Live at the National Constitution Center

This week, the NCC hosted a conversation on Congress in times of crisis featuring historians and co-hosts of the podcast Backstory Edward Ayers of the University of Richmond and Joanne Freeman of Yale University, and political scientist Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. They explored how Congress has handled crises of the past—particularly the Civil War, other key moments throughout American history in which Congress played a pivotal role, and the lessons those moments can teach us as Congress tries to navigate today’s challenges. NCC President Jeffrey Rosen moderates.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constituitoncenter.org.

This week, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, America’s first female secretary of state, joined host Jeffrey Rosen to reflect on her experience in government, her views on the Constitution, and how women leaders play a more important role than ever in the world today. She also shared stories from her life as told in her new book Hell and Other Destinations. This conversation was part of the National Constitution Center’s yearlong Women and the Constitution initiative in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.This program is made possible through the generous support of The John P. & Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Last Friday, the National Constitution Center hosted a national Town Hall program on policing, protests, and the Constitution. The wide-ranging discussions covered qualified immunity for police officers, the history of racial inequality, protests and the First Amendment, and more. Part two of the discussion, this panel, features Monica Bell of Yale Law School, David French of The Dispatch, Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Theodore Shaw of the University of North Carolina School of Law. Part one is a keynote conversation featuring Judge Theodore McKee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and you can listen to that here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/policing-protests-and-the-constitution-part-1/id1037423300?i=1000477348971 Jeffrey Rosen moderates. This week’s episode is a crossover with our companion podcast, We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate that you can listen to here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-the-people/id83213431Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Last Friday, the National Constitution Center hosted a national Town Hall program on policing, protests, and the Constitution. This episode features National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen’s keynote conversation with Judge Theodore McKee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Their wide-ranging discussion covered qualified immunity for police officers, the history of racial inequality, protests and the First Amendment, and more. Part two features a panel of leading scholars and commentators to further touch on these issues, and you can listen to it here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/policing-protests-and-the-constitution-part-2/id1037423300?i=1000477356597. This week’s episode is a crossover with our companion podcast, We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate that you can listen to here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-the-people/id83213431Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George F. Will joins Saikrishna Prakash, professor of law at the University of Virginia, for a conversation on Prakash's new book, The Living Presidency: An Originalist Argument against Its Ever-Expanding Powers. They explore the expansion of presidential power from the founding era to today; provide their take on what, if any, constraints there may be on executive power; and whether originalism can provide a solution. National Constitution Center president Jeffrey Rosen moderates.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Hosted on the 124th anniversary of the infamous decision, this virtual program tells the story of Plessy v. Ferguson in which the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of segregation.National Constitution President Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Steve Luxenberg, associate editor at The Washington Post and author of Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation, along with Dean Risa Goluboff of the University of Virginia Law School and Ted Shaw of University of North Carolina Law School.  Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Over the last two weeks, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments remotely, by teleconference, allowing the public to listen in in real time for the first time in history. The National Constitution Center recapped those arguments live on C-SPAN with advocates on either side of each case. This episode features the recap of Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Vance — disputes over whether President Trump must release his tax returns and other financial records to prosecutors and House committees. NCC President Jeffrey Rosen was joined by law professors Gillian Metzger and Andy Grewal to recap the arguments and dive into the case’s potential implications for presidential powers.  Check out more Supreme Court argument recaps on our companion podcast We the People or on our YouTube channel. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

In this virtual program, National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen is joined by Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. They discussed the constitutional and policy challenges posed by coronavirus—including the difficulties managing prison outbreaks and criminal justice proceedings, challenges to their stay-at-home orders from various groups, how best to allow religious worship to continue safely, and more.  Attorney General Fox is also president of the National Association of Attorneys General, and this program was presented in partnership with NAAG and its Center for Excellence in Governance.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Conservative intellectual Yuval Levin discusses the decline in trust in American institutions as told in his new book A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream. He shares his findings on Americans’ growing distrust in institutions created by the Constitution—like Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court—as well as the press, political parties, universities, and religious institutions. He shares possible explanations for that distrust, its potential impact, and possible solutions. Levin is director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and he joined National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen via Zoom.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Today we’re sharing a “live” program that, because the Center is temporarily closed, was held virtually, over Zoom. National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen brought together Jesse Wegman, Amel Amed, and William Ewald to discuss the Electoral College. They detailed how the founders envisioned the Electoral College, how it’s evolved over time, and whether the system should remain or be reformed or replaced. Jesse Wegman is a member of The New York Times editorial board and the author of the book Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College. William Ewald is professor of philosophy and law at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on James Wilson, one of the Founders involved in the earliest debates about how the president should be elected. Amel Ahmed is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She’s the author of numerous books and articles including “In Defense of the Electoral College.”If you enjoyed this constitutional conversation, please tune in to our virtual programs. Check out our schedule of upcoming programs and join them live from any device by registering at constitutioncenter.org/debate. You can also watch the programs after the fact in our media library at constitutioncenter.org/constitution, on our YouTube channel, or right here on the podcast in the coming weeks.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.