Live at the National Constitution Center

Latest Episodes:

Can the President Use Emergency Powers to Build the Wall? Apr 30, 2019

Show notes

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.

Joan Biskupic on "The Chief" Apr 23, 2019

Show notes

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.

Preet Bharara on "Doing Justice" Apr 17, 2019

Show notes

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.

When Religious Liberty Collides with LGBTQ Rights Apr 09, 2019

Show notes

What happens when religious liberty collides with anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people or other minorities? Scholars and advocates from all sides of the debate join host Jeffrey Rosen for a civil dialogue to address this question head on. Jeff sits down with advocates who have represented both sides in legal cases about this issue: Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented the baker refusing to create a cake for a same sex wedding in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, and Tobias Wolff of Penn Law School, who has represented gay couples who have been denied similar services. Also on the panel were religion and constitutional law scholars Robin Fretwell Wilson of the Illinois College of Law and Elizabeth Clark of Brigham Young University Law School.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Can the First Amendment Save Social Media from Itself? Apr 02, 2019

Show notes

Should social media companies voluntarily adopt First Amendment free speech principles to govern speech and content posted and shared on their platforms? Is the First Amendment the best tool to combat challenges such as hate speech, disinformation, and other harmful content, or should carefully considered laws or internationally-focused policies be used to tackle these challenges? Is the problem too much, or not enough, regulation? Four experts explored these questions in a live Intelligence Squared Debate hosted at the National Constitution Center. The motion for debate was: “Constitutional Free Speech Principles Can Save Social Media Companies from Themselves.” Arguing for the motion was David French, senior writer for the National Review, and Corynne McSherry, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Arguing against the motion was Marietje Schaake, a Dutch politician and member of European Parliament, and Nate Persily, a professor at Stanford Law. John Donvan, Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News, hosts.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Campus Free Speech and Academic Freedom Mar 26, 2019

Show notes

The National Constitution Center hosted a symposium on campus free speech and academic freedom on March 18, and this episode shares two panels from that event. On the first panel—Amy Wax of The University of Pennsylvania Law School, Anita Bernstein of Brooklyn Law School, and Cary Nelson of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne share what academic freedom means to them and discuss their differing views on how some on-campus controversies should be handled. Next, university administrators have the chance to respond, and detail how they have handled such controversies. The second panel features Dean Ted Ruger of Penn Law, President Tom Sullivan of the University of Vermont, President Ken Gormley of Duquesne University, and President Julie Wollman of Widener University.

Note: The second panel includes a discussion of the University of Chicago principles—a set of guiding principles that some colleges and universities have adopted in an effort to show their commitment to free speech and expression—and you can read them here.

This coming May, be sure to tune in to our special series on the First Amendment—in partnership with Duquesne University—on Live at America’s Town Hall. The series features audio of the 2018 National Conference on the First Amendment held at Duquesne University, which the NCC helped coordinate. We’ll be sharing conversations with leading First Amendment scholars, activists, journalists and more—from First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams and U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, to New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, and more.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

How to Save a Constitutional Democracy Mar 19, 2019

Show notes

Are we in the midst of a global crisis of decline in democracy? And is the United States vulnerable to that trend? Sharing insights from their book “How to Save a Constitutional Democracy,” University of Chicago law professors Aziz Z. Huq and Tom Ginsburg to explain why they think democracy might be headed for “death by 1,000 cuts” in places like Hungary and Poland and is at risk elsewhere in the world—but offer solutions to save it. They also evaluate the state of democracy in the United States through the lens of the Special Counsel investigation, access to the polls, and institutions like the Electoral College. National Constitution Center Director of Content and Constitutional Fellow Lana Ulrich moderates.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

We the Corporations Mar 12, 2019

Show notes

With 2020 election campaigns gearing up, we’re sharing one of our favorite past programs that explores Citizens United, corporate speech rights, and much more. Adam Winkler, author of "We the Corporations: How American Business Won Their Civil Rights"and Kent Greenfield, author of "Corporations Are People Too",explain how corporations won their rights through landmark cases and showdowns—including the case of Henry Ford versus the Dodge Brothers. National Constitution Center Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt hosts this wide-ranging discussion of the history of corporations in America and the evolution of corporate law.

Faith and the Founding Mar 05, 2019

Show notes

Exploring how the Bible influenced the American Founding and the creation of the Constitution—National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen is joined by leading religion scholars Professor Marci Hamilton of the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Daniel Mark of Villanova University, and author/historian Russell Shorto.

This program was presented in partnership with the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center in Philadelphia.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Notorious RBG in Song Feb 26, 2019

Show notes

In this special episode, we’re bringing you the chamber ensemble premiere performance of Notorious RBG in Song—a musical portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that illuminates aspects of her professional and personal life through song renditions of letters, conversations, and Court opinions—performed by Patrice Michaels. Michaels—composer, soprano, creator, and daughter-in-law of Justice Ginsburg— is joined by Inscape Orchestra's new music ensemble, pianist Andrew Harley, the a capella group Capital Hearings, and guest speaker Jeanette Lerman Neubauer.

This program features musical selections from The Long View: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 9 Songs by Patrice Michaels, with music by Lori Laitman, Lee Hoiby, Stacy Garrop, Vivian Fung, and John Musto. The music director for this performance was Kuang-Hao Huang. Support for this program was generously provided by the Bernstein Family Foundation.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.