constitution, (2021)  Melanie Randolph Miller,  An Incautious Man: The Life of Gouveneur Morris, (2008)  Gouverneur Morris Papers  The U.S. Constitution: Preamble  The Federalist Papers  The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Revolution in Government  Gouverneur Morris, “Slavery and Representation,” (Aug. 8, 1787)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 25 December 2024

Steven Calabresi of Northwestern Law School joins Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his new book, The Meese Revolution: The Making of a Constitutional Moment. Calabresi reviews former Attorney General Edwin Meese’s instrumental role in the rise of originalism, and credits Meese with transforming the Department of Justice into an “academy in exile” where originalism was developed and put into practice.  Resources:  Steven Calabresi and Gary Lawson, The Meese Revolution: The Making of a Constitutional Moment (2024)  Edwin Meese III, Speech to the American Bar Association (7/9/1985)    Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 20 December 2024

Jeffrey Rosen discusses the role of religion at the founding with Jane Calvert of the John Dickinson Writings Project, Vincent Phillip Muñoz of the University of Notre Dame, and Thomas Kidd of the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. They trace the framers’ personal faith commitments and explore the original understanding of the relationship between church and state. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on November 25, 2024. Resources:  The First Amendment, National Constitution Center exhibit  Jane E. Calvert, Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson (2024)  Thomas Kidd, Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh (2022)  Vincent Phillip Muñoz, Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses (2022)  Thomas Kidd, God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution (2010)  Vincent Phillip Muñoz , God and the Founders: Madison, Washington, and Jefferson (2009)  Letter From George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, (Aug. 18, 1790)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 13 December 2024

A Tennessee law prohibits transgender minors from receiving gender transition surgery and hormone therapy. Professor Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond and David Gans of the Constitutional Accountability Center join Jeffrey Rosen to debate whether the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Resources: U.S. v. Skrmetti, Supreme Court oral argument (audio via C-SPAN; transcript) Kurt Lash, Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondents, U.S. v. Skrmetti David Gans, Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioner and Respondents in Support of Petitioner, U.S. v. Skrmetti  Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) Geduldig v. Aiello (1974) Loving v. Virginia (1967) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 5 December 2024

Representative Christopher Cox, author of Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn, and Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago join moderator Jeffrey Rosen to discuss Woodrow Wilson’s constitutional and historical legacy. They explore Wilson’s illiberal record in the defining constitutional battles of his time, focusing his opposition to women’s suffrage, free speech, and racial equality. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on November 25, 2024. Resources:  Christopher Cox, Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn (2024)  Geoffrey Stone, "Woodrow Wilson, Princeton University, and the Battles We Choose to Fight," Huffington Post (Nov. 21, 2015)  Geoffrey Stone, Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism (2004) Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918  Committee on Public Information, Free Speech Center (2009; updated 2024)  The First Amendment, National Constitution Center exhibit  Susan B. Anthony Amendment, National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House  Justice Brandeis, Oyez  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 28 November 2024

President-elect Trump’s allies have floated the possibility of suspending Congress in order to use the Recess Appointments Clause to install Cabinet officials without Senate confirmation. In this episode, Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Thomas Berry of the Cato Institute join Jeffrey Rosen to preview this plan and debate its legal merits.  Resources:  Center for Renewing America, “Brief: On the Article II Recess Appointments Clause” (November 17, 2024)  Ed Whelan, “A Terrible Anti-Constitutional Scheme of Recess Appointments,” National Review (November 12, 2024)  Ed Whelan, “The House Has No Authority to ‘Disagree’ with Senate’s Decision to Remain in Session,” National Review (November 17, 2024)  Edward Whelan, “The Radical Consequences of an Immediate Senate Recess”, National Review (November 19, 2024)  Thomas Berry, “Thomas Berry (Cato Institute) on Trump's Recess Appointment Plan,” Volokh Conspiracy (November 15, 2024)  National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning (2014)  Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 76 (April 1, 1788)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 21 November 2024

