Constitutionally Speaking
78 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 641 ratingsHow does the U.S. Constitution work?
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Episodes
Episode 77: Filibuster
February 18, 2022 19:27 - 1 hour - 54.8 MBIn this episode, Jay and Luke discuss procedures in the Senate. After giving a broad overview of how the institution works, they dig deep into the filibuster -- how it works, why it works, and some surprising answers as to whom it benefits.
Episode 76: House Party!
February 01, 2022 19:14 - 1 hour - 45.1 MBIn this episode of Constitutionally Speaking, Luke and Jay continue their explanation of Congress, this time looking at the party structure in the House of Representatives. After Jay offers some broad considerations about the function and structure of the parties, Luke takes a deep dive into how the majority party (right now, the Democrats) actually work in the House.
Episode 75: Congressional Committees
November 23, 2021 15:32 - 1 hour - 44.4 MBIn this episode of Constitutionally Speaking, Jay and Luke discuss the role of committees in Congress. Committees are the workhorses of Congress, where the real legislating happens. The guys evaluate different theories of committee organization, and Luke makes the case that their flexibility makes them still useful in the era of omnibus legislating.
Episode 74: Jay’s New Book!
November 09, 2021 13:58 - 1 hour - 47.1 MBLuke interviews Jay about his new book, James Madison: America’s First Politician, which is out on November 9th. Jay introduces a new bonus for podcast listeners — autographed book plates! — and the two dive (once again!) into Madison’s fascinating political career.
Episode 73: The Electoral Connection
September 23, 2021 15:14 - 1 hour - 37.8 MBIn this week’s episode, Jay and Luke examine what makes members of Congress tick. The answer: paranoia. Specifically, the all-abiding fear that they might lose reelection. The congressional drive toward reelection frames their entire career in Congress, especially how they interact with their constituents back home. It determines how they view their districts and how they communicate with it. Those who are good at this job tend to win reelection. Those who don’t, don’t.
Episode 72: Congress Since the 1990s
September 16, 2021 09:30 - 1 hour - 36 MBIn this final installment of their ‘Historical Congress’ series, Luke and Jay discuss various facets of the legislative group since the 1990s.
Episode 71: Congress’s Post-Watergate Period
September 09, 2021 12:44 - 1 hour - 43.4 MBJay and Luke discuss Congress’s evolution and role after the Watergate scandal.
Episode 70: Congress Confronts the Presidential Government — Progressivism, the New Deal, and the Great Society
September 02, 2021 09:30 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBLuke and Jay take a look at Congress’s confrontation with reform, from the collapse of the Populist movement through the rise of modern American liberalism. As the Civil War generation fades into the past, new cleavages and governing patterns emerge.
Episode 69: The Rise of the Senate in the 19th Century
August 26, 2021 15:30 - 1 hour - 51.2 MBJay and Luke take a look at the long period of congressional dominance in the 19th century, and they explain how congressional supremacy survived everything from the Civil War to civil-service reform.
Episode 68: The Rise of the Senate in the 19th Century
August 19, 2021 09:30 - 1 hour - 43.6 MBJay and Luke take a look at the long period of congressional dominance in the 19th century, and explain how congressional supremacy survived everything from the Civil War to civil-service reform.
Episode 68: Congress and the Civil War
August 19, 2021 09:30 - 1 hour - 43.6 MBJay and Luke discuss Congress and the mid 1800s.
Episode 67: From Ratification to Reconstruction
August 12, 2021 12:20 - 1 hour - 34.5 MBLuke and Jay talk through the early development of Congressional power, the appearance of the committee system, and how the formation of political parties shaped the rules, habits, and customs of Congress.
Episode 66: The Constitutional Congress
August 05, 2021 12:29 - 2 hours - 69.9 MBJay and Luke take a look at the formal structures and rules that govern Congress in the Constitution. Why does each Chamber get to set its own rules? What’s the deal with judging qualifications? Why do we have a Speech and Debate Clause? Each of these provisions came to be in the constitution thanks to a rich combination of history, political theory, practical experience, and luck. Join the guys as they show how the Framers took the eclectic mixture of history and ideas outlined in the last ...
