Live at the National Constitution Center

Part four of our series #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future, from the National Conference on the First Amendment held at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh – explores the crucial role of the free press in American democracy, and the challenges that journalists and editors face today. The first panel – moderated by National Constitution Center President Jeff Rosen – features Harvard professor and former TIME magazine managing editor Nancy Gibbs, New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly, editor of Pittsburgh’s Tribune-Review Luis Fabregas, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman. The second panel features executive editors of the nation’s leading news organizations: Dean Baquet of The New York Times, Marty Baron of The Washington Post, and David Shribman, then of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. You’ll also hear from founder and CEO of Project Veritas James O’Keefe and CNN reporter Salena Zito. The MC you’ll hear throughout is Joy McNally, interim director of the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education at Duquesne University School of Law. These conversations were edited for length and clarity. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Constitutional scholar Bruce Ackerman discusses his new book, 'Revolutionary Constitutions: Charismatic Leadership and the Rule of Law'―an exploration of the origins, successes, and threats to revolutionary constitutionalism around the world—in conversation with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen. Professor Ackerman uses historical analysis and comparative constitutionalism to explore how constitutional change happens―here in the United States and around the world.If you’d like to hear more from Professor Ackerman, check out last week’s episode of our companion podcast We the People:“The Constitutional Stakes of the 2020 Election.”Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Part three of our series #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future from the National Conference on the First Amendment, held at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh – explores what happens when press freedom collides with the interests of national security, and how the Supreme Court has ruled on those disputes, including the Pentagon Papers case. You’ll hear from one of the legendary lawyers involved in that case, Floyd Abrams, in conversation with National Constitution Center Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt. Next, Gen. Michael Hayden, the former director of the NSA and the CIA, and former Sec. of Homeland Security and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge sit down with former Dept. of Homeland Security official Paul Rosenzweig to discuss how they navigated situations that pitted “free speech versus national security” as agency heads. Finally, Google’s Vice President of News, Richard Gingras, explains how Google seeks to keep up with the latest developments in free expression online. The MC you’ll hear throughout is Joy McNally, interim director of the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education at Duquesne University School of Law. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

This episode features a panel discussion on eugenics and its dark social, political, legal, and constitutional history. The National Constitution Center hosted a screening of the documentary “A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream.” Following the screening, NCC President Jeffrey Rosen sat down with the film’s co-writer Andrew Kimbrell, journalist and author of ‘The Guarded Gate: Bigotry, Eugenics and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians, and Other European Immigrants Out of America’ Daniel Okrent, and legal and bioethics scholars Paul Lombardo and Dorothy Roberts for a fascinating discussion of this dark chapter in American history.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

In part two of our series #1AUSA–conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future, live from last year’s National Conference on the First Amendment at Duquesne University–you’ll hear stories of ordinary citizens who have had an extraordinary impact on the First Amendment. The first panel, on First Amendment history and landmark cases, is moderated by Duquesne President Ken Gormley with panelists NCC Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt, radio and television commentator Hugh Hewitt, NYU professor Stephen Solomon, and Tulane Law School Professor Amy Gajda. Next, one of those landmark cases is brought to life as President Gormley sits down with Mary Beth Tinker, a plantiff from a pivotal First Amendment case, and First Amendment historian Shawn Peters. Later, Ohio Governor John Kasich shares his thoughts on the special place that First Amendment protections hold among bedrock American freedoms. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Last week, the National Constitution Center opened its new permanent exhibit  ‘Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality’ –America’s first devoted to exploring how constitutional clashes over slavery set the stage for the Civil War, and how the nation transformed the Constitution after the war with the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. To celebrate the exhibit’s opening, NCC President Jeff Rosen sat down with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates is the host of a new PBS series about Reconstruction and the author of the new book “Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow”. In this conversation, Gates tells the story of Reconstruction – discussing the advancements of Reconstruction and the Reconstruction Amendments, how those advancements were thwarted by Jim Crow laws and the rise of hate groups, how the Civil Rights Movement fought against that backlash, and how we are still dealing with many of these issues and challenges today. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Today, we kick off our special series: #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future. This five part series will dive into the landmark cases and events that have shaped the First Amendment, and explore the technological, political, and legal developments that continue to shape it today. These conversations were held live last year at the National Conference on the First Amendment in Pittsburgh, hosted by Duquesne University and the Pittsburgh Foundation in partnership with the National Constitution Center. You’ll hear from journalists, judges, plaintiffs, and lawyers who have been at the center of some of the most consequential moments in First Amendment history.  This first episode starts off with a panel moderated by NCC President Jeffrey Rosen. Jeff sits down with radio host Hugh Hewitt; Fox News contributor Juan Williams; and Professor Nadine Strossen of New York Law School. They discuss how private actors not bound by the First Amendment—like social media companies and media outlets— make decisions about how to regulate speech, and what to do about it. Next, you’ll hear from U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco and Third Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman, who share their personal experiences litigating and adjudicating First Amendment cases, in conversation with Duquesne University President Ken Gormley. Later, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shares a message about what the First Amendment means to her. The MC throughout is Joy McNally, interim director of the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education at Duquesne University School of Law. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. 

This episode features a lively debate exploring the question: Does President Trump have the constitutional and legal authority to use emergency powers to build a border wall? Our debaters are: Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, who voiced his support for the wall as a policy matter but argues the president acted illegally and unconstitutionally by unilaterally declaring a national emergency to fund the wall’s construction using various prior appropriations. Lowry debates Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington Law School and a nationally recognized legal commentator, who disagrees with the president’s immigration policy but believes President Trump acted constitutionally and within his delegated statutory emergency powers. In their debate, Lowry and Turley dive into the scope of presidential emergency powers under the law and the Constitution,  the conflict with Congress over the president’s recent national emergency declaration committing federal funds to building the wall, and the historic and proper role of the U.S. military in the border conflict. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderates. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Last week, CNN legal analyst and renowned Supreme Court biographer Joan Biskupic stopped by the National Constitution Center to discuss her new book "The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts." Biskupic details some of the most consequential decisions of Chief Justice Roberts’s tenure, and explores the dual motivations she sees in Roberts’s work: his desire to follow his conservative conscience, and his mission to uphold the Supreme Court’s institutional legitimacy. She sits down with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

In a sold out event at the National Constitution Center last week, Preet Bharara discussed his new book “Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law” with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Preet is the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and host of the podcast “Stay Tuned with Preet.” He shared stories and lessons from his work as a federal prosecutor, offered his take on the aftermath of the Mueller investigation, and gave his view on what it means to uphold the rule of law and do justice. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.