In celebration of John Adams’s 289th birthday, Jeffrey Rosen joins a discussion on Adams’s legacy with Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, and Jane Kamensky, president and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. Kurt Graham, president of the Adams Presidential Center, moderates. They explore the constitutional legacy of the Adams family—including John and Abigail Adams and John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Adams—and discuss the importance of resurrecting the Adams family’s tradition of self-mastery and self-improvement to defend the American Idea. This conversation was originally aired at the Adams Presidential Center as part of the 2024 Adams Speaker Series.   Resources:  Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness (2024)  Jane Kamensky, The Colonial Mosaic: American Women 1600-1760 (1998)  Danielle Allen, Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality (2014) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 14 November 2024

In celebration of Native American History Month, Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Keith Richotte Jr., author of the forthcoming book The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told: Native America, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Constitution and Matthew L.M. Fletcher, author of The Ghost Road: Anishinaabe Responses to Indian Hating to explore how Native American law has evolved from the Marshall Court to the present day—tracing how the Court came to grant the federal government broad authority over tribal affairs, and how tribes have begun to reassert their sovereignty under the Roberts Court.  This program was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall series on November 4, 2024.   Resources:  Keith Richotte Jr., The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told: Native America, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Constitution (2025)  Matthew Fletcher, The Ghost Road: Ashinaabe Responses to Indian Hating (2020)  Matthew Fletcher, “Muskrat Textualism,” Northwestern Law Review (2022)  Matthew Fletcher, “The Dark Matter of Indian Law: The Duty of Protection” (June 2023)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 7 November 2024

On the eve of the 2024 presidential election, Jesse Wegman, member of The New York Times editorial board and author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College, and Robert Hardaway, professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and author of Saving the Electoral College: Why the National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy, join Jeffrey Rosen to debate the Electoral College and preview potential legal challenges that might arise in the aftermath of the election. This program was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall series on October 29, 2024.   Resources:  Robert Hardaway, Saving the Electoral College Why the National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy (2019)  Jesse Wegman, Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College (2020)  Electoral College, Article II, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 3, Interactive Constitution  National Popular Vote  Ranked Choice Voting  Article I, Section III, The Senate, Interactive Constitution  Cass Sunstein, “On Jan. 6, Will Vice President Harris Certify the Election?,” Wall Street Journal, Oct. 25, 2024  Gary Lawson and Jack Beerman, “Congressional Meddling In Presidential Elections: Still Unconstitutional After All These Years; A Comment On Sunstein,” April 2023  “The Very Real Scenario Where Trump Loses and Takes Power Anyway,” Politico, Oct. 20, 2024  Moore v. Harper (2023) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 31 October 2024

This week, the National Constitution Center convened the 2024 National First Amendment Summit, in partnership with FIRE and NYU’s First Amendment Watch. America’s leading legal thinkers joined for a vigorous discussion on the state of free speech in America and around the globe. “Free Speech on Campus Today” features Mary Anne Franks, author of the new book Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment;  FIRE’s Vice President of Campus Advocacy Alex Morey; and Keith Whittington, author of You Can't Teach That!: The Battle over University Classrooms. “Free Speech In and Out of the Courts” features Nadine Strossen, author of Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know; Jonathan Turley, author of the new book The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage; and Kenji Yoshino of NYU School of Law and Meta's Oversight Board.   Resources: 2024 National First Amendment Summit  FIRE: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression  NYU’s First Amendment Watch  Mary Ann Franks, Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment (2024)  Keith Whittington, You Can’t Teach That!: The Battle over University Classrooms (2024)  Nadine Strossen, Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know (2023)  Jonathan Turley, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage (2024)  Meta Oversight Board  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 24 October 2024

Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Glossip v. Oklahoma, a case challenging the constitutionality of Richard Glossip’s conviction and sentencing to death for a 1997 murder. In this episode, Paul Cassell of the University of Utah and Andrea Miller of the Oklahoma Innocence Project join Jeffrey Rosen to recap the oral arguments and debate whether or not Glossip’s conviction should stand in light of newly revealed documents that allegedly suggest prosecutorial misconduct.    Resources:  Glossip v. Oklahoma, Supreme Court oral argument (audio via C-SPAN; transcript)   Brief of Amicus Curiae the Innocence Project in Support of Petitioner Richard Eugene Glossip, Glossip v. Oklahoma    Paul G. Cassell, “Brief of Victim Family Members Derek Van Treese, Donna Van Treese, and Alana Mileto as Amici Curiae in Support of Affirming the Judgment Below,” Glossip v. Oklahoma Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 18 October 2024

