We the People

Called “a degenerate son of science” by Thomas Jefferson and a “bungling lawgiver” by James Madison, Scottish philosopher David Hume was cited so often at the Constitutional Convention that delegates seemed to have committed his essays to memory. In this episode, we are sharing audio from a recent America’s Town Hall program featuring Angela Coventry, author of Hume: A Guide for the Perplexed; Dennis Rasmussen, author of The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought; and Aaron Alexander Zubia, author of The Political Thought of David Hume, who discuss Hume’s philosophical legacy and its profound impact on the shaping of America. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was streamed live on January 29, 2024. Resources: Angela Coventry, ed., A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects Dennis Rasmussen, The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought Aaron Alexander Zubia, The Political Thought of David Hume: The Origins of Liberalism and the Modern Political Imagination National Constitution Center Town Hall program, Montesquieu and the Constitution Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024) Hume Texts Online, https://davidhume.org/ Federalist No. 10 Alexander Hamilton, The Continentalist Federalist No. 85 Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Continue today’s 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. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Legal experts Alex Abdo, Clay Calvert, and David Greene discuss key tech cases before the Supreme Court, including content moderation provisions on social media platforms, restrictions on government officials' social media accounts, applying old legal doctrines to new digital platforms, and the government's role in social media content moderation.

Guests Christopher Walker, a professor at Michigan Law School, and Timothy Sandefur from the Goldwater Institute, discuss the recent Supreme Court oral arguments on whether the landmark Chevron case should be overturned. They explore the future of Chevron and the administrative state, highlighting topics such as delegation, expertise, accountability, judicial deference, the importance of starry decisis, implications on Congress and citizens, and the debate surrounding the potential overturning of Chevron.

In this episode, professors Josh Blackman and Gerard Magliocca dive into the meaning and purpose of the 14th Amendment and the arguments for and against Trump's eligibility to run for a second term. They discuss the constitutional issues surrounding Section 3, the implications for Congress and states, the historical context of insurrection, the decision-making authority for Trump's eligibility, the options if he wins the nomination, and the comparison to Bush v. Gore. Finally, they present their final thoughts on the Supreme Court case.

The podcast explores the history and constitutional legacy of the Espionage Act of 1917. Topics include the Act's origins, expansion to prosecute dissidents, complexities and limitations, classification system in the US, use against media sources, Trump administration's record in prosecuting leakers, and proposals for considering public interest and First Amendment problems.

In this episode, Joyce Lee Malcolm, author of The Times That Try Men’s Souls: The Adams, the Quincys, and the Families Divided by the American Revolution—and How They Shaped a New Nation, and Eli Merritt, author of Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution, explore the origins and clashing ideologies during the American Revolution, how loyalists and patriots feared civil war, and how the founders’ fears of demaguges influenced their approach to constitutional design and politics. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was streamed live on December 13, 2023. Resources: Eli Merritt, Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution Joyce Lee Malcolm, The Times That Try Men's Souls: The Adams, the Quincys, and the Battle for Loyalty in the American Revolution The Declaration of Independence Eli Merrit, "Why demagogues were the Founding Fathers' greatest fear," LA Times  Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.Continue today’s 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.You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

In this episode, Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, talks with C-SPAN’s Peter Slen about the life and career of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. The conversation is part of C-SPAN’s Books That Shaped America series, which explores key works from American history that have had a major impact on society. This discussion features Holmes’ The Common Law, written in 1881. You can find all segments from the C-SPAN series at c-span.org/booksthatshapedamerica. Resources:Oliver Wendell Holmes, “The Common Law,” (1881) Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.Continue today’s 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.You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Robert Post, Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School, discusses the history of the Taft Court and the contrasting constitutional approaches among its justices. Topics include the challenges faced in researching the Taft Court volume, the interpretation of the Fourth Amendment and substantive due process rights, a comparison of Taft and Brandeis' goals, national power versus states' rights, the origins of the Whitney test, and the impact of the Taft Court on the present court.

On Tuesday, December 4, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Moore v. United States. The case concerns a challenge to the “mandatory repatriation tax,” and asks whether the Constitution allows Congress to tax American shareholders for the unrealized earnings of a foreign corporation. In this episode, Akhil Amar of Yale Law School and Anastasia Boden of the Cato Institute join Jeffrey Rosen to break down the arguments on both sides of the case. The conversation touches on the history of taxation in the Founding era, the extent of Congressional power, and the very meaning of the word “taxation.” Resources: Anastasia Boden, Amicus Brief for Petitioners, Moore v. United States Akhil Amar and Vikram Amar, Amicus Brief for Respondents, Moore v. United States   Moore v. United States (oral argument via C-SPAN) Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Continue today’s 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. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library. 

On Wednesday, November 29, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy. The case involves three constitutional challenges to the agency, involving the right to a jury trial; the nondelegation doctrine; and the scope of executive power. In this episode, Noah Rosenblum, assistant professor of law at NYU, and Ilan Wurman, assistant professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, join Jeffrey Rosen to break down the arguments in the case, which pits the federal regulatory agency against a hedge fund manager charged with securities violations. They break down the constitutional claims at play, and discuss how the case could affect the future of the SEC and the modern administrative state as we know it.  Resources:  SEC v. Jarkesy (oral argument via CSPAN; transcript)  Noah Rosenblum, “The Case That Could Destroy the Government,” The Atlantic (Nov. 27, 2023)  Ilan Wurman, Brief in Support of Neither Party, SEC v. Jarkesy   Ilan Wurman, “Nondelegation at the Founding” (Yale L.J. 2021)  Julian Davis Mortenson & Nicholas Bagley, “Delegation at the Founding,” (Columbia L.Rev. 2021)    Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.  Continue today’s 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. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.