The Supreme Court has not decided a major Second Amendment case since McDonald v. Chicago in 2010, but the Court may break this silence soon if it decides to grant certiorari in Mance v. Whitaker – a challenge to a law prohibiting interstate handgun sales. In this episode, Cato's Clark Neily, a leading Second Amendment litigator, and Adam Winkler, UCLA Law professor and noted Second Amendment scholar, join host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss Mance and other pending cases and debate whether courts have...
Jan 17, 2019•1 hr 3 min
President Trump and congressional Democrats remain at an impasse over a White House proposal to fund the construction of a southern border wall. The president has said that if Congress decides not to appropriate the funds, then he will “probably” declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress and build the wall. On this episode of We the People, we ask: what would happen if the president decided to declare a national emergency and divert military funds to build the wall? What statutes could...
Jan 10, 2019•57 min
Jeffrey Rosen hosts a live conversation at the National Constitution Center with leading journalists—Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic ; Michelle Goldberg, op-ed columnist for The New York Times ; and Jonah Goldberg, senior editor of the National Review— discussing what James Madison might think of mainstream media today and the effects of social media on modern democracy and politics. The conversation explores everything from Twitter mobs and the threats posed by growing tribali...
Jan 03, 2019•57 min
Pulitzer-prize winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin sits down with host Jeffrey Rosen at the National Constitution Center to discuss her new book, Leadership in Turbulent Times –a culmination of five decades of acclaimed study in presidential history. Goodwin compares the leadership styles of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson, sharing fascinating anecdotes and lessons from these legendary presidents, and offering hopeful advice about how to apply these...
Dec 27, 2018•1 hr 15 min
This episode looks back at the biggest constitutional issues of 2018—from the recent ruling striking down Obamacare, to the Emoluments Clause lawsuits, the census case, the Mueller investigation, and more. Guests Emily Bazelon and Josh Blackman join host Jeffrey Rosen to give updates about where these constitutional questions stand and forecast where they’re headed next year. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org....
Dec 20, 2018•1 hr 5 min
President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to several crimes, including illegally making hush money payments to two women alleging affairs with then-candidate Trump. On this episode, campaign finance law experts Rick Hasen, a law professor at UC Irvine and co-editor of Election Law Journal , and Brad Smith, former chair of the FEC and founder of the Institute for Free Speech, debate the campaign finance laws at issue, explore preced...
Dec 13, 2018•37 min
This episode examines the constitutionality of the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act – bipartisan legislation that, if passed, would impose regulations on firing a Special Counsel (such as Robert Mueller). Although the bill is stalled for now, legal thinkers continue to offer a range of views on its constitutionality. Joining host Jeffrey Rosen to explore this debate are Josh Geltzer of Georgetown, arguing that the bill is not constitutional, and Eric Posner of University of Chicago...
Dec 06, 2018•54 min
On this episode – originally published on our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall – Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) breaks down the recent developments related to The Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, which he co-sponsored. (We explored the constitutionality of the act on this week’s episode of We the People .) Sen. Coons also shares his plans to make the Constitution a bigger part of the work of the Senate, and asks, what ever happened to Senate debates? He sits down with Na...
Dec 06, 2018•34 min
This episode explores the Supreme Court case The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, which concerns a lawsuit over the possible demolition of a 40 foot tall cross that is part of a World War I memorial on public property in Maryland. Lawyers representing both sides — Ken Klukowski and Monica Miller — explain the history of the cross at issue, debate whether or not it unconstitutionally promotes Christianity, and forecast the case’s potential impact on how the First Amendment’s Esta...
Nov 29, 2018•57 min
President Trump’s revocation of CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass and the ongoing lawsuit CNN v. Trump have brought issues relating to press freedom and due process under the Constitution back into the news. On this episode, David French, senior writer at National Review and Katie Fallow, senior attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, break down the latest developments in the CNN case as well as broader First Amendment issues in the courts tod...
