The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen

How their debates ignited the lasting battle over power in AmericaSHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, podcast host Jeffrey Rosen discusses the competing constitutional visions of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton and explores how debates over national power vs. states’ rights; rule by elites vs. democracy; and liberal vs. strict construction of the Constitution have influenced the trajectory of American history. This talk was originally recorded at the 10th annual College of the Atlantic Summer Institute: Toward a More Perfect Union, held on the college's seaside campus in Bar Harbor, Maine, from July 27 - 31, 2026. To learn more about the Summer Institute, visit coa.edu/si . Participants Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. Additional ResourcesJeff Rosen, The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America (2025) Jeff Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024) All Summer Institute sessions can be watched on the College of the Atlantic YouTube channel.Substack: @rosenjeffreyInstagram: @TheBlessingsOfLibertyX: @JeffreyRosenPodX (Personal): @RosenJeffreyYouTube: @TheBlessingsofLibertyPodThank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans—especially freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, Mary Sarah Bilder, Justin Collings, and Alan Taylor discuss the history of the rights of conscience, which James Madison in 1792 called “the most sacred of all property,” and how Madison, Washington, and Jefferson approached questions of religious liberty. Jeffrey Rosen moderates. This program was originally recorded as a panel during the September 16th conference, “The Most Sacred of All Property”: Rights of Conscience in American Constitutional Thought, co-hosted by the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University and The George Washington School of Law. Participants Mary Sarah Bilder is the Founders Professor of Law at Boston College Law School. A constitutional historian and author of three books, Bilder was awarded the 2016 Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy for Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention. Justin Collings is the Academic Vice President at Brigham Young University and a Professor of Law at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. A scholar of constitutional law and constitutional history, Collings’ most recent book is Scales of Memory: Constitutional Justice and Historical Evil. Alan Taylor is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Chair Emeritus at the University of Virginia. The author of seven books, his most recent book is American Revolutions: A Continental History. Additional ResourcesMary Sarah Bilder, Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention (2017)Justin Collings, Scales of Memory: Constitutional Justice and Historical Evil (2021)Alan Taylor, American Revolutions: A Continental History (2016)Live from the Washington National Cathedral (2026)Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, constitutional law and environmental law scholars Jonathan Adler and Donald Kochan join to discuss the first Supreme Court case of the new term, Suncor v. Boulder, exploring whether states, cities, and counties can sue fossil fuel producers for the harms caused by climate change. Jeffrey Rosen moderates.Jonathan Adler is the Tazwell Taylor Professor of Law and William H. Cabell Research Professor at the William & Mary Law School. He is the author or editor of seven books, including Climate Liberalism: Perspectives on Liberty, Property and Pollution.Donald Kochan is a Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Law & Economics Center at the Antonin Scalia Law School. He serves as an Adviser to the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law Fourth, Property project, and his scholarship focuses on the areas of property law, constitutional law, and natural resources and environmental law.Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. Additional ResourcesOral Argument Audio and Transcript for Suncor v. BoulderAmerican Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut (2011)International Paper Co v. Ouellette (1987)Jonathan Adler, Brief for Jonathan Adler as Amicus Curiae Supporting Respondents and Affirmance (8/3/2026)Donald Kochan, “Supreme Court Has Chance to End Legally Flawed Climate Claims,” Bloomberg Law (10/2/2026)Donald Kochan, “The Energy Sector is Threatened by a Climate Litigation Free-for-All,” National Review (9/20/2026)Stay ConnectedSubstack: @rosenjeffreyInstagram: @TheBlessingsOfLibertyX: @JeffreyRosenPod and @RosenJeffreyYouTube: @TheBlessingsofLibertyPodThank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans—especially freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about at FIRE.org/blessings.

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, Melody Barnes, Executive Director of Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia, the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, and Rabbi David Saperstein, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, join to discuss the role of faith and freedom of conscience in advancing the common good and strengthening democratic society. Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Originally recorded as part of the September 16th Dallin H. Oaks Evening Program at the Washington National Cathedral, a part of the Cathedral’s A Better Way initiative. The entire program is on the Washington National Cathedral’s podcast, Crossroads. Participants Melody Barnes, executive director of the UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy and a professor of practice at the Miller Center. During the administration of President Barack Obama, Barnes was assistant to the president and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, the first woman elected to the position. She also serves as the chair of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which stewards the ministries of the Washington National Cathedral and Cathedral schools.Rabbi David Saperstein, director emeritus of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, having served as its director and counsel for 40 years. He was also the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom during the second term of the Obama administration.Jeffrey Rosen, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. Additional ResourcesDallin H. Oaks Evening ProgramCrossroads, the Washington National Cathedral’s podcastStay Connected and Learn MoreSubstack: @rosenjeffreyIG: @TheBlessingsOfLibertyX: @JeffreyRosenPodX (Personal): @RosenJeffreyYT: @TheBlessingsofLibertyPodThank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

"Exploring the career and contributions of the Penman of the Revolution"SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, historian Jane E. Calvert discusses the life and legacy of John Dickinson. The program also features readings from Calvert’s new Dickinson biography, a performance of Dickinson’s “The Liberty Song,” and original compositions with music and lyrics by Jeffrey Rosen. Rosen moderates. This episode was originally recorded as a Clarke Forum program at Dickinson College.Participants Jane E. Calvert is the founder, director, and chief editor of the John Dickinson Writings Project (JDP) and associate professor of History at the University of Kentucky (UK). She is the author of Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson, the first comprehensive biography of the key American founder John DickinsonJeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. Additional ResourcesJane E. Calvert, Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson (2024) Jane E. Calvert, Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson (2012)John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania (1767-1768)Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How the Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024)Pursuit of Happiness: Two Song Cycles by Jeffrey RosenThe Golden Mean: Songs for the Pursuit of HappinessStay Connected and Learn MoreSubstack: @rosenjeffreyInstagram: @TheBlessingsOfLibertyX: @JeffreyRosenPodX (Personal): @RosenJeffreyYouTube: @TheBlessingsofLibertyPodThank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.