Live at the National Constitution Center

Jane Mansbridge, author of the award-winning Why We Lost the ERA, Carol Jenkins, president and CEO of the ERA Coalition and Fund for Women’s Equality, and Inez Feltscher Stepman of the Independent Women’s Forum joined to explore the Equal Rights Amendment and discuss their differing viewpoints on it with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. They shared insights from their research and advocacy for and against the ERA, debated whether it has met the requirements under Article V to be adopted into the Constitution, discussed its recent ratification in Virginia and Nevada, and ongoing litigation surrounding it, as well as what’s next and what would change if, someday, the ERA were adopted. This program is 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 and as part of the Center’s yearlong initiative, Women and the Constitution, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

A panel of experts dives into what the Founders—including Abigail and John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Mercy Otis Warren, and Phyllis Wheatley—learned from the Greeks and Romans, from their early education through adulthood, and how that knowledge came to influence founding documents such as the Constitution as well as the American idea. They also explore the Founders’ philosophical understanding of passion versus reason, the meaning of “happiness,” and more. Historians and authors Caroline Winterer and Carl Richard and Pultizer Prize-winning journalist Thomas Ricks joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

From Ben Franklin to George Washington to Abraham Lincoln—American founders and many early Americans read and revered Shakespeare. As a result, echoes of Shakespeare can be heard in some of the most fundamental documents in American history, including the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and Shakespearean themes and influences have resonated throughout some of America’s biggest crises, from the Civil War to COVID-19. Last week, three of America’s leading authorities on Shakespeare— Barry Edelstein of The Old Globe Theater in San Diego; Kevin Hayes, author of the new book, Shakespeare and the Making of America; and Lucas Morel of Washington and Lee University and author of Lincoln and the American Founding—joined National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a look at how Shakespeare has shaped the country, and how his work relates to American constitutional values today.  Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Religious freedom advocate Kristina Arriaga and scholar Stephanie Barclay of Notre Dame Law School joined constitutional scholars Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman, authors of The Religion Clauses: The Case for Separating Church and State, to debate what the Constitution says about the relationship between church and state and provide their take on the most recent religious liberty Supreme Court cases. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

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.