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Garland v. VanDerStok, a case challenging the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to regulate “ghost guns” under the Gun Control Act. In this episode, Clark Neily of the Cato Institute and Dru Stevenson of the South Texas College of Law join Jeffrey Rosen to recap the oral arguments and debate whether ghost guns—which are untraceable weapons without serial numbers, assembled from components or kits that can be bought online—may be regulated as firearms.   Resources:  Garland v. VanDerStok (oral argument audio via CSPAN; argument transcript)  Dru Stevenson, quoted in: “‘Ghost guns’ in the crosshairs”,  BusinessDay (March 7, 2024)   Drury Stevenson, “Shall Not Be Infringed,” (July 2024)  Clark Neily, quoted in: “Will ‘sigh of relief’ after US supreme court gun ruling be short-lived?,” The Guardian (June 22, 2024)  Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 10 October 2024

In this episode, Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and staff writer for The Atlantic, joins to discuss her newest book, Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Rule the World, which explores how autocracies work together to undermine the democratic world, and how democracies should organize to defeat them. She joins Jeffrey Rosen to discuss new threats from autocratic leaders at home and around the world and how liberal democracies should fight these threats. Resources:  Anne Applebaum, Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Rule the World (2024)    Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 3 October 2024

This week, the National Constitution Center held its annual Liberty Medal ceremony honoring America’s storyteller, Ken Burns, for illuminating the nation’s greatest triumphs and tragedies and inspiring all of us to learn about the principles at the heart of the American idea. In this episode, Jeffrey Rosen and Burns’s co-director Sarah Botstein talk about Burns’s life and work, followed by Ken Burns’s inspiring acceptance speech. Burns then sits down with Rosen for a conversation about the American Idea.   Resources:  The National Constitution Center’s 2024 Liberty Medal Ceremony       Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected] Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube. Support our important work. Donate

Transcribed - Published: 26 September 2024

On September 17, 2024, the Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and NCC honorary co-chair, and his co-author and former law clerk Janie Nitze, joined Jeffrey Rosen for an America’s Town Hall program in celebration of Constitution Day 2024 and the release of their latest book, Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law. Resources: Neil M. Gorsuch and Janie Nitze, Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law (2024) National Constitution Center: Constitution 101 with Khan Academy National Constitution Center Classroom resources: Federalism National Constitution Center Classroom resources: Federalism and the Separation of Powers 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

Transcribed - Published: 20 September 2024

On September 12, 2024, best-selling author, philanthropist, and National Constitution Center Trustee David Rubenstein joined Jeffrey Rosen at the Center in Philadelphia to discuss his new book, The Highest Calling: Conversations on the American Presidency. The book, which features interviews with presidential historians and living U.S. presidents, chronicles the journeys of the leaders who have defined America. They discuss the duties and responsibilities of the presidency, the triumphs and failures of its officeholders, and the future of the role in the twenty-first century. Resources: David Rubenstein, The Highest Calling: Conversations on the American Presidency (2024) 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

Transcribed - Published: 13 September 2024

On September 17, Constitution Day, Patrick Spero—the incoming chief executive officer of the American Philosophical Society’s Library & Museum in Philadelphia—will release his new book, The Scientist Turned Spy: André Michaux, Thomas Jefferson, and the Conspiracy of 1793. It explores the incredible story of an explorer, André Michaux, drawn into a plot orchestrated by the French government to exploit tensions between American settlers and Spanish authorities in the Louisiana region, with the aim of setting up an independent republic. In this episode, Spero joins Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the history of this conspiracy and explore new evidence implicating Thomas Jefferson in the plot, as well as the American Philosophical Society and Jefferson’s role in it. Resources: The Scientist Turned Spy: André Michaux, Thomas Jefferson, and the Conspiracy of 1793 (2024) 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