Episode 65: A Deep Dive on Congress
July 29, 2021 13:35 - 1 hour - 41.8 MBJay and Luke are back, this time to discuss the roots of our modern-day Congress.
Episode 64: Van Buren II and Tyler Too [Part 2]
June 18, 2020 19:45 - 1 hour - 52.6 MBPicking up with Martin Van Buren in Jackson’s cabinet, Jay and Luke trace the Little Magicians rise to the vice presidency, his political knife fighting with John C. Calhoun, and his successful introduction of the party convention system. His presidency, bedeviled by the Panic of 1837 at home and trouble abroad with Britain and Mexico, gave rise to the hotly contested election of 1840 that saw the Whigs get organized and the ticket of William Henry Harrison and John Tyler take the White Hous...
Episode 63: Martin Van Buren: The Red Fox of Kinderhook [Part 1]
June 01, 2020 22:09 - 51 minutes - 29.5 MBMartin Van Buren, nicknamed the Red Fox of Kinderhook and the Little Magician, was the first American president born after American independence, the first raised in a home where English was not the primary language, and the first true political organizer. A political genius, who created the model of the nineteenth-century political machine, Van Buren is sadly consigned to the second or third tier of American presidencies. Jay and Luke push back against his undue relegation in this episode, t...
Episode 62: One-Term Wonders: John Quincy Adams, the Last Jeffersonian?
May 26, 2020 19:26 - 1 hour - 54.5 MBLike his father in so many ways, JQA was a man of immense talents, a statesman of vast achievements, a brilliant political mind, and -- like his father -- a one-term president. JQA may, still, be the most qualified person ever to reach the presidency. And yet from the outset, his presidency was a failure. His political angling to get the presidency, the so-called “Corrupt Bargain” between Adams and fourth-place finisher Henry Clay, pitched Adams into the presidency via the House of Representa...
Episode 61: The Decline, Fall, and Peculiar Afterlife of Federalism [The Federalists, Part 3]
March 20, 2020 18:21 - 1 hour - 52.6 MBThe Adams administration saw the rapid, shocking collapse of Federalism as an organized force in American political life. The regnant faction that had forced through ratification, secured America's diplomatic position, and stabilized the public credit, disappeared utterly from the national stage. How did this happen? And if Federalist policies were so essential to American success, where did they go? Jay and Luke trace the ideological and personal divisions within Federalism, which led to its...
Episode 60: The Federalist Agenda: Foreign and Domestic Policy [The Federalists, Part 2]
March 20, 2020 17:12 - 1 hour - 50 MBForeign policy became a key divide between Federalists and the emerging Jeffersonian Republicans, all the more so as Britain and France escalated a rolling series of continental wars. At the same time, domestic polarization around Hamilton's plan of public finance and its successor policies, contributed to a roiling base of political support for Jefferson's growing opposition. Despite Washington's unanimous reelection to the presidency, the divisions between Federalists and Republicans that w...
Episode 59: The Age of Federalism [The Federalists, Part 1]
March 17, 2020 13:10 - 1 hour - 40 MBWelcome to our three-episode miniseries on Federalism. We're taking a deep dive into America's first political party, which governed for the first twelve years under the Constitution, then collapsed entirely. Who were the Federalists? What did they believe? Why were they so dominant and then so completely destroyed? Our first episode takes a big picture look at their ideas, their coalition, the policy challenges they faced, and some of the novel solutions they developed for facing them. We lo...
Episode 58: Alexander Hamilton on Impeachment
March 04, 2020 10:30 - 45 minutes - 26.3 MBNo Founding Father thought more deeply about the presidency than Alexander Hamilton. He was an enthusiastic supporter of a strong chief executive and believed the president had a central and vital role to play in American government, both at home and abroad. Hamilton was also a realist when it came to the nature of politics and, unlike some of his contemporaries, did not shy away from the fact that politics can be a rough business. As a result, Hamilton jumped at the chance to define what imp...
