Democracy's Chief Executive

Latest Episodes:

Law and the Presidency in War and National Emergencies Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

The contexts posing the greatest challenges to a rule-of-law concept of executive power involve war and national emergencies. Do the needs for expediency and confidentiality often associated with war-making and national emergencies preclude legal accountability for executive action in the face of exigency? Peter Shane explores the issues with law professors David Driesen and Matthew Waxman, along with Elizabeth (Liza) Goitein, Senior Director, Liberty & National Security, at the Brennan Center for Justice.

The President’s Lawyers Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

Peter Shane and co-host political scientist Nancy Kassop explore the role of key legal advisors to the President, both inside the White House and at the Department of Justice. Law professor guests Bob Bauer, who served as White House Counsel during the first Obama Administration, and Jack Goldsmith, who headed the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel during the second George W. Bush Administration, explain the roles these offices play and some of the challenges, legal and ethical, that presidential lawyering involves.

Democracy’s Chief Executive: The Podcast Feb 13, 2023

Show notes

Democracy’s Chief Executive: The Podcast is designed to engage a broad public in probing the difficulties facing the United States in maintaining a constitutional presidency that is healthy for democracy and the rule of law, but still strong and powerful enough to meet contemporary challenges. Over six episodes, podcast creator and host Peter M . Shane, along with his co-hosts and guest panelists, will explore law’s reach and limits regarding the America’s highest office, and the people—lawyers, judges, and legislators—through whom law is brought to bear (or not) on the White House. Peter is a leading scholar on law and the presidency and author of Democracy’s Chief Executive: Interpreting the Constitution and Defining the Future of the Presidency (2022).

Democracy's Chief Executive - COMING SOON Feb 10, 2023

Show notes

No political office is more important than the U.S. presidency in terms of the resources it commands, the responsibilities it bears, and the symbolism it embodies. Over the last half century, Congress and the courts have engaged more significantly than ever in policing the legal and constitutional boundaries of presidential authority. While decisions about the scope of presidential power can result in profound impacts for the American public, the technical issues are often complex and not well understood, sometimes even by political journalists. This podcast offers the promise of publicizing and clarifying these hugely important questions.

Joining Peter for each session would be a co-host and one or two interviewees whose scholarly research or professional experience is focused on that episode’s topic. If successful in attracting a significant audience, future seasons would likely include episodes with the capacity to intermix timeless topics with conversations of a “ripped-from-the-headlines” feel.

Peter is a leading scholar in U.S. constitutional and administrative law, with a special focus on the American presidency and the separation of powers. The University of California Press in May 2022 published Peter’s newest book, Democracy’s Chief Executive: Interpreting the Constitution and Defining the Future of the Presidency. He is currently a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at NYU Law, where he is teaching constitutional law. He holds the title also of Professor and Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law Emeritus at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, where he regularly taught courses in constitutional and administrative law, law and the presidency, and subjects at the intersection of law, democracy, and new media.