In this episode, Professor Vincent Phillip Muñoz of Notre Dame Law discusses his newest book, Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses . He is joined by Professor Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School to discuss the book, what freedom of religion meant at the founding, and what it means today. They also evaluate the reasoning behind some of the Supreme Court’s major religion decisions and how they comport wit...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 5 min
How did Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman statesman and philosopher, influence the Founding generation, the Constitution, and American political thought? Join Scott Nelson , author of Cicero, Politics, and the 21st Century ; Benjamin Straumann , author of Crisis and Constitutionalism: Roman Political Thought from the Fall of the Republic to the Age of Revolution ; and Caroline Winterer , author of T he Culture of Classicism: Ancient Greece and Rome in American Intellectual Life, 1780-1910 , for a c...
Dec 29, 2022•57 min
This month, we hosted a conversation about FDR and the Transformation of the Supreme Court. Legal historian Laura Kalman , author of FDR’s Gambit: The Court Packing Fight and the Rise of Legal Liberalism; Ken Kersch , professor of political science at Boston College and author of Conservatives and the Constitution ; and Jeff Shesol , author of Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court, joined Jeffrey Rosen to discuss Franklin D. Roosevelt’s constitutional legacy, the court packing ...
Dec 22, 2022•56 min
On December 7, 2022, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Moore v. Harper , a case out of North Carolina about the power of state courts to review election regulations set by state legislatures. At the heart of the case is the “independent state legislature” theory, an interpretation of the Constitution that would give state legislatures essentially the sole power to regulate federal elections and would restrict the involvement from state courts in reviewing those decisions. Joining us to re...
Dec 16, 2022•55 min
On Monday, December 5, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the 303 Creative v. Elenis case. The petitioner, Lorie Smith, is an artist and website designer in Colorado, who says creating wedding websites for same-sex couples against her personal beliefs would violate her First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and religions, because is would require her to create messages inconsistent with her religious beliefs, and bar her from posting those beliefs on her website. A Colorado public ac...
Dec 09, 2022•55 min
The Honorable Jeffrey Sutton , chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, joins the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown , senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, for a discussion on McKeown’s new book, Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of William O. Douglas—Public Advocate and Conservation Champion , and the constitutional legacy of U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, one of the court’s longest serving justices. Jeffrey Rosen , president...
Dec 01, 2022•55 min
On Wednesday, November 9, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Haaland v. Brackeen , a case challenging the Indian Child Welfare Act. Opponents of ICWA say that it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, discriminating against non-Native foster parents. Defenders of ICWA say that tribal sovereignty means the relationship of Native people to the US government is political, not racial. Timothy Sandefur of the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Li...
Nov 24, 2022•1 hr
For Native American Heritage Month, the National Constitution Center hotsed a discussion with historians H.W. Brands , author of The Last Campaign: Sherman, Geronimo and the War for America ; Lori Daggar , author of Cultivating Empire: Capitalism, Philanthropy, and the Negotiation of American Imperialism in Indian Country ; and Lindsay Robertson , author of Conquest by Law: How the Discovery of America Dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of Their Lands , for a historical overview of U.S. westward ex...
Nov 17, 2022•58 min
Historians Andrew Browning , author of Schools for Statesmen: The Divergent Educations of the Constitutional Framers ; Nancy Isenberg , author of Madison and Jefferson ; and Thomas Kidd , author of Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh , explore Thomas Jefferson’s life and legacy through the lens of his own education and what he read—and how those influences shaped the American idea. Jeffrey Rosen , president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Stay Connected and ...
Nov 10, 2022•1 hr
On Monday, October 31, 2022, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for more than five hours in Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina , and Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard . In this pair of cases, the Supreme Court will assess whether the schools are violating the Equal Protection Clause by using race as a factor in admissions. Ted Shaw of the UNC Center for Civil Rights and David Bernstein of Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason Unive...
Nov 03, 2022•55 min
On Monday, October 31, 2022, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina , and Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard . In this pair of cases, the Supreme Court will assess whether the schools are violating the Equal Protection Clause by using race as a factor in admissions. Ted Shaw of the UNC Center for Civil Rights and David Bernstein of Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University join Jeffrey Ro...
Oct 27, 2022•57 min
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in National Pork Producers v. Ross . The case is about a 2018 California ballot initiative, in which voters decided that the state should prohibit the in-state sale of pork from animals confined in a manner inconsistent with California standards. Opponents of the amendment argue that it violates dormant Commerce Clause jurisprudence. Today on We the People , Erwin Chemerinsky , dean of Berkeley Law, and Michael McConnell of Stanford Law join host...
Oct 21, 2022•44 min
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Merrill v. Milligan . The Court will determine whether Alabama’s 2021 redistricting plan for its seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits racially discriminatory voting practices and procedures. Joining host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss whether Section 2 and the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution require or forbids congressional districting plans to account for ...
Oct 13, 2022•53 min
To conclude our week-long celebration of Constitution Day and to celebrate the launch of our Constitution 101 course, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (ret.) joined Jeffrey Rosen , president and CEO of the NCC, for a private conversation with middle and high school students about the importance of civics education in America. Justice Breyer recently joined Justice Neil Gorsuch as honorary co-chair of the National Constitution Center. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@...
Oct 06, 2022•56 min
After a few months of summer break, the Supreme Court will begin its next term on Monday, October 3. And it could be another historic term. Some of the cases on the docket involve affirmative action, voting rights, free speech and religious liberty, and the Indian Child Welfare Act. Caroline Fredrickson of Georgetown Law and Adam White of George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School join host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the key cases and potential themes, including Justice Ketanji Brown Jackso...
