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Latest Episodes:

Our Fragile Freedoms Oct 07, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Eric Foner discusses Our Fragile Freedoms, a new collection of essays exploring a range of topics, including debates over slavery and antislavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Jim Crow and the battle to dismantle it, and modern debates over the Constitution and how to teach American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources

Eric Foner, Our Fragile Freedoms(2025)
Eric Foner, The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution (2019)
Eric Foner, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (2010)
Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877(1988)
Richard Hofstadter, Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (1963)

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An Evening With Justice Amy Coney Barrett Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett joins National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a special Constitution Day conversation to discuss her new book, Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and the Constitution. Justice Barrett reflects on her journey to the Court and offers a glimpse into her role (and daily life) as a justice, including her deliberative process and how she approaches interpreting the Constitution.

This program was recorded live in Philadelphia on September 17, 2025.

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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠⁠
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Explore the⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠America at 250 Civic Toolkit⁠⁠
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Born Equal: America’s Founding Promise and the Fight for Equality Sep 23, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we’re sharing a conversation with Jeffrey Rosen and constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar of Yale Law School about his new book, Born Equal: Remaking America’s Constitution, 1840–1920, which explores the transformative amendments that redefined freedom, equality, and voting rights in the post–Civil War era.

This program was recorded live in Philadelphia on September 16, 2025.

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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠
Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr 
Explore the⁠ ⁠⁠America at 250 Civic Toolkit⁠
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2025 Supreme Court Review, Panel 3: Covering the Court Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

The National Constitution Center and the Center on the Structural Constitution at Texas A&M University School of Law present a U.S. Supreme Court review symposium featuring leading constitutional law scholars and commentators analyzing the Court’s most significant rulings of the term.

Panel 3: Covering the Court
Jess Bravin, Supreme Court Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal
Jan Crawford, chief legal correspondent, CBS News
Fred Smith Jr., professor of law, Stanford Law School
Moderator: Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO, National Constitution Center

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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠podcast@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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2025 Supreme Court Review, Panel 2: The Roberts Court and Executive Power Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

Panel 2: The Roberts Court and Executive Power
Stephen Vladeck, Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Federal Courts, Georgetown University Law Center
Daniel Walters, associate professor of law, Texas A&M University School of Law
Keith Whittington, David Boies Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Moderator: Neil Siegel, David W. Ichel Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science, Duke Law School

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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠podcast@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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2025 Supreme Court Review, Panel 1: Supreme Court Term Review Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

Panel 1: Supreme Court Term Review

Jonathan Adler, Tazewell Taylor Professor of Law, William & Mary Law School
Daniel Epps, professor of law, Washington University School of Law
Sarah Isgur, editor, SCOTUSblog; legal analyst, ABC News
Frederick Lawrence, distinguished lecturer, Georgetown University Law Center
Moderator: Katherine Mims Crocker, professor of law, Texas A&M University School of Law

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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠podcast@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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The Story of the U.S. Constitution: Past and Present Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

Akhil Reed Amar and David Blight of Yale University and Annette Gordon-Reed, president of the Organization of American Historians and Harvard professor, join National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a sweeping conversation about the Constitution and the debates that have shaped America—from the founding era to today. They explore transformative moments in American history and landmark Supreme Court decisions.

This program is presented in partnership with the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute and the Organization of American Historians.

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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org
Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr.
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Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube.
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W.E.B. Du Bois and His Impact on America With David Levering Lewis Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

In celebration of Juneteenth, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David Levering Lewis, author of the definitive two-volume biography of W.E.B. Du Bois, explores Du Bois’ life, legacy, and enduring impact on American history, while also discussing his own new memoir, The Stained Glass Window. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources

David Levering Lewis, The Stained Glass Window: A Family History as the American Story, 1790–1958, (2025)
David Levering Lewis, W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography 1868–1963, (2009)
American Historical Association, “W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963): Historian, Sociologist, Editor, Activist,” Perspectives on History, (2023)
W.E.B. Du Bois, The Talented Tenth, (1903)
W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk: Centennial Edition, (2003)
W.E.B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America: An Essay Toward a History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860–1880, (2014)
W.E.B. Du Bois and Guy B. Johnson, Encyclopedia of the Negro: Preparatory Volume with Reference Lists and Reports, (1940)
David Levering Lewis, W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919–1963, Read by Courtney B. Vance, (2001)

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Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org
Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr.
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Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube.
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Executive Authority: Presidential Power From America’s Founding to Today Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

Legal scholars Gillian Metzger of Columbia Law School and Saikrishna Prakash of the University of Virginia School of Law examine the founders’ vision for the presidency, how presidential power has changed over time, and the key constitutional debates that have shaped the modern presidency. The discussion explores how the Trump presidency fits within this historical context and what it means for the future of presidential power. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources

Federalist No. 70
Myers v. United States (1926)
Trump v. United States (2024)
Saikrishna Prakash, The Living Presidency: An Originalist Argument Against Its Ever-Expanding Powers, (2020)
Saikrishna Prakash, Imperial from the Beginning: The Constitution of the Original Executive, (2015)
Gillian Metzger, “Disqualification, Immunity, and the Presidency,” Harvard Law Review, Vol. 138 (April 1, 2025)
Michel Martin, “Political scientists alarmed by Trump's disregard for checks on the executive branch,” NPR (Feb. 3, 2025)

Stay Connected and Learn More

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast@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.
Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen.
Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Jewish Americans in the Civil War Era Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, authors Richard Kreitner (Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery) and Shari Rabin (The Jewish South: An American History) discuss their new books on the broader Jewish experience from the Revolutionary era to the Civil War, how American Jews reckoned with slavery, Jewish participation in the Civil War, and some of the key American Jews who helped shape this tumultuous era. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

This program is presented in partnership with the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History and in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month.

Resources

Richard Kreitner, Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery, (2025)
Shari Rabin, The Jewish South: An American History, (2025)
Jonas Phillips, "Letter to George Washington," (Sept. 7, 1787)
George Washington, "Letter to the Savannah, Ga., Hebrew Congregation," (June 14, 1790)
George Washington, "Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island," (Aug. 18, 1790)
August Bondi, Autobiography of August Bondi (1833-1907), (1910)

Stay Connected and Learn More

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠podcast@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.
Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen.
Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠.
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