Live at the National Constitution Center
223 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 70 ratingsLive constitutional conversations and debates featuring leading historians, journalists, scholars, and public officials hosted at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and across America. To watch National Constitution Center Town Halls live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs at constitutioncenter.org/townhall. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube at YouTube.com/ConstitutionCenter.
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Episodes
Notorious RBG in Song
February 26, 2019 21:04 - 1 hourIn this special episode, we’re bringing you the chamber ensemble premiere performance of Notorious RBG in Song—a musical portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that illuminates aspects of her professional and personal life through song renditions of letters, conversations, and Court opinions—performed by Patrice Michaels. Michaels—composer, soprano, creator, and daughter-in-law of Justice Ginsburg— is joined by Inscape Orchestra's new music ensemble, pianist Andrew Harley, the a capella grou...
Michael Tomasky on Polarization and How to Fix It
February 19, 2019 21:56 - 1 hourMichael Tomasky, special correspondent for The Daily Beast, stops by the National Constitution Center to discuss his new book If We Can Keep It: How the Republic Collapsed and How It Might be Saved. Speaking to a sold-out crowd, in conversation with NCC President Jeffrey Rosen, Tomasky tells of the unique history of American political parties, the rise of polarization and its negative effects on government, and possible solutions for healing the divides we face today. – like expanding the Hou...
Civil Rights Across the Centuries
February 12, 2019 23:30 - 1 hourProfessor Holly Brewer of the University of Maryland, Dean Risa Goluboff of the University of Virginia School of Law, and Professor Lea VanderVelde of the University of Iowa College of Law detail the battle over race and equality across American history, from the Founding to Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Revolution. NCC president Jeffrey Rosen moderates. This program was presented in partnership with the Guggenheim Foundation. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@...
Freedom, Equality, and Emancipation
February 05, 2019 23:02 - 1 hourThe first in a two-part series honoring African American History Month and chronicling the struggle for racial equality throughout American history—this episode features leading Reconstruction historians Thavolia Glymph of Duke and David Blight of Yale. Glymph and Blight explore the meaning of freedom, equality, and emancipation, in conversation with National Constitution Center scholar-in-residence Michael Gerhardt. This panel was part of the 2017 celebration of the 150th anniversary of the ...
Gen. Stanley McChrystal — Leaders: Myth and Reality
January 29, 2019 22:36 - 1 hourFour star General Stanley McChrystal visited the National Constitution Center to discuss his new book - Leaders: Myth and Reality. The book was inspired by McChrystal’s own experiences working with numerous leaders as he served for thirty-four years in the US Army, eventually becoming commander of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Gen. McChrystal shares his insights into the complex question, “What makes a leader great?” and discusses real life leaders past and present from Ro...
RBG and On the Basis of Sex
January 22, 2019 23:23 - 31 minutesLast week, National Constitution Center Members had the chance to attend a private film screening of the new biopic on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, On the Basis of Sex, which depicts Justice Ginsburg's early life and legal career and tells the story of the landmark case Moritz v. Commissioner—the first gender-discrimination lawsuit she argued in court. Following the screening, Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and author of the forthcoming book Conversations...
Civil Rights and Constitutional Change
January 15, 2019 21:45 - 1 hourIn celebration of Martin Luther King Day, we’re sharing the program “Remembering Birmingham: Civil Rights and Constitutional Change” held here at the National Constitution Center in 2017 and moderated by Jeffrey Rosen. This conversation features Sarah Collins Rudolph, a survivor of the September 1963 bombing of the 16th street Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, carried out by white supremacists, that took the lives of four young girls including Rudolph’s sister. Rudolph is joined by Steve...
The Battle for the American Mind
January 08, 2019 20:23 - 1 hourJustin Driver provides a provocative account of the role the Supreme Court has played in defining the rights of students in America's public schools—from race and drugs to religion and free speech. Driver, a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago Law School and former high school teacher, discusses his book The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind live at the National Constitution Center in conversation with NCC in-hous...
Judicial Independence and the Federal Courts: A Historical Perspective
January 01, 2019 13:00 - 41 minutesNCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen sits down with Stephen B. Burbank of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Tara Leigh Grove of William & Mary Law School to explore the history of judicial independence and the federal courts in the 20th century and the progressive era. They focus in particular on the crucial role of Chief Justice Taft in shaping the judicial branch, some of the key Supreme Court rulings of the era, and how this history shaped the future of judicial independence for...
The Suffrage Movement: Revisiting the Final Campaign
December 25, 2018 13:00 - 59 minutesDawn Langan Teele, author of Forging the Franchise: The Political Origins of the Women’s Vote, and Elaine Weiss, author of The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote (which has been optioned by Stephen Spielberg’s Amblin TV to be turned into a series or movie with executive producer Hillary Clinton) provide a stirring history of the long journey to women’s suffrage. They detail some of the key moments of the movement, the important political and constitutional ideas behind it, and the ...
