A friendship for the ages. One of the most important intellectual collaborations in human history. Fifty years of harmonious cooperation on profound issues of government and philosophy. Lewis & Clark? Nah, they just wandered in the wilderness. Lennon & McCartney? Nah, but we have to admit that Lennon was quite a philosopher, at least when he wasn't high. We're talking about Jemmy & Jeffy, a/k/a James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. They weren't much for roughing it, and neither wrote a...
Apr 18, 2014•54 min
The Constitution protects the fundamental right of parents to rear and educate their children as they see fit. It also protects the free speech rights of teachers and students. And, somewhere in this mix is the important concept of academic freedom, which makes the courts reluctant to second-guess the educational choices of teachers. Sometimes, all of these rights and interests seem to conflict, and the result is a struggle over the banning of a book - perhaps from a public school library or fro...
Apr 11, 2014•54 min
Do we have a constitutional right to smile? Seems silly, but we probably do - after all, smiling is expressive activity, and such expression is protected by the First Amendment. But not every country has a First Amendment. One of those unfortunate countries is Romania, especially when it suffered under the heel of a communist dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu. One of Stewart's students at the Appalachian School of Law, a young woman named Irina Dan McGarry, grew up during the last few years of that di...
Apr 04, 2014•54 min
In this final installment of our three-part series on Colonial Williamsburg, Stewart interviews two CW interpreters: Richard Schumann, who portrays Patrick Henry, and Bryan Austin, who interprets James Madison. The beginning of the interview is in character: Madison and Henry square off in a spirited debate over the ratification of the Constitution. Then Stewart interviews Richard and Bryan as themselves, and they explain the many challenges and rewards of assuming the roles of two such importan...
Mar 28, 2014•54 min
We're back with the second installment of our three-part series on one of our favorite places in the world: Colonial Williamsburg. This week Stewart speaks with CW staffers Bill Weldon, Frances Burroughs, Lisa Heuvel and Bill White. Together, they explore CW's extensive educational outreach efforts - things like the online/in-person/online adventure game, REVQUEST - and also the many other programs provided by Colonial Williamsburg that make it one of the premiere places in America for civic edu...
Mar 21, 2014•54 min
This week Stewart visits with Cash Arehart, our friend and interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, one of the coolest places on the planet. Stewart and Cash talk about the history of the city of Williamsburg, the establishment of Colonial Williamsburg in the 1920's, and the evolution of this unique institution of living history over the past century. Listen in. It's epic.
Mar 14, 2014•54 min
Was anesthesia invented in Georgia? Or was it in Massachusetts? Or maybe Rhode Island? All three states have historical markers claiming this major medical breakthrough as their own. Did the first powered flight take place in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina? Or in Pittsburg, Texas? A Texas state marker gives the hat tip to Pittsburg. To unravel this unsettling problem, Stewart welcomes James Loewen to discuss his book, “Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Got Wrong.” Mr. Loewen is also the a...
Mar 07, 2014•53 min
You've got a right to have your day in court. Indeed, the Constitution guarantees you a right to a lawyer, and even requires the government to pay for representation -- at least in a criminal case. But what if you have other legal needs? What if someone sues you, and you can't afford a lawyer? How much is a constitutional right worth -- if you can't afford it? Johnson City, Tennessee attorney Tony Seaton has been doing his part to answer these tough questions for years. And now he'll tell us how...
Feb 28, 2014•53 min
Mark Couvillon is back to round out the three part series on Patrick Henry and Red Hill! Give us Couvillon, or give us death! Sorry, got a little carried away there . . . .
Feb 21, 2014•54 min
He's back! By popular demand! Patrick Henry, as explained by author Mark Couvillon! Part I of this can't-miss series took us from Henry's birth in small-town Virginia as a British subject through his "liberty or death" speech, in which he risked the hangman's noose. But that was just the beginning of his fascinating life story. Draw near, and attend!