Episode 57: George Mason [The Virginians, Part 7]
February 26, 2020 10:30 - 41 minutes - 23.7 MBIn this final episode of the Virginians miniseries, Jay and Luke discuss George Mason, the godfather of Virginia republicanism. Mason was instrumental in writing the Virginia Constitution in 1776. He was the primary author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, upon which James Madison relied heavily for writing the Bill of Rights. Yet though Mason was a constructive participant at the Constitutional Convention, he eventually opposed the Constitution in strident and bitter terms because he th...
Episode 56: Patrick Henry [The Virginians, Part 6]
February 19, 2020 10:30 - 56 minutes - 32.5 MBIn this episode of the Virginians miniseries, Jay and Look look at the life of Patrick Henry. Perhaps the greatest orator in the history of the United States of America, Henry was an essential part of the “revolutionary vanguard” in the 1760s and 1770s, men who were committed to the project of revolution long before the rest of the country embraced the idea.
Episode 55: John Marshall [The Virginians, Part 5]
February 12, 2020 10:30 - 1 hour - 39.1 MBIn this episode, Jay and Luke discuss John Marshall, perhaps the least appreciated of all the Founding Fathers. A delegate to the Virginia ratifying convention in 1788, Marshall also served briefly as secretary of State before becoming chief justice in 1801. As the head of the Supreme Court, Marshall would secure a legacy for the Federalists long after the party disappeared.
Episode 54: James Monroe [The Virginians, Part 4]
February 05, 2020 10:30 - 1 hour - 44.1 MBIn this episode, Jay and Luke discuss the life and times of James Monroe. A junior partner in the “Virginia Dynasty,” Monroe was the fourth Virginian to be president of the United States — and the only Anti-Federalist ever to rise to the top office. Less an intellectual force than Jefferson or Madison, Monroe is still worth examining, as his career illustrates the evolution of politics in the United States between the 1780s and 1820s.
Episode 53: James Madison [The Virginians, Part 3]
January 29, 2020 10:30 - 1 hour - 49.3 MBIn this episode, Jay and Luke discuss James Madison, often hailed as the Father of the Constitution. Madison’s life remains a bit of a puzzle, as he transitioned from being a strong Federalist in the 1780s to a leading Republican in the 1790s. Jay and Luke try to make sense of this by outlining Madison’s strong commitment to enduring republican principles.
Episode 52: Thomas Jefferson [The Virginians, Part 2]
January 22, 2020 10:30 - 1 hour - 51.7 MBIn this episode, Jay and Luke examine Thomas Jefferson, one of the most puzzling of the Founders. Simultaneously the rhetorician of American equality and a lover of the trappings of aristocracy, Jefferson remains a hard man to pin down. Jay and Luke trace his career from the Declaration of Independence through his founding of the University of Virginia, and try to understand how he aspired to create what he called “an Empire of Liberty.”
Episode 51: George Washington [The Virginians, Part 1]
January 15, 2020 14:20 - 1 hour - 40.9 MBIn this episode, Jay and Luke look at the life and political career of George Washington, with a particular emphasis on how his experience during the Revolutionary War created in him a strong belief in the need for a strong national government. As president, Washington’s prudence and fairness were essential to securing the constitutional experiment in republican government.
Episode 50: Money, Money, Money
July 30, 2019 19:49 - 1 hour - 55.5 MBJay and Luke dig through the twisted, confusing, and occasionally sordid history of campaign finance to tell you where we are, how we got here, and why McCain-Feingold was a terrible law. From Martin Van Buren to Citizens United, get the full picture with this episode of Constitutionally Speaking.
Episode 49: How Did We Get Here, Primarily Speaking?
