On Presidents Day 2024, NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen launched his new book at the NCC in conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg , editor in chief of The Atlantic . They discuss The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America . This program was recorded live on February 19, 2024, and presented in partnership with The Atlantic . Resources: Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives ...
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Jeffrey Rosen talks about his new book, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America , followed by a panel discussion on the influence of classical writers and thinkers on the founding generation. Panelists include University of Chicago Professor Eric Slauter , Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George Will ; and Melody Barnes , executive director of UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy. This program was recorded live on February 9,...
Feb 15, 2024•1 hr 13 min
In this week’s episode, we are sharing audio from a program hosted live from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and presented in partnership with ASU’s Center for Constitution Design. The program centered around a discussion of the National Constitution Center’s landmark Constitution Drafting Project , and featured members from each project team— Georgetown Law’s Caroline Fredrickson of Team Progressive, the Goldwater Institute’s Timothy Sandefur of Team Libertarian, a...
Feb 09, 2024•57 min
Called “a degenerate son of science” by Thomas Jefferson and a “bungling lawgiver” by James Madison, Scottish philosopher David Hume was cited so often at the Constitutional Convention that delegates seemed to have committed his essays to memory. In this episode, we are sharing audio from a recent America’s Town Hall program featuring Angela Coventry , author of Hume: A Guide for the Perplexed ; Dennis Rasmussen , author of The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendshi...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr
Several recent cases before the Supreme Court have raised important questions at the intersection of technology and law. In this episode, Alex Abdo of the Knight First Amendment Institute, Clay Calvert of the American Enterprise Institute, and David Greene of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, join Jeffrey Rosen for a conversation exploring key tech cases, including Netchoice v Paxton , Murthy v. Missouri , Lindke v. Freed , and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier . This program was streamed live on J...
Jan 25, 2024•58 min
On January 17, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce —two cases that ask whether the Court should overturn the landmark Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council case. In this episode, guests Christopher Walker of Michigan Law School and Timothy Sandefur of the Goldwater Institue join to recap the arguments in both cases and to explore the future of Chevron and the administrative state. Jeffrey Rosen , president...
Jan 19, 2024•58 min
Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine Secretary of State determined that President Trump “engaged in an insurrection” after taking an oath to uphold the Constitution and that he is therefore disqualified from serving as president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. In this episode, professors Josh Blackman of the South Texas College of Law Houston and Gerard Magliocca of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law dive into the meaning and purpose of Section 3 of th...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr
In this episode: The Espionage Act of 1917, one of the most contentious statutes relating to the First Amendment, is back in the news following the indictment of President Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents. What is the Espionage Act and how has it been used over time? Legal scholar Heidi Kitrosser , author of Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution , and political historian Sam Lebovic , author of State of Silence: The Espiona...
Jan 04, 2024•1 hr 4 min
In this episode, Joyce Lee Malcolm , author of The Times That Try Men’s Souls: The Adams, the Quincys, and the Families Divided by the American Revolution—and How They Shaped a New Nation , and Eli Merritt , author of Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution , explore the origins and clashing ideologies during the American Revolution, how loyalists and patriots feared civil war, and how the founders’ fears of demaguges influenced their approach to constitutional...
Dec 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min
In this episode, Jeffrey Rosen , president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, talks with C-SPAN’s Peter Slen about the life and career of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. The conversation is part of C-SPAN’s Books That Shaped America series, which explores key works from American history that have had a major impact on society. This discussion features Holmes’ The Common Law , written in 1881. You can find all segments from the C-SPAN series at c-span.org/booksthatshapedamerica . Res...
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr 29 min
In this episode, Robert Post , Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School, delves into his newly released and highly anticipated volumes from the Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court, The Taft Court: Making Law for a Divided Nation, 1921–1930 . Post explores the history of the Taft Court and the contrasting constitutional approaches among its justices, including Chief Justice Taft, Louis Brandeis, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and the infamous James McReynolds. Jeffrey Rosen...
Dec 14, 2023•58 min
On Tuesday, December 4, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Moore v. United States . The case concerns a challenge to the “mandatory repatriation tax,” and asks whether the Constitution allows Congress to tax American shareholders for the unrealized earnings of a foreign corporation. In this episode, Akhil Amar of Yale Law School and Anastasia Boden of the Cato Institute join Jeffrey Rosen to break down the arguments on both sides of the case. The conversation touches on the history of tax...
Dec 08, 2023•56 min
On Wednesday, November 29, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy . The case involves three constitutional challenges to the agency, involving the right to a jury trial; the nondelegation doctrine; and the scope of executive power. In this episode, Noah Rosenblum , assistant professor of law at NYU, and Ilan Wurman , assistant professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, join Jeffrey Rosen to break down the argu...
Dec 01, 2023•50 min
Last week the Supreme Court announced that it adopted a formal code of ethics, endorsed by all nine Justices. In this episode, Professor Daniel Epps of Washington University School of Law and Professor Stephen Vladeck of the University of Texas School of Law join Jeffrey Rosen to break down the Supreme Court ethics code and explore questions about how it will be applied and enforced. Resources: Supreme Court of the United States, Statement of the Court Regarding the Code of Conduct , Nov. 13, 20...
Nov 22, 2023•57 min
Historians Ned Blackhawk and Brenda Child join for a conversation on Blackhawk’s national bestseller, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History, which just won the National Book Award . They explore five centuries of U.S. history to shed light on the central role Indigenous peoples have played in shaping our nation’s narrative. Jeffrey Rosen , president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was streamed live on November 1, 2023. Re...
Nov 17, 2023•57 min
This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a Second Amendment case , United States v. Rahimi . This case asks whether the federal government can ban guns for people subject to domestic-violence restraining orders. In this episode, we break down the arguments in the case and explore the future of the Second Amendment. Clark Neily of the Cato Institute and Pepperdine Law Professor Jacob Charles join Jeffrey Rosen , president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, to discuss. Resour...