Transcribed - Published: 5 September 2024

In July, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed a criminal case charging former President Donald Trump with hoarding classified documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago and obstructing justice. Judge Cannon reasoned that the prosecutor in this case, Special Counsel Jack Smith, was not properly appointed by the Justice Department. Matthew Seligman of Stanford Law School and Josh Blackman of the South Texas College of Law Houston, who argued before Judge Cannon on opposite sides of this issue, join Jeffrey Rosen to debate the legal basis for the special counsel role. Resources: United States v. Nixon (1974) Trump v. United States (2024) Josh Blackman and Seth Barrett Tillman, Brief of Professor Seth Barrett Tillman and Landmark Legal Foundation as Amici Curiae in Support of Defendant Trump’s Motion to Dismiss the Indictment, United States v. Trump (March 21, 2024) Matthew Seligman, Motion for Leave to File Brief by Constitutional Lawyers, Former Government Officials, and State Democracy Defenders Action as Amici Curiae in Opposition to Defendant Donald J. Trump’s Motion to Dismiss, United States v. Trump (April 3, 2024) Judge Aileen Cannon, Order Granting Motion to Dismiss Superseding Indictment Based on Appointments Clause Violation, United States v. Trump (July 15, 2024) Jack Smith, Brief for the United States, United States v. Trump, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (August 26, 2024) 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

Transcribed - Published: 29 August 2024

Charles Cook of the National Review, Melody Barnes of the University of Virginia, and Sean Wilentz of Princeton University explore the debate about the core values of the American Idea—liberty, equality, democracy, and federalism—throughout American history and model the way in which Americans of different perspectives can come together in the spirit of civil dialogue. This program was recorded live on February 9, 2024. Resources: Sean Wilentz, The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln (2008) Sean Wilentz, The Politicians and the Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics (2016) Charles Cooke, The Conservatarian Manifesto: Libertarians, Conservatives, and the Fight for the Right’s Future Charles Cooke, “The American System Works, and It Will Work If Trump Wins Again” (2023) Melody Barnes, Corey D.B. Walker and Thad M. Williamson, “Introduction: can we make American democracy work?” In Community Wealth Building and the Reconstruction of American Democracy (2020) Melody Barnes (and others), “Hate-fueled violence is ripping apart our cities and nation. We need to stop it.,” USA Today (2022) Melody Barnes and Caroline Janney, “Opinion: In a civil war, accountability must precede healing,” The Washington Post (2021) Melody Barnes, “Opinion: It’s time for Sally Hemings to show us the unvarnished Thomas Jefferson,” The Washington Post (2018) 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

Transcribed - Published: 22 August 2024

Steven Hahn, author of Illiberal America: A History, and Manisha Sinha, author of The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860–1920, join Thomas Donnelly to explore the history of illiberalism in America and to assess illiberal threats facing our democracy today. Resources: Steven Hahn, Illiberal America: A History (2024) Manisha Sinha, The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920 (2024) Abraham Lincoln, “ "Speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield” (1838), Founders’ Library 13th Amendment, Interactive Constitution Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Founders’ Library Steven Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry, 1850-1890 (1985) Marcia Coyle, “The U.S. Supreme Court Cases Built on a ‘Rotten Foundation’,” Constitution Daily (May 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

Transcribed - Published: 16 August 2024

August 8, 2024, marks the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation as president of the United States. His resignation came after the House Judiciary Committee voted recommend Nixon’s impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors— which would have been the first impeachment since that of Andrew Johnson in 1868. In this episode, historians Garrett Graff, author of Watergate: A New History (2022), and Robert Doar, president of AEI, join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss Nixon’s resignation and its enduring legal legacy. Resources: Garrett Graff, Watergate: A New History (2022) Garrett Graff, “A Vice President’s Life Can Change in a Flash. Nothing is the Same After,” Washington Post (July 23, 2024) Robert Doar, “Five Lessons from the Nixon Impeachment Inquiry,” AEI Blog (Oct. 3, 2019) Robert Doar, Opening Remarks, “The Impeachment of Richard Nixon: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary,” AEI (July 25, 2024) New York Times Co. v. United States (The Pentagon Papers Case) (1971) United States v. Nixon (The Tapes Case) (1974) 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