Feb 14, 2014•54 min
We've been meaning to do an episode on Patrick Henry for a long time. Finally, we've had a chance to visit his final home, his rustic, little-known estate in rural Virginia known as Red Hill. And boy, were we impressed. The ladies at Red Hill arranged for us to visit with Mark Couvillon, who knows more about Patrick Henry than anyone we've ever met. In fact, Mark knows so much that we couldn't cram all of his knowledge into one episode, or even two! Yep, that's right: this will be the first of t...
Feb 07, 2014•54 min
You've heard of Thomas Jefferson. You've heard of Monticello. Perhaps you've even visited Jefferson's famous plantation. But did you know that our third President had another home, a secret hideaway deep in the forests of western Virginia, where he could escape the madding crowds that descended upon him at Monticello? No? Never heard of Poplar Forest? Well that was kind of the point, wasn't it? But we love visiting historical sites and sharing their secrets with you. So please join us as we visi...
Jan 31, 2014•53 min
This week's episode is all about blueberry soup. Whaaa? Oh, sorry for the confusion -- blueberry soup is Icelandic comfort food. Think chicken and dumplings, or perhaps grits. But, again: whaaa? This week we're talking about Iceland. Why? Because in the wake of the recent financial crisis, Iceland had itself a full-blown, grass-roots constitutional reform process. And documentary filmmaker Eileen Jarrett was there. And now she'll tell us all about it. Join us!...
Jan 29, 2014•53 min
In a 2012 poll, the Pew Research Center noted that almost 20% of Americans responded to a question about their religious affiliation with "none of the above." That's the highest percentage in history. And it may change the way we interpret the Religion Clauses of the Constitution. We'll talk to Garrett Sheldon, a Southern Baptist minister and a member of the Political Science Department at the University of Virginia's College at Wise; we'll also speak with John Shuck, a Presbyterian minister and...
Jan 17, 2014•54 min
Our good friend Ed Kelly is quite a storyteller, which makes sense, given the wide range of interesting cases he deals with as the general counsel of East Tennessee State University, where our show is produced. In our fascinating interview, we focus upon Ed's many constitutional cases, which run the gamut from free speech to due process - and also upon some interesting stories from Ed's checkered past. Join us!
Jan 10, 2014•54 min
You've heard of the famous plot to kill Hitler in 1944, code-named Valkyrie. But did you know that the last of the Valkyrie plotters only recently died? His name was Ewald von Kleist, and we'll be talking about him with one of his American relatives, Eric von Kleist. It turns out that the von Kleists, an old aristocratic family from what is now Poland, were anti-Nazi before anti-Nazi was cool. And their adventures make quite a cool story.
Dec 06, 2013•53 min
Never heard of John Bingham? That's a shame. He shouldn't be mysterious at all. For while Thomas Jefferson claimed that "all men are created equal," John Bingham actually wrote equality into the Constitution. What a novel idea.
Nov 29, 2013•54 min
What can you do if an ex-lover posts explicit photographs of you online? Aren't there laws against such behavior? There are, indeed, according to our two guests. But are such laws effective? And, even if they might be effective, do they violate the First Amendment? Join us for a timely, and disturbing, discussion.
Nov 22, 2013•54 min
Part II of our fascinating interview with Simon Winchester. Go back and listen to Part I, then come back here and finish it up. Now! Go! After we finish speaking with Simon, we'll discuss fashion with Charlie Condon, Associate Dean at the Appalachian School of Law -- he's such a snappy dresser. Actually, we'll discuss an important labor case pending in front of the Supreme Court with Charlie - but the case does revolve around clothing, the sort one wears in a steel mill. So, perhaps we should ca...
Nov 15, 2013•54 min
Best-selling author Simon Winchester discusses his new book, "The Men Who United the States." The unity of our nation is not just a political or social phenomenon. It is also physical, made possible throughout our history by roads, canals, railroads, telegraph lines – up to and including the Internet. The story of how Simon Winchester came to write the book is as fascinating as the book itself. Also, Stewart talks to Matt Reeves, the Chief Archeologist at Montpelier, James Madison’s historic hom...
