Live at the National Constitution Center

Latest Episodes:

Ensuring Election Integrity: Insights From Meta’s Oversight Board Apr 30, 2024

Show notes

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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America’s Most Consequential Elections: From FDR to Reagan Apr 23, 2024

Show notes

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 #AmericasTownHall

Sign 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. 

The Legacy of Emmett Till: From Tragedy to Activism Apr 16, 2024

Show notes

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

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Justice Stephen Breyer on Reading the Constitution Apr 09, 2024

Show notes

On Thursday March 28 at the NCC, Jeffrey Rosen sat down with Justice Stephen Breyer to discuss his new book, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism. Justice Breyer deconstructs the textualist philosophy of the current Supreme Court’s majority and makes the case for a better way to interpret the Constitution based on pragmatism.

Resources

Justice Stephen Breyer, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism (2024)

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

Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall

Sign 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. 

Lincoln’s Lessons: Then and Now Apr 02, 2024

Show notes

Acclaimed Lincoln historians Sidney Blumenthal, author of the three-volume The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, and Harold Holzer, author of the new book Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration, assess Lincoln’s life and legacy to unveil remarkable similarities between the 19th century and today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Harold Holzer, Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration
Sidney Blumenthal, Wrestling With His Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. II, 1849-1856
Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address (1860, February 27)
Harold Holzer, Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President

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

Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall

Sign 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.

Democracy Checkup: Preparing for the 2024 Election Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

Richard Hasen, author of A Real Right to Vote, Sarah Isgur, senior editor of The Dispatch, and Lawrence Lessig, author of How to Steal a Presidential Election, provide a health check on the state of American democracy, and look ahead to potential areas of vulnerability in the run-up to the 2024 election. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Richard L. Hasen, A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy
Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman, How to Steal a Presidential Election
Jeffrey Rosen, “The Supreme Court Says States Can’t Keep Trump Off the Ballot," We the People, National Constitution Center
Trump v. Anderson (2024)
Sarah Isgur and David French,“Indictment Watch: The Supreme Court Decides Whether States Can Disqualify Trump,” Advisory Opinions, The Dispatch
Richard L. Hasen, “The Supreme Court Just Delivered a Rare Self-Own for John Roberts,” Slate (March 5, 2023)
Conference Report, “Carter-Baker Commission: 16 Years Later” (2021)
Trump v. Anderson, Amicus brief of Richard L. Hasen, Edward Foley and Ben Ginsburg

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Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall

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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.

The Pursuit of Happiness: A Book Launch and Conversation with Jeffrey Rosen and Jeffrey Goldberg Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

On Presidents Day 2024, NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen launched his new book at the NCC in conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic. They discuss The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. This program was recorded live on February 19, 2024, and presented in partnership with The Atlantic.

Additional Resources:

Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024)
Cicero, The Tusculan Disputations (ca. 45 BC)
The Quill Project
The King James Bible (1611)
Pythagoras, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Webster-Hayne Debates
Trump v. Anderson
“Should President Trump Be Allowed on the 2024 Ballot?,” We the People podcast (Jan. 11, 2024)
“Rhetoric of Freedom,” The Atlantic (Sept. 1999)

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Following Tubman’s Trail: Unveiling Stories of the African American Quest for Freedom Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

In celebration of Black History Month, explore the history of the African American fight for freedom during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods with historians Edda Fields-Black, author of Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War, and James Oakes, author of Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865. Thomas Donnelly, chief content officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Stay Connected and Learn More

Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.

Sign 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.

Constitution Drafting Project: A Discussion of Five New Amendments Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

The Center for Constitutional Design at Arizona State University and the National Constitution Center present a discussion on the NCC’s landmark Constitution Drafting Project, featuring members of the drafting teams: Caroline Fredrickson of team progressive, Timothy Sandefur of team libertarian, and Ilan Wurman of team conservative. They will discuss their approaches to constitution drafting, the various amendments they agreed on, and the project’s importance in today’s constitutional environment. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

This program is presented in partnership with the Center for Constitutional Design at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.

Additional Resources

National Constitution Center, Constitution Drafting Project

National Constitution Center, Constitution Drafting Project, "The Proposed Amendments" (PDF)

Ilan Wurman, A Debt Against the Living: An Introduction to Originalism

Center for Constitutional Design at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, 2024 Model Constitutional Convention

Justice Stephen Breyer on the Importance of Civics Education

Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America

We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century

The Preamble to the Constitution

The Declaration of Independence

National Constitution Center, Supreme Court Case Library, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

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Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.

Sign 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.

David Hume and the Ideas That Shaped America Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

Called “a degenerate son of science” by Thomas Jefferson and a “bungling lawgiver” by James Madison, Scottish philosopher David Hume was cited so often at the Constitutional Convention that delegates seemed to have committed his essays to memory. Join Angela Coventry, author of Hume: A Guide for the Perplexed; Dennis Rasmussen, author of The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought; and Aaron Alexander Zubia, author of The Political Thought of David Hume as they discuss Hume’s philosophical legacy and its profound impact on the shaping of America. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Angela Coventry, ed. A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects

Dennis Rasmussen, The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought

Aaron Alexander Zubia, The Political Thought of David Hume: The Origins of Liberalism and the Modern Political Imagination

National Constitution Center Town Hall program, Montesquieu and the Constitution

Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America

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Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.