Transcribed - Published: 8 August 2024

This week, President Joe Biden announced a three-fold plan to reform the Supreme Court. The proposal includes a constitutional amendment that no former president is immune from prosecution for crimes committed in office, 18-year Supreme Court term limits, and a binding code of conduct for Supreme Court Justices. In this episode, constitutional historians Keith Whittington of Yale Law School and Anthony Michael Kreis of Georgia State University and author of the new book Rot and Revival: The History of Constitutional Law in Political Development, join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the mechanics and merits of President Biden’s proposed court reforms and delve into the relationship between politics and the judiciary from the founding until today. Resources: President Joe Biden, “My plan to reform the Supreme Court and ensure no president is above the law,” The Washington Post (July 29, 2024) Presidential Commission on SCOTUS Anthony Michael Kreis, Rot and Revival: The History of Constitutional Law in Political Development (2024) Keith Whittington, Repugnant Laws: Judicial Review of Acts of Congress from the Founding to the Present (2019) Keith Whittington, Political Foundations of Judicial Supremacy: The Presidency, the Supreme Court, and Constitutional Leadership in U.S. History (2007) “Can Congress enact Supreme Court term limits without a constitutional amendment?,” Constitution Daily (July 2024) 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

Transcribed - Published: 2 August 2024

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

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2024

Judge David Tatel’s new memoir, Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice, recalls his remarkable legal career. In this episode, Judge Tatel joins Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his experience as a civil rights lawyer, landmark cases he presided over as a federal judge, the challenges his blindness posed, and how he overcame them. Resources: Judge David S. Tatel, Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice (2024) 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.

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2024

On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court handed down its 6-3 ruling in the landmark case Trump v. United States, finding that the president is entitled to presumptive immunity from prosecution for all official acts, but not for unofficial acts. In this episode, Sai Prakash of the University of Virginia Law School and Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School join Jeffrey Rosen to delve into the Supreme Court’s immunity decision and explore the history of presidential power and immunity from the founding to present day, and whether the Court’s decision comports with the original understanding of the Constitution. Resources: Trump v. United States (2024) Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024) Michael McConnell, The President Who Would Not Be King: Executive Power Under the Constitution (2020) “Former Federal Judge Michael McConnell Discusses Presidential Immunity and Trump Cases with Pam Karlan,” Stanford Legal podcast Sai Prakash, Imperial from the Beginning: The Constitution of the Original Executive (2015) Sai Prakash, The Living Presidency: An Originalist Argument Against Its Ever-Expanding Powers (2020) “Does the Supreme Court ruling make the president a king? Not quite, says this Virginia law professor,” WTOP News (July 2, 2024) Sai Prakash, Prosecuting and Punishing Our Presidents, Texas Law Review (Nov. 2021) 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.

Transcribed - Published: 12 July 2024

In this episode, Harold Hongju Koh of Yale Law School, Deborah Pearlstein of Princeton University, and Matthew Waxman of Columbia Law School  join Jeffrey Rosen for a conversation to explore Trump v. United States and the updated edition of Koh’s landmark book, The National Security Constitution in the Twenty-First Century. This program originally streamed live on July 1, 2024 as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series. Resources: Harold Koh, The National Security Constitution in the Twenty-First Century (2024) Trump v. United States (2024) Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024) United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936) Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (Steel Seizure Case) (1952) The Pacificus-Helvidius Debates of 1793-1794 Deborah Pearlstein, “Lawyering the Presidency,” The Georgetown Law Journal (2022) Deborah Pearlstein, “The Executive Branch Anticanon,” Fordham Law Review (2020) Matthew C. Waxman, “War Powers Reform: A Skeptical View,” Yale L. J. Forum (2024) 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.

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2024

As the Supreme Court term nears its end, the Court has issued a series of decisions in many blockbuster cases, including overturning Chevron deference, upholding a law disarming domestic violence offenders and applying obstruction laws to January 6 prosecutions. Sarah Isgur of The Dispatch and Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal join Jeffrey Rosen to review the Supreme Court’s most important decisions from this term so far. Resources: Fischer v. United States (2024) Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024) United States v. Rahimi (2024) 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.

Transcribed - Published: 29 June 2024

In this episode, political theorist William B. Allen, editor and translator of a new edition of Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws, and Alison LaCroix, author of The Interbellum Constitution: Union, Commerce, and Slavery in the Age of Federalisms, join Jeffrey Rosen to explore the intellectual foundations—from Montesquieu and beyond—of constitutional interpretation from the founding to the Civil War. They also discuss historical practice and tradition in interpreting the Constitution throughout the interbellum period, and how this history applies to debates over constitutional interpretation today. This program was streamed live on June 17, 2024, as part of our America’s Town Hall series. Resources: • Alison LaCroix, The Interbellum Constitution: Union, Commerce, and Slavery in the Age of Federalisms, 2024 • Montesquieu, ‘The Spirit of the Laws’: A Critical Edition, edited and translated by W. B. Allen, 2024 • The Commerce Clause • Alison LaCroix, “James Madison v. Originalism,” Project Syndicate (Aug. 26, 2022) • 10th Amendment • Andrew Jackson, Proclamation Regarding Nullification, (December 10, 1832) • Martin v. Hunter's Lessee (1816) • Preamble to the Constitution 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.

