

Live at the National Constitution Center
National Constitution Center
Live constitutional conversations and debates featuring leading historians, journalists, scholars, and public officials hosted at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and across America. To watch National Constitution Center Town Halls live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs at constitutioncenter.org/townhall. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube at YouTube.com/ConstitutionCenter.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 10, 2024 • 1h 1min
Trump v. United States and the National Security Constitution
International and national security law experts Harold Hongju Koh of Yale Law School, Deborah Pearlstein of Princeton University, and Matthew Waxman of Columbia Law School join for a conversation to explore Trump v, United States and the updated edition of Koh’s landmark book, The National Security Constitution in the Twenty-First Century. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.Resources:
Harold Koh, “The National Security Constitution in the Twenty-First Century”
Trump v. United States (2024)
Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024)
United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936)
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (Steel Seizure Case) (1952)
The Pacificus-Helvidius Debates of 1793-1794
Deborah Pearlstein, “Lawyering the Presidency,” The Georgetown Law Journal (2022)
Deborah Pearlstein, “The Executive Branch Anticanon,” Fordham Law Review (2020)
Matthew C. Waxman, “War Powers Reform: A Skeptical View”
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Jul 2, 2024 • 60min
The Intellectual Origins of the Founding and Civil War Constitution
Political theorist William B. Allen, editor and translator of a new edition of Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws, and Alison LaCroix, author of The Interbellum Constitution: Union, Commerce, and Slavery in the Age of Federalisms, explored the intellectual foundations—from Montesquieu and beyond—of the U.S. constitutional vision and core values from America’s founding through the Civil War. The discussion was moderated by Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center.Resources:
Alison LaCroix, The Interbellum Constitution: Union, Commerce, and Slavery in the Age of Federalisms, 2024
Montesquieu, ‘The Spirit of the Laws’: A Critical Edition, edited and translated by W. B. Allen, 2024
The Commerce Clause
Alison LaCroix, “James Madison v. Originalism,” Project Syndicate (Aug. 26, 2022)
10th Amendment
Andrew Jackson, Proclamation Regarding Nullification, (December 10, 1832)
Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, (1816)
Preamble to the Constitution
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Jun 25, 2024 • 60min
A Conversation on Black Leadership With Eddie Glaude Jr.
In celebration of Juneteenth, political commentator Eddie Glaude Jr. discusses his newest book, We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For that explores how ordinary people, through the examples of leading Black Americans Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Ella Baker, have the capacity to achieve a more just and perfect democracy. Thomas Donnelly, chief content officer at the National Constitution Center, hosts the discussion.Resources:
Eddie S. Glaude Jr., We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For, (2024)
Juneteenth
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Jun 18, 2024 • 1h 4min
Can the Constitution Revive the American Dream?
Political analyst Yuval Levin, author of American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again, and scholar Aziz Rana, author of The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document That Fails Them, discuss the Constitution as America’s religion and its role in fostering the American dream. Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.Resources:
Yuval Levin, American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again, (2024)
Aziz Rana, The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document That Fails Them (2024)
“The Modern History of Originalism,” We the People Podcast (Aug. 3, 2023)
Article V, Interactive Constitution
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May 28, 2024 • 1h 3min
America’s Confrontations With Illiberalism: From Past to Present
Steven Hahn, author of Illiberal America: A History, and Manisha Sinha, author of The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860–1920, explored America’s historical encounters with illiberalism and its relevance to contemporary challenges confronting American democracy today. Thomas Donnelly, chief content officer at the National Constitution Center, moderated the conversation.Resources
Steven Hahn, Illiberal America: A History (2024)
Manisha Sinha, The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920 (2024)
Abraham Lincoln, “ "Speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield” (1838), Founders’ Library
13th Amendment, Interactive Constitution
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Founders’ Library
Steven Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Georgia Upcountry, 1850-1890 (1985)
Marcia Coyle, “The U.S. Supreme Court Cases Built on a ‘Rotten Foundation’,” Constitution Daily (May 2022)
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May 21, 2024 • 1h 2min
Constitutional Challenges in the Age of AI
Tech policy experts discuss the impact of AI on democracy, focusing on ethics, civil rights, and privacy. They explore creating a democratic AI aligned with democratic values. The podcast also covers legal challenges of machine learning, policy solutions for Deep Fix threats, and global efforts on AI governance. It delves into navigating AI policy and First Amendment challenges, empowering democracy in the AI age, and rethinking free speech in the digital era.

