Live at the National Constitution Center

A panel of experts from across the ideological spectrum joined National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen on November 11 to consider what the 2020 election and its aftermath demonstrates about the political parties, polarization, and the state of American democracy today. They also explored how debates over what “truth” means have grown over the last four years, how that manifested in the election and how people voted, and where we’re headed next, including the future of American values like free speech. The panel features Anne Applebaum and Yascha Mounk of the SNF Agora Institute and The Atlantic, David French of The Dispatch, and Charles Kesler of Claremont McKenna College.This program was presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Authors Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss their book The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again. The authors shared what they learned tracing more than a century of American history. They expand upon their thesis that the country went from an individualistic “I” society to a more community-oriented “we” society, then back again—remaining individualistic, unequal, and divided today—and how we can learn from that experience to become a stronger, more unified nation going forward.As we asked in the intro—please rate, review and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts or leave us a rating and review on Stitcher, and follow the show on Spotify.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

How are social media platforms dealing with disinformation in the midst of election 2020? Experts joined host Jeffrey Rosen to explore that question as well as the complex, persistent issues surrounding the regulation of online speech and content, and how all of that relates to the First Amendment and free speech norms. The panel featured David Hudson, Jr., First Amendment Fellow at the Freedom Forum; Professor Kate Klonick of St. John’s University School of Law, who’s studied and written about the creation of the Facebook Oversight Board; John Samples, Vice President at the Cato Institute, who’s a member of the Oversight Board; and Professor Nate Persily, co-director of the Stanford Program on Democracy and the Internet. This program was presented in partnership with the Freedom Forum, and its chair, Jan Neuharth, delivers opening remarks.For more on the 2020 election and nonpartisan educational resources, check out our recent election-related episodes of Live at the National Constitution Center, and visit the National Constitution Center’s election resources page—which includes informative podcast episodes, video lessons and more—at constitutioncenter.org/calendar/election-day-programming.

The biggest immigration controversies of the last decade have involved policies produced by presidents. Earlier this month, legal scholars Cristina Rodriguez, Adam Cox, and Michael McConnell joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to explore some of those controversies and consider what the president’s role in immigration law has been and should be, what the Constitution says, and how Congress fits in. Rodriguez and Cox are co-authors of the new book The President and Immigration Law. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

As the 2020 election approaches, this week we hosted program about the history of presidential elections. Experts Franita Tolson of USC Law, Edward Foley of Ohio State Law, James Ceaser of the University of Virginia, and Robert Lieberman of Johns Hopkins University joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the most contentious elections in American history—including one of the first controversial elections—1800—pitting Thomas Jefferson against Aaron Burr; the election of 1860 which set the stage for the Civil War; and the 2000 election which led to the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore. The panelists also explore the questions: How might controversy arise in the 2020 election, and what can we learn from history to try and avoid it?If you enjoyed this conversation, please check out last week’s episode to learn more about one of the elections covered in this conversation: The Hayes-Tilden Election of 1876.This program was presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

This week, we partnered with Free and Fair with Franita and Foley, a podcast about democracy and elections hosted by election experts Professor Edward Foley of Ohio State Moritz College of Law and Professor Franita Tolson of USC Gould School of Law. They joined fellow elections scholar Professor Michael Morley of Florida State University College of Law and National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a live recording of their podcast—a discussion of one of the most contentious presidential elections in American history, the 1876 Hayes-Tilden election, and a history lesson about what it can teach us today.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

The Constitution Drafting Project challenged three teams of leading constitutional thinkers from different ideological perspectives to draft their ideal constitutions. Earlier this week, “Team Progressive”—led by Caroline Fredrickson of Georgetown Law along with Jamal Greene of Columbia Law and Melissa Murray of NYU Law, and “Team Libertarian”—led by Ilya Shapiro along with Tim Sandefur of the Goldwater Institute and Christina Mulligan of Brooklyn Law—joined Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to present their constitutions. They explained their writing and drafting process, how they decided whether to start from scratch or revise the existing Constitution, what they kept and what they changed, how the two constitutions are similar and different, and more.Read the libertarian and progressive constitutions https://constitutioncenter.org/debate/special-projects/constitution-drafting-project and stay tuned for a constitution from “Team Conservative,” coming soon.The Constitution Drafting Project was generously supported by Jeff Yass.

The National Constitution Center recently hosted a special “Student Town Hall” with Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch. Justice Gorsuch spoke to students joining online from across the country about his career, the role of the judicial branch, and what it’s like to sit on the Supreme Court. Center President Jeffrey Rosen moderated.This conversation was recorded on September 17—Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. As Justice Gorsuch mentions, that evening, prior to her passing, the Center awarded Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg the 2020 Liberty Medal. Watch the Liberty Medal video mentioned by Jeff here https://constitutioncenter.org/liberty-medal.

Last week, before the passing of constitutional icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the National Constitution Center awarded Justice Ginsburg the 2020 Liberty Medal for her lifelong efforts to advance liberty and equality for all. Following the Liberty Medal Ceremony, National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen discussed the justice’s legacy both before and after joining the Supreme Court bench with two of her former clerks—Kelsi Corkran and Amanda Tyler.The Liberty Medal Ceremony included a video tribute featuring performances by internationally-renowned opera singers and tributes from special friends of Justice Ginsburg. You can watch it at constitutioncenter.org/liberty-medal.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Last month, the National Constitution Center hosted a musical performance and conversation about the women who fought for the right to vote. On this episode you’ll hear the premiere performance of RESOLVED — a song cycle about the 19th Amendment and the American women’s suffrage movement—by composer/soprano/creator Patrice Michaels, performed by renowned mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges and pianist Laura Ward and produced by NBCUniversal. Next, you’ll hear a discussion featuring scholars Marcia Chatelain of Georgetown University and Gail Heriot of the University of San Diego School of Law, and Center Exhibit Developer Elena Popchock exploring some of the iconic women highlighted in the performance who fought for the 19th Amendment and the Equal Rights Amendment. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the Center, moderates.This program was presented in partnership with Vision 2020’s Women 100 and as part of the Center’s yearlong initiative, Women and the Constitution, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the Center’s new exhibit The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote.As the highlight of the Women and the Constitution initiative, this Thursday, the Center will award the 32nd annual Liberty Medal to the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, for her efforts to advance liberty and equality for all. You can sign up to join the livestream of the special awards ceremony this Thursday at 6:30 p.m at constitutioncenter.org/liberty-medal.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.