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2024

In this episode, AEI’s Yuval Levin, author of American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again, and Aziz Rana, professor at Boston College Law and author of The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document That Fails Them, join Jeffrey Rosen for a discussion about whether the Constitution has failed us or can serve as a document of national unity. Resources: Yuval Levin, American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again (2024) Aziz Rana, The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document That Fails Them (2024) “The Modern History of Originalism,” NCC’s We the People  podcast, (Aug 2023) Article V, Interactive Constitution 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.

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2024

On May 30, former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments made during the 2016 election, making him the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. In this episode, two leading historians of the presidency—Stephen Knott of the United States Naval War College, and bestselling and author and attorney David O. Stewart—join Jeffrey Rosen to explore presidential attacks on the judicial system and rule of law throughout American history. They also discuss what this history can teach us in the wake of the Trump criminal verdict. Resources: “The Trump Manhattan Criminal Verdict, Count By Count,” The New York Times (May 30, 2024) The Indictment of Former President Trump, NCC’s We the People podcast (April 6, 2023) History of Impeachment from Andrew Johnson to Today, NCC’s We the People podcast (February 1, 2018) David O. Stewart, Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy (2009) David O. Stewart, American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America (2011) Stephen Knott, The Lost Soul of the American Presidency: The Decline into Demagoguery and the Prospects for Renewal (2019) Myers v. United States (1926) United States v. Cruikshank (1875) 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.

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2024

On May 23, the Supreme Court issued its opinion upholding a South Carolina congressional map against a challenge from the NAACP. In Alexander v South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, the Court found that the South Carolina legislature had conducted a partisan gerrymander, permissible under the Court’s precedents, and not an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. In this episode, two leading election and voting rights scholars, Joshua Douglas of the University of Kentucky College of Law, and Derek Muller of the University of Notre Dame Law School, join Jeffrey Rosento discuss the Alexander v. NAACP majority opinion, as well as the concurrence and dissent, and review what this decision means for the future of racial gerrymandering cases. Resources: Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP (2024) Joshua Douglas, The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights (2024) Joshua Douglas, “Today’s Supreme Court is Anti-Voter,” Washington Monthly (May 28, 2024) Derek Muller, “The Long Shadow of the Elections Clause,” Election Law Blog (May 29, 2024) Derek Muller, “Faith in Elections,” 36 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol’y 641 (2022) 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.

Transcribed - Published: 31 May 2024

In this episode, two acclaimed Lincoln historians—Sidney Blumenthal, author of the three-volume The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, and Harold Holzer, author of the new book Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration, join Jeffrey Rosen to assess Lincoln’s life and legacy to explore similarities between the 19th century and today. This program was streamed live on March 27, 2024, as part of our America’s Town Hall series. Resources: Harold Holzer, Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration Sidney Blumenthal, Wrestling With His Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. II, 1849-1856 Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address (February 27, 1860) Harold Holzer, Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President 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.

Transcribed - Published: 23 May 2024

Over the past few weeks, protests on college campuses over the war in Gaza have sparked debate about the extent and limits of student and faculty free speech rights. In this episode, two leading First Amendment scholars, Keith Whittington of Princeton University and Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago, join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the current debates over free speech on campus. They also discuss Whittington’s new book, You Can’t Teach That!: The Battle Over University Classrooms. Resources: Keith Whittington, You Can’t Teach That!: The Battle Over University Classrooms (2024) Keith Whittington, Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech (2019) Keith Whittington, “Civil Disobedience Has Consequences,” The Daily Princetonian (May 10, 2024) Keith Whittington, “What Can Professors Say in Public? Extramural Speech and the First Amendment,” Case Western L. Rev (2023) University of Chicago, Kalven Committee: Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action University of Chicago, “Report on the Committee on Freedom of Expression” (2014) “UChicago Says Free Speech Is Sacred. Some Students See Hypocrisy,” NYTimes (May 2024) 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.

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2024