Nov 07, 2013•54 min
Yep, it's that time of year again! Time for our annual Roundup of interesting and important cases now before the United States Supreme Court. We'll talk about abortion, free speech, the environment, unions, and even a murder conspiracy involving a transgendered man. We'll also hear from our friends at Montpelier - the Riddler will make an appearance - as well as a listener who did NOT like our "I Love Boobies" episode, and who tells us precisely why.
Nov 01, 2013•54 min
The Harlem Shake! Last spring, a bunch of kids at Tennessee High in Bristol, Tennessee, got permission from their school to make a spoof video featuring the then-current dance craze, the Harlem Shake. Hilarity did not ensue. In fact, according to the students, local school officials pressured them to remove the video from YouTube. Wait, can they do that? After we finish dancing, we'll talk about another topic near and dear to many people: traffic cameras. Now, now, calm down. Watch your blood pr...
Oct 25, 2013•54 min
We love boobies! We're betting that you do, too. But if you wear a bracelet expressing that sentiment in a public school, you might get kicked out. Even if all you're trying to do is promote breast cancer awareness. First Amendment, anyone? After we've (ahem) gotten abreast of the free speech issues, we'll shift our attention to another of our favorite subjects, the Third Amendment. You remember that one -- it covers . . . it deals with . . . with . . . calling Quiz Lady Kelly Carmichael!...
Oct 17, 2013•55 min
You don't have to be big and strong to defend the Constitution. You just have to be brave and determined. Just ask Mary Beth Tinker, who wore a black armband to school to protest the Vietnam War despite warnings that she would be punished. Then she took her case all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Join us and we'll tell you what happened next.
Oct 04, 2013•59 min
Hmm - that doesn't sound very pleasant. Actually, the Beard in question is a person, Charles Beard, and he's dead. Hmm - that doesn't sound very pleasant, either. But it's fascinating. You see, Beard was a historian who wrote the most important book you've never heard of, "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States," published precisely a century ago, in 1913. Beard's book has been causing academic fistfights since the day it was published, and that's why we're still tal...
Sep 27, 2013•59 min
Never heard of Tule Lake? Consider yourself lucky. It's where the United States concentrated those Japanese-Americans who dared to protest their unlawful incarceration during World War II. We speak with Barbara Takei, some of whose relatives were imprisoned at Tule Lake, and who has spent years researching it. A sobering but fascinating episode.
Sep 20, 2013•59 min
Truancy is a serious problem: serious for the school, for the student, and for society. It's also presents several serious constitutional issues. We speak with Professor Dean Rivkin of the University of Tennessee College of Law, and with his student, Anna Swift, who are working hard to make the truancy courts of Tennessee better for the students and for the United States Constitution. Join us!
Sep 13, 2013•59 min
Our best field trip ever! We visit the historic City Tavern. When the delegates to the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia in May, 1787, there were no modern hotels. They stayed at boarding houses or private homes, and they ate (and drank) in taverns. The most prominent of those was the City Tavern, which has been authentically re-built so that that you can go and eat (and drink) the same way that the delegates did. It is easily the most enjoyable historical research we have ever ...
Sep 08, 2013•59 min
Is he a whistle-blower, or a traitor? We'll leave that judgment to history, or perhaps to the federal courts. In the meantime, we'll put Ed Snowden's Big Adventure in historical context, aided by Professor Joseph Fitsanakis, the Director of King University's Institute for Security and Intelligence Studies. Join us for some cloak and dagger and a little dash of J. Edgar Hoover.
Aug 30, 2013•59 min
Dolley Madison started life in Virginia as a Payne - no pun intended. Then her Quaker family moved to Philadelphia, where she married lawyer John Todd, and had two children. Then, after the death of Todd and one of their children, Dolley faced financial hardship and was forced to sell bread on the streets of Philadelphia. And all of this before she married James Madison - and you'll never believe who introduced them, and who served as James's wingman during the courtship. We talk to Lynn Uzell, ...
Aug 24, 2013•59 min