Gerard Magliocca: The Heart of the Constitution
December 18, 2018 23:57 - 54 minutesIn celebration of Bill of Rights Day—the anniversary of the ratification of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, December 15th—we’re bringing you one of our favorite conversations from Bill of Rights Day 2017. Gerard Magliocca discusses his book The Heart of the Constitution: How the Bill of Rights Became the Bill of Rights, which tells the untold story of the most celebrated part of the Constitution, with NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the show? Em...
BONUS: What Would Madison Think of Democracy Today?
December 14, 2018 21:25 - 23 minutesNCC President Jeffrey Rosen sits down with three scholarly experts on James Madison—Professors Greg Weiner, Colleen Sheehan, and Larry Kramer—to explore everything Madison, including his views on the importance of time in politics, his desire for rule by reason rather than passion, and his vision for republican government. This panel was produced in partnership with The Atlantic as part of our national symposium, The Constitution in Crisis: What Would the Founders Think?
Madison, the Media, and the Mob
December 11, 2018 18:30 - 54 minutesNational Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderates the first gathering of the Goldberg's: 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. These distinguished journalists share their insights into what James Madison would think of mainstream media, social media, and politics today. They explore everything from Twitter mobs and Facebook content regulation t...
Bonus: Sen. Chris Coons on the Senate and the Constitution
December 05, 2018 21:36 - 34 minutesSenator Chris Coons of Delaware breaks down the recent developments related to his efforts to pass legislation that would protect the Special Counsel. He also shares his plans to make the Constitution a bigger part of the work of the Senate, in a sit-down with his law school classmate, National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected].
Jon Meacham on the American Odyssey of President George H.W. Bush
December 04, 2018 22:25 - 1 hourIn memory of President George H.W. Bush, the 41st president who passed away November 30th, 2018, we’re sharing a conversation with Jon Meachem, author of Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush. Ryan Lizza, then the Washington Correspondent at The New Yorker, moderated the conversation, held at the National Constitution Center in 2015. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected].
Hamilton: The Man, the Musical, and the Law
November 27, 2018 21:40 - 53 minutesThrough a smash Broadway hit, Alexander Hamilton has reentered the American imagination. In this episode, Judge Ketanji Jackson, Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, University of Kentucky College of Law Professor Joshua Douglas, and attorney Vanessa Nadal discuss what Hamilton, both the man and the musical, have to teach us about the Constitution and the law. The panel explores the ways that Hamilton's resurgence has encouraged people of all ages to engage with America's early history, the s...
What is Citizenship?
November 20, 2018 16:16 - 1 hourCitizenship is central to many of today's most pressing constitutional debates, from proposals to end birthright citizenship and add a citizenship question to the census, to questions over the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. Illuminating all sides of these issues, Jaya Ramji-Nogales of Temple University, John Eastman of Chapman University, and Ruth Wasem of the University of Texas at Austin explore what it means to be a citizen today and consider the ways t...
Ken Starr: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation
November 13, 2018 21:46 - 1 hourFormer special prosecutor Ken Starr shares his definitive account of one of the most divisive periods in American history in his new book, Contempt: A Memoir of The Clinton Investigation. Starr offers his unique perspective on the investigation that eventually led to the impeachment of President William J. Clinton. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Michael Beschloss: Presidents of War
November 06, 2018 21:55 - 1 hourPresidential historian Michael Beschloss discusses his new book, Presidents of War, exploring presidential war powers and stories of presidents during wartime. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Why State Constitutions Matter
October 30, 2018 17:27 - 1 hourJudge Jeffrey S. Sutton, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and author of the new book, 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law, explores four constitutional debates — school funding, the exclusionary rule, eugenics, and mandatory flag salutes — to shed light on the importance of state courts and state constitutions in protecting liberty. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Doris Kearns Goodwin: Leadership in Turbulent Times
October 22, 2018 14:17 - 1 hourPulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin unveils her new book, Leadership In Turbulent Times - a culmination of five decades of acclaimed study in presidential history, comparing the leadership styles of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected].
The Story of the 14th Amendment and America’s Second Founding
October 22, 2018 14:10 - 1 hourLeading legal scholars and historians, including Allen Guelzo, Martha Jones, Darrell A. H. Miller and Kurt Lash discuss the story of Reconstruction, with a particular focus on the intellectual origins, drafting, ratification, and original understanding of the 14th Amendment; the “forgotten Founders” who fought for its ratification and sought to make its promise a reality; and why this key period can be thought of as America’s “Second Founding.” Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel ...
The Power of Impeachment: Its History and Future
October 22, 2018 14:08 - 1 hourJoshua Matz, author of To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment, joins the Center for a deep dive into the history and future of presidential impeachment. Recorded June 19, 2018.