Nov 21, 2018•59 min
After Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request of President Trump, the president appointed Sessions’ former chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, to serve as acting attorney general, and a flurry of questions about the legality, constitutionality, and political repercussions of these developments ensued. Constitutional law scholar Steve Vladeck and political scientist Greg Weiner join host Jeffrey Rosen to think through those questions, including: Is Whitaker’s appointment constitution...
Nov 15, 2018•56 min
President Trump’s declaration that he could revoke birthright citizenship with an executive order has set off a firestorm of controversy among legal scholars. On this episode, Professors Akhil Amar and Edward Erler debate whether or not the 14th Amendment requires birthright citizenship for all, and dive into the disputed history and original meaning of the Constitution’s Citizenship Clause. Jeffrey Rosen moderates as Amar argues that birthright citizenship is constitutionally required, while Er...
Nov 08, 2018•1 hr 5 min
As Americans prepare to head to the polls next week, We the People partnered with Ballotpedia for a rundown of the election law and voting rights issues most relevant to the 2018 midterms. Ballotpedia’s News Editor Sarah Rosier joins election law scholars Franita Tolson and Michael Morley to break down all sides of the legal arguments surrounding voter ID laws, gerrymandering, “signature matching,” the purging of voter rolls, and felon disenfranchisement. Jeffrey Rosen hosts.
Nov 01, 2018•49 min
With the 2018 midterm elections fast approaching, this episode delves into the history of congressional elections, from the Founding to today, answering the questions: What did the Founders expect that Congressional elections would look like? What did they look like throughout the 19th and 20th centuries? How did they lead to the political tribalism of the 21st century? And what can the most consequential congressional elections, the ones that realigned and redefined our nation, tell us about th...
Oct 25, 2018•58 min
In the aftermath of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, debates about the Supreme Court’s legitimacy remain in the public spotlight. Some believe that the Kavanaugh confirmation caused a legitimacy crisis that can only be solved by reform proposals such as court packing and term limits for justices, while others believe the Court has maintained its legitimacy and is still a neutral arbiter of the law. Is the Supreme Court really having a legitimacy crisis? Host Jeffrey Rosen discusses that q...
Oct 18, 2018•59 min
Cries of “defamation” came from the White House following the publication of in-depth reporting on President Donald Trump and his finances by The New York Times , but this is not the first time the president has expressed criticism of the press or U.S. libel laws. Adam Liptak of The New York Times and NYU Law Professor Richard Epstein join Jeffrey Rosen to explain what libel is and how laws against libel and slander fit within the First Amendment’s protections of free speech and the free press. ...
Oct 11, 2018•48 min
Senators Jeff Flake and Chris Coons join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss their important role in the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, including their last-minute agreement to pause the nomination to allow for an FBI investigation of the allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. They also share their hopes and fears for the future of the Senate and the Supreme Court, and how political tribalism today threatens the legitimacy of these American institutions. This conversation, recorded live at The Atlant...
Oct 04, 2018•44 min
We take a deep dive into the upcoming Supreme Court term, set to begin Monday, October 1, and explore forthcoming cases that involve everything from double jeopardy and excessive fines to cemeteries and endangered frogs. Host Jeffrey Rosen is joined by Brianne Gorod of the Constitutional Accountability Center and Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, who both filed amicus briefs in many of the cases discussed, and filed jointly in one of this term’s key cases, Gamble v. United States ....
Sep 27, 2018•54 min
This episode, recorded live in New York City at the Federal Bar Association’s 2018 annual convention, features a debate of the following question: “Should Chevron Be Overturned?” The 1984 Supreme Court decision Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council established a judicial doctrine of deference to certain administrative agency actions commonly known as “Chevron deference.” As wonky as it may sound, Chevron is implicated in important constitutional debates surrounding the modern administrati...
Sep 20, 2018•53 min
Nina Totenberg and Neal Katyal join host Jeffrey Rosen to unpack Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings and evaluate his testimony. Totenberg and Katyal recap what we learned about Kavanaugh’s judicial philosophy and his views on everything from the role of precedent to presidential power, and forecast how Kavanaugh, if confirmed, might shape the Supreme Court in years to come.