Nov 09, 2023•1 hr 4 min
This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases about social media and the First Amendment. The cases involve questions surrounding when and whether a public official’s social media activity constitutes state action subject to First Amendment constraints—and if so, whether they can block individuals from their social media pages. In this episode, David Cole of the ACLU and Professor Eugene Volokh of UCLA Law join to break down the arguments in both cases, discuss the claims being ...
Nov 03, 2023•1 hr
This week we are sharing an episode from our companion podcast, Live at the National Constitution Center. In this episode, prize-winning historians Kate Masur , author of Until Justice Be Done: America’s First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction , and Dylan Penningroth , author of the new book Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights , explore the central role of African Americans in the struggle for justice and equality long before the Civil Rights ...
Oct 26, 2023•59 min
This week we are sharing an episode from our companion podcast, Live at the National Constitution Center. In this episode, these three leading experts on American presidents— Sidney Milkis and Barbara Perry of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, and Stephen Knott of Ashland University—warn about the increasingly demagogic nature of the presidency. Their discussion traces a historical journey, from George Washington, who governed as a neutral and unifying officeholder, to modern president...
Oct 19, 2023•1 hr 2 min
In its most recent round of redistricting, the South Carolina legislature changed the demographic of a congressional district, resulting in a number of Black voters being moved to a different district. Challengers argued that the state violated the 14th Amendment by unlawfully racially gerrymandering the district; while lawmakers countered that political, not racial, factors motivated the redistricting. Election law experts Rick Hasen of UCLA Law and Jason Torchinsky of the Holtzman Vogel law fi...
Oct 12, 2023•55 min
On Tuesday, October 3, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America. Industry groups representing payday lenders brought a challenge arguing that the CFPB funding structure is unconstitutional under the Appropriations Clause. The outcome of the case could have big effects not just on the future of the CFPB itself, but on the economy, markets, and the future of the administrative state. In this episode, two l...
Oct 06, 2023•46 min
On Monday, October 2, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing cases for the 2023-24 term. It is likely to be yet another landmark term for the Court, with cases on the docket about the scope of the right to bear arms; whether Chevron will be overturned; the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the First Amendment and social media; and more. Adam Liptak of The New York Times and Sarah Isgur , host of Advisory Opinions , join host Jeffrey Rosen , to preview the term, discuss...
Sep 28, 2023•57 min
How did America’s founders view religious liberty? What does it mean today? And to what does the Constitution require religious exemptions from generally applicable laws? Marci Hamilton , author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty , and Michael McConnell , co-author of Agreeing to Disagree: How the Establishment Clause Protects Religious Diversity and Freedom of Conscience , join for a special Constitution Day discussion to celebrate the opening of the Center’s new Firs...
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 4 min
The National Constitution Center, in partnership with a coalition of leading free speech organizations, convened a National First Amendment Summit on September 13, 2023, to discuss the increasing threats to freedom of expression and to celebrate the opening of the Center’s new First Amendment gallery. The third panel of the event, “The First Amendment on Campus and Online,” examined the increasing conflicts involving free speech on campuses and online in an age of social media, artificial intell...
Sep 14, 2023•41 min
This summer, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would attempt to set ethics rules for the U.S. Supreme Court and a process to enforce them, including rules for transparency around recusals, gifts, and conflicts of interest. The bill, which still requires full Senate approval, is the latest in a series of proposals and attempts to reform or improve the Supreme Court in recent years. In this episode of We the People , we discuss various proposals to reform ethics rules surrou...
Sep 07, 2023•49 min
Two constitutional law scholars—Will Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen—recently published an in-depth article arguing that President Donald Trump is disqualified for running for reelection under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. In this episode, law professors Mark Graber and Michael McConnell join host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss what Section 3 means and how it applies to disqualification from office; whether President Trump's actions qualify as engaging in insurrection; whether or not Section 3 is ...
Aug 31, 2023•56 min
Described in The Federalist as “the celebrated Montesquieu,” Charles de Montesquieu was cited more often than any other author from 1760-1800. In what ways did his writings and ideas help shape the U.S. Constitution and the structure of American government? William B. Allen of Michigan State University, Thomas Pangle of the University of Texas at Austin, Dennis Rasmussen of Syracuse University, and Diana Schaub of the American Enterprise Institute, discuss the political thought of Montesquieu an...
Aug 24, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Christopher Beem , author of The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy ; Richard Haass , author of The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens ; and Lorraine Pangle , author of Reason and Character: The Moral Foundations of Aristotelian Political Philosophy, discuss the concepts of civic virtue and citizenship in democratic societies. Jeffrey Rosen , president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was or...
Aug 17, 2023•58 min
Earlier this month, President Trump was indicted in federal court in Washington, D.C. for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential elections. Judge J. Michael Luttig joins Jeffrey Rosen for a conversation about the constitutional and historical questions raised by the indictment. Resources: Jeffrey Rosen, “ The Founders Anticipated the Threat of Trump ,” Wall Street Journal (Aug. 4, 2023) “ Former federal judge J. Michael Luttig on Jan. 6 indictment and American democracy ,” Washington Post ...
Aug 10, 2023•51 min
In this episode, a panel of libertarian and conservative scholars— J. Joel Alicea of the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, Anastasia Boden of the Cato Institute, and Sherif Girgis of Notre Dame Law School—explore the different strands of originalism as a constitutional methodology. They also explore the Roberts Court’s application of originalism in recent cases, and how originalism intersects with textualism and other interpretive approaches. Jeffrey Rosen , president and CE...
Aug 03, 2023•58 min
