Live at the National Constitution Center

The National Constitution Center and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, as part of their ongoing conversations about how to restore the guardrails of American democracy, present a conversation exploring recent proposals to protect the integrity of our election process. Join Charles C.W. Cooke, senior writer at National Review; Edward B. Foley, professor and director of the election law program at The Ohio State University; Michael T. Morley, professor at Florida State University Law; and Dawn Teele, SNF Agora Institute associate professor of political science, as they debate the merits of legislation pending in Congress and the states. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.This program is presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University as part of the National Constitution Center’s Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy initiative, and made possible with support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and Mike and Jackie Bezos.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.

The National Constitution Center and Renew Democracy Initiative present a discussion exploring how the rule of law is protected in constitutional systems around the world—including the United States—and how to ensure its survival when threatened by modern challenges. What happens to constitutions when legal and political norms are violated, and how can we defend rule of law and ensure that our civic institutions remain strong? The panel will feature a unique set of perspectives, including both foreign dissidents who have risked their lives to fight for freedom in their home countries—Garry Kasparov, chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative, and Judge Claudia Escobar, former magistrate of the Court of Appeals of Guatemala and distinguished visiting professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University—and legal experts Robert P. George and Kim Lane Scheppele of Princeton University. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Uriel Epshtein, executive director of the Renew Democracy Initiative, provides remarks.This program is presented in partnership with the Renew Democracy Initiative and the SNF Paideia Program at the University of Pennsylvania. It was streamed live on February 9, 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.

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.