Sep 13, 2018•55 min
In the midst of the contentious confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, we explore the history of Supreme Court confirmation hearings and consider their constitutional implications. How did the Framers envision the Senate’s role in providing “advice and consent,” and how has it evolved over time? Guests: Lori Ringhand – professor at the University of Georgia School of Law and Adam J. White – research fellow at the Hoover Institution. This is the first episode in a two-part series coverin...
Sep 06, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Last week’s guilty plea from Michael Cohen and the conviction of Paul Manafort prompted widespread debate over whether the president was implicated in criminal acts and if he should be impeached. Alan Dershowitz and Joshua Matz join host Jeffrey Rosen for a spirited debate on when and how the Framers intended for the impeachment power to be used. A transcript of the podcast is linked here . This text may not be in its final form and accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the futu...
Aug 30, 2018•53 min
In the midst of the Civil War, Robert Smalls overtook a Confederate boat filled with 17 other enslaved people and steered it to freedom. This extraordinary act was the first of many, as Smalls went on to a groundbreaking career of activism and became one of the first African American men elected to Congress. We examine his remarkable life on this final episode of our special Stories of the Civil War and Reconstruction series. Guests: Kate Masur , associate professor of history at Northwestern Un...
Aug 24, 2018•59 min
This week, we uncover the life of Harriet Scott, the wife and co-plaintiff of Dred Scott in the infamous case Dred Scott v. Sanford . Although much is known about the case itself – in which the Supreme Court held that African Americans were not citizens of the United States – little attention has been devoted to the people who brought the case before the Court and lived with the devastating consequences. Guests: Martha S. Jones – author and professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Lea VanderVe...
Aug 23, 2018•58 min
This episode delves into the extraordinary life of reparations advocate Callie House, who tirelessly traveled the country organizing newly freed African Americans in the quest to right the wrongs of slavery. Despite her status as a former slave, a woman, and a widower with five children, House defied societal conventions and led one of the largest grassroots movements in African American history. Guests: Mary Frances Berry – professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the definitiv...
Aug 16, 2018•46 min
John Bingham was one of the most influential but least known visionaries of the post-Civil War Constitution. Dubbed “the James Madison of the 14th Amendment” by Justice Hugo Black, Bingham drafted a constitutional provision that changed the course of American history by ensuring that states were duty-bound to uphold their citizens’ constitutional rights. A moderate Republican and dedicated supporter of abolition before the Civil War, Bingham spearheaded the Reconstruction-era efforts to guarante...
Aug 09, 2018•56 min
On this debut episode of our special Stories of the Civil War and Reconstruction Series, we examine the life of one of America’s most influential abolitionists, orators, writers, and statesmen – Frederick Douglass. Growing up as an enslaved person in Maryland, Douglass set himself apart by learning to read and write at an early age. After escaping from slavery, Douglass moved to Massachusetts where he became involved with local anti-slavery groups and newspapers. Ardently advocating for abolitio...
Aug 02, 2018•1 hr 7 min
After his recent meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin and comments about Russian interference in the 2016 elections, President Donald Trump has sparked a new controversy relating to the constitutional definition of treason, and to what extent actions taken in support of a foreign nation might constitute treason. Jeffrey Rosen leads a discussion about the Treason Clause of the Constitution, what it means, and how it has been interpreted. Paul Crane is an assistant professor of law at the...
Jul 26, 2018•1 hr 13 min
Jeffrey Rosen leads a discussion about the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Gorsuch’s first year on the Supreme Court, and what the future of the Court might look like. Brianne Gorod is the Constitutional Accountability Center’s chief counsel. She previously served as CAC’s Appellate Counsel. Elizabeth Slattery is a legal fellow and appellate advocacy program manager at the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and Institute for Constitutional Government at the Heritage Foundation. Q...
Jul 19, 2018•1 hr 8 min
Leading Civil War and Reconstruction scholars discuss the history and meaning of the 14th Amendment in celebration of its 150th anniversary. Allen Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era, and Director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College. Martha Jones is Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. Kurt Lash is E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law and Founder and director of the Richmond Program on the...
Jul 12, 2018•1 hr 9 min