Sep 29, 2022•1 hr 4 min
This summer, as a continuation of the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Drafting Project, teams of leading conservative, libertarian, and progressive scholars convened for a virtual constitutional convention. After debating and deliberating together, they drafted and proposed a series of amendments to the Constitution. In this episode, we share the presentation that the team leaders made on Monday, discussing the five amendments they all agreed upon. Caroline Fredrickson , senior fello...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 4 min
September 17 is Constitution Day in the United States, celebrating the day that members of the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia in 1787. As a part of the National Constitution Center’s 2022 celebrations, we hosted a panel live at the NCC in Philadelphia called “Originalism: A Matter of Interpretation.” Emily Bazelon of The New York Times Magazine , Rich Lowry of the National Review , Steven Mazie of The Economist , and Ilan Wurman of Arizona State University joined h...
Sep 16, 2022•1 hr 2 min
We have just launched an exciting project on the NCC’s website: The Founders’ Library . In it, you can read primary texts that span American constitutional history—from the philosophical works that influenced the Founding generation, to the most important speeches, essays, books, pamphlets, petitions, letters, court cases, landmark statutes, and state constitutions that have shaped the American constitutional tradition. To ensure nonpartisan rigor and ideological diversity, we assembled a group ...
Sep 08, 2022•1 hr 16 min
On August 24th, the White House announced a plan to forgive $20,000 in student loan debt for borrowers who received Pell Grants, and $10,000 for other borrowers—all of whom must meet certain income qualifications. The Biden administration says the plan falls under The HEROES Act of 2003. Those in opposition of the plan say it’s presidential overreach, and unfair to those who didn’t go to college or already paid back their loans. Fred Lawrence of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and Charles C. W. Cooke...
Sep 01, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Today on We the People , we’re sharing a conversation from a private event hosted by the National Constitution Center this May in Coral Gables, Florida, recorded with permission from the speakers. The question we asked of our panelists was, “Is the First Amendment Enough?” In today’s world of Twitter mobs, disinformation, and polarized media, should we be looking for a new standard when it comes to regulating speech—or not? Journalists Kimberly Atkins Stohr of The Boston Globe , David French of ...
Aug 25, 2022•59 min
On August 8, the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida. They seized 11 sets of documents, some of which were labeled “top secret.” Later in the week, a federal judge unsealed the search warrant, which stated that Trump was being investigated for possibly violating the Espionage Act and two other criminal statutes. John Yoo of the University of California at Berkeley and Steve Vladeck of the University of Texas Law School join host Jeffrey Rosen to t...
Aug 18, 2022•54 min
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, opened a new exhibit this summer called We the People: The Radical Notion of Democracy . It features an original print of the U.S. Constitution—one of only 11 in the world—as well as original prints of the Declaration of Independence, the proposed Bill of Rights, and the Articles of Confederation. To celebrate the opening, the museum invited Jeffrey Rosen , president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, to host a conver...
Aug 11, 2022•1 hr 13 min
The Electoral Count Act of 1887 is the law that dictates the congressional procedure for certifying Electoral College results in a presidential election. Congress passed it in response to the presidential election of 1876, where Democrat Samuel Tilden won the popular vote, but lost the presidency to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes because of contested results in three states. The law is also implicated in the attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election. Now, Senator Joe Man...
Aug 05, 2022•1 hr 1 min
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned the landmark decision of Roe v. Wade and found no constitutional basis for a right to choose abortion. Teresa Stanton Collett of the University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota), David French of The Dispatch , Katherine Mayall of the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Mary Ziegler of UC Davis School of Law and author of Dollars for Life: The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establ...
Jul 28, 2022•59 min
In June, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Moore v. Harper , a case out of North Carolina about the power of state courts to review election regulations set by state legislatures. At the heart of the case is the so-called “independent state legislature” theory, which has gained popularity in some limited circles. The Supreme Court will now directly address it when it hears arguments in the case next term. Joining us to examine the arguments for and against the independent state legislature theory...
Jul 21, 2022•55 min
On July 6th, the National Constitution Center hosted a panel to present the reports of teams participating in the Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy project. The project brings together three teams of leading experts— conservative, libertarian, and progressive—to identify institutional, legal, and technological reforms that might address current threats to American democracy. Team conservative is comprised of Sarah Isgur, Jonah Goldberg, and David French—all of The Dispatch . Team li...
Jul 14, 2022•56 min
Back in March, we recapped oral arguments in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency , a case concerning the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. On the last day of its term, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 opinion dealing a significant blow to the federal government’s ability to enact climate regulations, and calling into question the future of the administrative state. Joining us to unpack the opinion is Jonathan Adler , inaugural Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of La...
Jul 08, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Toward the end of yet another landmark Supreme Court term, the Court issued decisions in two major cases concerning religious liberty when it comes to education in America. Carson v. Makin held that the state of Maine can’t withhold public funding from families relying on vouchers to attend religious schools. And Kennedy v. Bremerton came out in favor of a public high school football coach who lost his job after leading prayers on the 50-yard line. These are big First Amendment cases with widesp...
Jun 30, 2022•52 min
On Friday, June 24th, the Supreme Court released its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization . The decision overrules the landmark cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey , which held that women have the constitutional right to seek pre-viability abortions. In this episode, professors Mary Ziegler of UC Davis Law School and O. Carter Snead of Notre Dame Law School join once again to unpack the constitutional reasoning in the majority opinion and the dissent, and the imp...
Jun 27, 2022•58 min
On Thursday, June 23, the Supreme Court released its opinion in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v.Bruen . In a 6-3 opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court held that New York’s law requiring anyone seeking a concealed carry license to demonstrate they had “proper cause” for the license—or a special need for self-defense—violated the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. The decision expands the Second Amendment right to bear arms to include outside the home. To help...
Jun 25, 2022•56 min