July 18, 2019 16:41 - 1 hour - 36.4 MBDescription: Jay and Luke have a look at how we wound up with the unusual primary system we have today. Ever since John Adams, America's constitutional system for selecting the president has created tensions and frustrations. Indeed, it's not too much to say that America has never had a particularly good method for choosing the president. What did the Framers miss about parties and factions that created this problem? How have attempts to fix it only made it worse? From Martin Van Buren to Geo...
Episode 48: The Unimpeachable Return
June 27, 2019 15:46 - 1 hour - 34.6 MBJay and Luke are back, this time discussing the future structure of this very podcast and giving a deep explanation of impeachment.
Episode 47: Just How Elastic Is the Elastic Clause?
March 27, 2019 15:21 - 1 hour - 47.8 MBJay and Luke dive headfirst into the Louisiana Purchase to explore the battle over the Elastic Clause.
Episode 46: Who Reviews: Marbury v. Madison and the Marshall Court
March 14, 2019 21:51 - 1 hour - 44.7 MBIn this episode of Constitutionally Speaking, Jay and Luke discuss the origins of judicial review.
Episode 45: The Revolution of 1800
February 26, 2019 16:21 - 1 hour - 39.7 MBIn this episode of Constitutionally Speaking, Jay and Luke discuss the Election of 1800. This contest, pitting Thomas Jefferson against John Adams, is not simply important because it was the first time power transferred from one party to another. It also marked the first time a party organization was integral in bringing about a victory for a candidate.
Episode 44: The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
February 14, 2019 17:52 - 1 hour - 38.7 MBIn this episode of Constitutionally Speaking, Jay and Luke discuss the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798.
Episode 43: Constitutional Moments: Last Treaty in Paris
January 31, 2019 18:57 - 1 hour - 53.3 MBIn this episode of Constitutionally Speaking, Jay and Luke discuss the foreign crisis of 1793 to 1795 and its impact on the development of executive power.
Special Episode: Hamilton and the Free Press [42]
January 23, 2019 11:00 - 45 minutes - 26.4 MBIn this special episode, Luke speaks to the First Families and St. Andrew's Society of New York at the Down Town Association. His speech covers Alexander Hamilton's attitude towards the free press.
Episode 41: A Republic, If You Can Keep It: The Ninth and Tenth Amendments
January 14, 2019 15:56 - 1 hour - 41.5 MBIn this final episode from our Bill of Rights series, Jay and Luke read the Ninth Amendment and Tenth Amendments together, trace the political fight between Federalists and Antifederalists underlying these amendments, and show how they frame the relationship between the people, the states, and the federal government.
Episode 40: The Eighth Amendment: A Cruel and Unusual Episode
January 02, 2019 23:48 - 1 hour - 35.3 MBThis week the guys dig into the Eight Amendment's prohibitions on excessive fines and bail, and on cruel or unusual punishments.
Episode 39: For Twenty Dollars More — Understanding the Seventh Amendment
December 06, 2018 15:29 - 1 hour - 37.7 MBLuke and Jay spend this episode digging into the peculiar American institution of the civil jury: recruiting your fellow citizens to decide disputes over everything from a cow to a global corporation. The civil jury grows in response to concerns about courts of equity: In revolutionary America (and in England), parties could choose whether to have their cases decided according to law or according to a separate equitable judicial system. Americans aren't willing to let the equity system contin...
Episode 38: Know Your Rights
November 28, 2018 21:14 - 1 hour - 46.9 MBJay and Luke take you through the parts of the Sixth Amendment, from speedy and public trials, to the subpoena power. What constitutes an impartial trial and why do we have to have trials in the locality where a crime is committed? The guys connect the Sixth Amendment back to the political and military amendments to outline exactly how Madison imagined using juries to enforce the liberties guaranteed by the early amendments in the Bill of Rights.
