Live at the National Constitution Center

Adam Liptak, New York Times Supreme Court reporter, and Nadine Strossen, free speech expert and author of HATE: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship, join leading First Amendment lawyer Robert Corn-Revere to explore the efforts at censoring unpopular speech throughout American history as described in Corn-Revere’s latest book, The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.This conversation was streamed live on February 3rd, 2022.Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.

Last week, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his decision to retire after 28 years on the Supreme Court. Justice Breyer joined Jeff Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, last spring-- for a live online program to discuss the Constitution, civility, the Court, and more.In light of Justice Breyer’s announcement, we wanted to revisit that conversation for today’s episode. Listen as the justice discusses how he goes about making decisions, shares some stories and life lessons from his time on the bench, and shares some of his favorite books and authors. He also explains why civic education is so important today, why people need to reach across the political divides more than ever, and why he's optimistic about the future of America. This conversation was one of our constitutional classes broadcast live to learners of all ages. All of the classes from the past school year were recorded and can be watched for free at https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.  Additional resources and transcripts available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

How are the U.S. and Indian constitutions alike—and how do they differ? Two leading Indian constitutional law experts and senior advocates at the Supreme Court of India—Arvind Datar and Menaka Guruswamy—join American comparative law expert Tom Ginsburg of the University of Chicago Law School to discuss the similarities and differences between the U.S. and Indian constitutions, and explore the biggest constitutional issues currently facing both nations. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was streamed live on January 25, 2022.This program is presented in partnership with the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.

Where did the idea that “all men are created equal” come from, and what did those words mean when Thomas Jefferson wrote them in the Declaration of Independence? What has equality meant in America over time—and what does it mean today? William Allen, emeritus professor of political philosophy and emeritus dean at James Madison College at Michigan State University; Erika Bachiochi, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center; Ellen Carol DuBois, distinguished research professor at UCLA; and Jack Rakove, emeritus professor of history and political science at Stanford University, join to explore the idea of equality throughout American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.This conversation was streamed live on December 15th, 2021.This program is made possible through the generous support of Citizens.Live at the National Constitution Center is taking a break for the holidays! We’ll be back in January with more great shows that you won’t want to miss.In the meantime, take a listen to episodes from the archive, or head over to our other show, We the People, for some lively and civil constitutional debates.From all of us at the National Constitution Center, we wish you a happy and healthy new year.Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.To watch National Constitution Center Town Hall programs live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube.

How have poets and poetry—from John Milton to Mercy Otis Warren and Phillis Wheatley—influenced the Constitution and America’s core democratic principles? Join Vincent Carretta, editor of the Penguin Classics editions of the Complete Writings of Phillis Wheatley and professor emeritus of English at the University of Maryland, Eileen M. Hunt, full professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, and Eric Slauter, associate professor and director of the Karla Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture at the University of Chicago, for a discussion exploring the ways poetry has intersected with the Constitution and constitutional ideas throughout American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.This conversation was streamed live on December 8th, 2021.Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Michael Burlingame, author of The Black Man’s President: Abraham Lincoln, African Americans, and the Pursuit of Racial Equality; Noah Feldman, author of The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, and the Refounding of America; and Diana Schaub, author of His Greatest Speeches: How Lincoln Moved the Nation, take a deep dive into the timeless speeches of one of America’s greatest presidents to reveal Lincoln’s constitutional vision and how his vision changed the course of the Constitution and American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.This conversation was streamed live on November 22, 2021.Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

As part of their ongoing conversations about how to restore the guardrails of American democracy, the National Constitution Center and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University present a conversation exploring the role of the president in our constitutional system. Experts Jessica Bulman-Pozen, law professor at Columbia Law School, Saikrishna Prakash, law professor and author of The Living Presidency: An Originalist Argument Against Its Ever-Expanding Powers, and Stephen Skowronek, political scientist at Yale University, discuss the original conception of presidential power and its expansion over time; and provide their take on what reforms, if any, may be necessary. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.This program is presented as part of the Renewing the Republic series, presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and as part of the National Constitution Center's Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative. It was made possible with support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and Mike and Jackie Bezos.This conversation was streamed live on November 22, 2021.Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, join experts Maggie Blackhawk of New York University School of Law; Donald Grinde, Jr. of the University at Buffalo and co-author of Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy; Gregory Dowd of the University of Michigan; and Woody Holton of the University of South Carolina and author of Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution, for a conversation exploring the influence of indigenous people and tribal governments on the U.S. Constitution and American democracy, from before the Revolution to today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.This program is made possible with support from TD Bank.This conversation was streamed live on November 19, 2021.Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Although the 15th and 19th Amendments to the Constitution enshrined the right to vote regardless of race and guaranteed women the right to vote more than 100 years ago, the struggle for Black women’s suffrage and representation is ongoing, and the history of the struggle still relatively unknown today. We discuss that history on this week’s episode, and highlight the key Black women figures throughout time who served as suffrage advocates, voters, and representatives—from Sojourner Truth to Shirley Chisholm. This panel features Nadia Brown, professor of government and chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Georgetown University and Idol Family Fellow at the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute at Villanova University; Bettye Collier-Thomas, professor of history at Temple University and co-editor of African American Women and the Vote, 1837–1965; and Martha Jones, Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and professor of history at Johns Hopkins University and author of Vanguard. Lana Ulrich, senior director of content at the National Constitution Center, moderates the discussion.This program was made possible through the generous support of the McNulty Foundation in partnership with the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women's Leadership at Villanova University. It’s part of the National Constitution Center’s Women and the Constitution, initiative.This conversation was streamed live on November 9, 2021.Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

On this week’s episode, we’re sharing the audio from one of the Center’s weekly constitutional classes. The conversation features Akhil Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and one of America’s foremost teachers of the Constitution. Professor Amar joins National Constitution Center president Jeffrey Rosen to examine the key ideas at the heart of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution—including natural rights, the rule of law, and popular sovereignty—as well as how those ideas took shape and who pioneered them.This conversation is part of the National Constitution Center’s schedule of 2021-2022 live classes on the Constitution and other course offerings for middle school, high school, and college students. Each week during the school year, the Center offers three constitutional classes: Wednesdays at noon (Introductory Sessions) and at 2 p.m. (Advanced Sessions), and Fridays at 1 p.m. (All-Ages Sessions with Distinguished Guest Scholars). These public, 30-minute-long classes take place on Zoom, are streamed live on YouTube, and are recorded, captioned, and posted on our website. You can register for an upcoming class at constitutioncenter.org/learn or watch past classes in our Media Library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/constitution.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.