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A weekly show of constitutional debate hosted by National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen where listeners can hear the best arguments on all sides of the constitutional issues at the center of American life.
544 Episodes
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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
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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
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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)
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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)
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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
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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
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You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.
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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)
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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)
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You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.
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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)
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You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.
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Charles Cooke 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)
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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.
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You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.
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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)
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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
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You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.
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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)
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a teacher, and a coach are not paid by the hour. They are salaried! They shouldn't be allowed to pray on school grounds.
E up
"A well regulated militia" is also included in the Amendment, but not discussed.
re: kennedy's dissenting opinion that once you share your cell phone data with your cell provider, you have forfeited privacy of that data, and basing that opinion on some sort of pre-tech precedent, i call bull. i used to pick up the big black at&t dial phone receiver on the wall and a couple neighbors might already be talking on our 'party line'. no one ever alleged that a party line imbued law enforcement or the government with the right to bug my phone without a warrant. before my time, the operator was on the line when you picked up your phone and you asked her to connect you to your party. her being on the line, with the ability to listen in on your call, was never a basis for government to also listen in without a warrant. your phone is not only a method for traditionally protected private communication, but is also the repository for modern day "papers and effects". "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searc
the text is very clear. that the court has watered it down in the past with 'exceptions' does not dilute the clear meaning of the amendment. "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." "unreasonable" is virtually defined in the text as being warrantless. a warrant is presupposed as the baseline for reasonable, by virtue of the word "and". our constitutional protections have been so sliced and diced that now we have this discussion of whether a government agent can literally walk into your house at will, without any articulated cause at all.
also, framing the fourth amendment protections as being more easily ignored as the seriousness of the criminal charge ~increases~ is utterly counter to the purpose and intent of this amendment, and all of the criminally accused amendments. the founders dedicated fully half of the bill of rights to rights only ever invoked upon accusation of a crime by government- if you are never accused, you never invoke those rights. thus, the founders established that our rightts when accused by government are extremely fundamental to our freedoms. the more serious the charge against you by the government, the more at stake becomes your freedom, and the more important your constitutional rights of the accused become. that is demonstrated daily in every courthouse in america, where we more closely follow full legal doctrine in the most serious of criminal cases, and we cut corners for the abundant petty offenses. if the police follow you home because they suspect you of a murder, your constitutiona
if police can walk into your house without a warrant anytime they could arrest you, and they can arrest you for felonies, misdemeanors, and even non-criminal municiple code violations, AND they can arrest you even if they wrongly believe that you violated any law or code, then there is no such thing as the fourth amendment.
Come on Jeff! Don't you see through these liberal BS'ers? I have been listening to this podcast for several years. I hear leftist adverbs and adjectives more and more frequently from you. I even took my family to the Constitution Center because of this podcast. This used to be balanced. Not so sure anymore.
Wow, crazy timing on this episode.
OMG (pun intended), there is hope for this country. Thank you for this episode "How Can We Be Our Best ''We the People" ", for this podcast, the NCC, and for Mr. Rosen's outstanding, informative, questions.
You have 2 people on essentially the same side re: impeachment. You should have had 2 on completely different sides. Another words, you stacked the deck. 😞
I'm so glad that in my version of the podcast, the citizens' vote was omitted. Because in spite of the partisanship there was some objective discussion and it wasn't completely just another opportunity to get back up on the soap box and restate the same arguments. And the judgement, the vote, totally distracts, and destroys, the learning experience, putting the whole show back into the realm of competitive one-upmanship.
episode #231: there is a huge constitutional and statutory difference between trump, or any president, declaring an emergency AND THEN reallocating funds to address the emergency, versus declaring an emergency IN ORDER TO reallocate the funds. also, the word 'emergency' might be defined as an unforeseen negative event requiring urgent action. no one can rationally say that any aspect of the southern border issue currently meets the definition of an 'emergency'. trump has been unchanging in his assessment of the border for three years. data clearly shows a decades-long downward trend in border crossings. so objectively, any issue with crossings at the border is not unforeseen, is decelerating, and is already being addressed by cbp in an orderly, effective way. lastly, whether or not emergency powers or the constitution itself authorizes the president to appropriate an emergency fund to build a military structure, and whether or not the the wall could be considered a military struct
Great debate on birthright citizenship in "We The People" podcast fm National Constitution Center! But how often does immigration position pre-determine belief in constitutionality of birthright citizenship? Post-hoc reasoning and confirmation bias is the enemy here
Amazing podcast "We The People" episode on The AG and Constitutional Oversight from National Constitution Center. Very sad & scared important info like this doesnt get more interest
By far one of the best podcasts out there. I enjoy listening to their commentators who come from different views on how an issue/case should be approached and its constitutionality. Very informative, educational and entertaining at the same time!