May 14, 2024 • 55min
Living Constitutionally: Insights From A.J. Jacobs and Jeffrey Rosen
A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning, in conversation with NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen, author of the new book The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. Listen to their discussion on what it means to live constitutionally today.Resources:
A.J. Jacobs, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning (2024)
"Colonial America" fashion, Brittanica
Jonathan Gienapp, The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era (2018)
Jud Campbell, “What Did the First Amendment Originally Mean?,” University of Richmond (2018)
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
NCC's We the People podcast, "The Modern History of Originalism," (August 2023)
NCC's We the People podcast, "What the Supreme Court's Opinion in NYSRPA v. Bruen Means for the Second Amendment," (August 2022)
"How a college term paper led to a constitutional amendment," Constitution Daily blog, (May 7, 2024)
NCC's Constitution Drafting Project
Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: A Life, (2004)
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Apr 30, 2024 • 1h 4min
Ensuring Election Integrity: Insights From Meta’s Oversight Board
As Meta surpassed 2 billion users in 2019, the company created an independent oversight board to review appeals of controversial decisions involving content moderation. Members of Meta’s Oversight Board Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School and Kenji Yoshino of New York University School of Law discuss the board’s recent work, including its efforts to ensure free and fair elections in advance of the 2024 presidential election. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.This program is made possible through the generous support of Citizen Travelers, the nonpartisan civic engagement initiative of Travelers.Additional Resources
Meta Oversight Board
Former President Trump's suspension, Meta Oversight Board decision (2021)
Meet the Board
Brazilian general's speech, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)
Altered Video of President Biden, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)
Oversight Board Announces New Cases on Israel-Hamas Conflict for Expedited Review (Dec. 2023)
United States posts discussing abortion, Meta Oversight Board decision, (2023)
Referring to Designated Dangerous Individuals as “Shaheed”, Meta Oversight Board decision, (2023)
Cambodian prime minister, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)
Reporting on Pakistani Parliament Speech, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)
How to Appeal to the Oversight Board
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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at programs@constitutioncenter.org
Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr.
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate.
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Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube.
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Apr 23, 2024 • 1h 1min
America’s Most Consequential Elections: From FDR to Reagan
Michael Gerhardt, author of the new book FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness, and Andrew Busch, author of Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right, join Jeffrey Rosen to explore the pivotal elections of 1932 and 1980. They compare the transformative presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, and trace how founding-era debates between Hamilton and Jefferson over the scope of federal and executive power re-emerged during the New Deal and Reagan Revolution. This program originally streamed live on April 16, 2024. Resources:
Michael J. Gerhardt, FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness (2024)
Andrew E. Busch, Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom (2001)
Andrew E. Busch, Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right (2005)
Andrew E. Busch, The Constitution on the Campaign Trail: The Surprising Political Career of America’s Founding Document (2007)
Friedrich Hayek, “The Road to Serfdom,” Teaching American History (May 21, 2020)
Ronald Reagan, Remarks to Commonwealth Club members on March 4, 1983, Reagan Library (July 19, 2018)
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Undelivered Address Prepared for Jefferson Day, The American Presidency Project
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHallSign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Apr 16, 2024 • 60min
The Legacy of Emmett Till: From Tragedy to Activism
Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, joins Ronald Collins, author of Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial, to discuss the tragedy of Emmett Till’s murder, the shocking story of the trial that followed, and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement. Thomas Donnelly, chief content officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.Additional Resources
Ronald K. L. Collins, Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial (2024)
H.R.55 - Emmett Till Antilynching Act
President Joseph Biden,Remarks by President at Signing of H.R. 55 (March 29, 2022)
Joy-Ann Reid, Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America (2024)
Valerie Russ, “A former Temple U law professor speaks about how the Emmett Till murder trial shaped the Civil Rights Movement," The Philadelphia Inquirer (April 11, 2024)
Liz Fields, “The story behind Nina Simone’s protest song, 'Mississippi Goddam,'” PBS (Jan. 14, 2021)
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, National Monument
Stay Connected and Learn MoreContinue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHallSign 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, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.