Episode 37: Pleading the Fifth, Part Two: Protecting Your Conscience and Taking Your Stuff
November 21, 2018 22:42 - 1 hour - 48.2 MBToday, Jay and Luke talk about the second half of the Fifth Amendment, which means digging into the right against self-incrimination, the guarantee of due process of law, and finally the Takings Clause.
Episode 36: Pleading the Fifth [Part 1]
November 15, 2018 19:53 - 1 hour - 36.8 MBToday, Luke and Jay talk about the first half of the Fifth Amendment. What's so grand about a Grand Jury? Where does it come from and why do we still use it? The guys unpack that and more, looking all the way back to Runnymede and beyond. They also unpack the martial law provisions of the amendment and explain how we think about the law in fundamentally different ways than Madison and his contemporaries did. Finally, they explain how the prohibition on double jeopardy illustrates the intermin...
Episode 35: Introducing the Jury Amendments
October 30, 2018 18:56 - 1 hour - 38.6 MBIn this episode, Jay and Luke take a step back before diving into the jury amendments. We have a look at how the jury amendments turn from building institutions and rights around confidence in neighbors to protect one another from injustice, and towards enforcing those rights with neighborliness as a remedy.
Episode 34: The Fourth Amendment: Hinge of the Bill of Rights
October 18, 2018 10:00 - 1 hour - 38.7 MBIn this week's episode, Jay and Luke take a look at the Fourth Amendment.
Episode 33: No Quarter: Understanding the Third Amendment
October 10, 2018 12:55 - 1 hour - 41.4 MBIn this week's episode, Jay and Luke dig into the most successful, and therefore least controversial, of the the ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights: the prohibition on quartering soldiers. But there's a lot more to the Third Amendment than meets the eye. Most striking to today's reader, it embodies a skepticism of armies with deep historical roots in the 30 Years War, Cromwell's New Model Army, and most immediately the British Occupation of Boston. Beyond historical experience, ho...
Episode 32: Lawyers, Guns, and Money
October 02, 2018 16:27 - 1 hour - 45.3 MBIn this week's episode the guys talk guns. It's the Second Amendment episode, and we're digging in to the right to bear arms: Where did it come from, what did it mean, how was it implemented, and does it still make sense? From James II and the Glorious Revolution to Little Turtle's War in the Ohio Valley, we walk through America's unique and fascinating history with firearms, the right to bear arms's relationship to both ancient and modern concepts of liberty, and why everybody wanted a milit...
Episode 31: Freedom of Speech! (Plus Press, Petition, and Assembly)
September 24, 2018 21:13 - 1 hour - 43.6 MBThis week, Jay and Luke dig into the second part of the First Amendment. They show how Congress curtailed Madison's original protections for free speech and a free press, while taking a look at what these freedoms meant as a practical matter to the founding generation. Politics was pretty wild in late eighteenth century. America had a robust publishing culture that mainly churned out pamphlets and broadsheets -- most famously Common Sense in 1776. Heated pamphleting mirrored and fed a robust ...
Episode 30: The Religion Clauses
September 19, 2018 14:07 - 1 hour - 49.2 MBIn this episode, the guys discuss the First Amendment “Religion Clauses”, which prohibit the establishment of a national church and guarantee the right to free exercise of religion. They spend some time looking at Madison’s initial draft of the amendment and how Congress simplified it in the text that was ultimately ratified, leading some contemporary readers to incorrectly see the Founders as drawing a high distinction between religious and political activities. Madison is really pushing two...
Episode 29: Understanding the First Amendment
September 04, 2018 15:02 - 1 hour - 41.2 MBToday, Jay and Luke begin digging into the Bill of Rights, starting with the First Amendment. Most Americans don't realize that what we know as the First Amendment was originally the Third Amendment in Madison's planned version of the Bill of Rights. The original First Amendment, which we call "Amendment A", dealt with the size of Congressional Districts. The original Second Amendment dealt with Congressional pay and, after 202 years, 7 months, and 10 days, was finally ratified as the 27th Am...