The Constitutionalist

Latest Episodes:

Bonus Episode - "The Crisis Presidency" - Constitution Day Address @ IACTL Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

You can learn more about the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership at the University of Toledo by going to our website. https://www.utoledo.edu/institute/constitution/

Ben's forthcoming book, The Crisis Presidency: How Emergencies Make or Break the President, will be released in early 2027 and is currently available for preorder on Amazon.

True Grit w/ Shane Leary Oct 28, 2026

Show notes

Shane returns to the Constitutionalist to discuss TRUE GRIT, the Charles Portis novel and the Coen bros. film.

New York Times v. Sullivan and LIbel Law w/ Carson Holloway Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/no-liberty-libel/

Bonus Episode: "The Apple of Gold in the Picture of Silver" - Fireside Chat at The University of Toledo Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

This bonus episode is a recording of a Fireside Chat that took place during Ben's week-long honors seminar with students in the University of Toledo's Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership. The subject of the discussion is Abraham Lincoln's metaphor for the relationship between the Declaration of the Independence and the Constitution: "an apple of gold in a picture of silver." Emceeing the event is Michael Gonzalez, Senior Associate Director at IACTL.

Gordon Wood and America at 250 w/ C. Bradley Thompson Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

C. Bradley Thompson has a web page which outlines his scholarship, teaching, and his leadership in broader Civics movement, which can be found here: https://cbradleythompson.com/about/

The Snow Institute for the Study of Capitalism can be found here: https://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/capitalism/sisc/

His most recent book is America's Revolutionary Mind: A Morel History of the American Revolution and the Declaration that Defined It, out with Encounter Books.

A leading expert on the political thought of John Adams, he has written John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty. with University Press of Kansas.

He has also written, w/ Yaron Brook, Neoconservatism: An Obituary of an Idea.

Martin Diamond's "The Revolution of Sober Expectations" w/ Jason Jividen Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

The opening sequence is an excerpt of the live recording of Martin Diamonds presentation from 1976 in Philadelphia. The entire speech can be view here: https://youtu.be/CWnLpXcVArE?si=33ikgnZcklmC9r0v

The transcript of the speech can be read here: https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BicentenUSA02.pdf?x10619

Diamonds "Contemporary Thinkers" page: https://contemporarythinkers.org/martin-diamond/

Here is an interview about Diamond with Bill Schambra: https://youtu.be/t5OIud2tvC0?si=CkM3J6BE1ZA-_Bhw

Jason Jividen's faculty page at St. Vincent: https://www.stvincent.edu/directory/profiles/jason-jividen.html

He is the author of Claiming Lincoln: Progressivism, Equality, and the Battle for Lincoln's Legacy in Presidential Rhetoric https://www.amazon.com/Claiming-Lincoln-Progressivism-Equality-Presidential-ebook/dp/B07X4TMF16?ref_=ast_author_dp&th=1&psc=1

He is the editor of Populists and Progressives: Core Documents. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/product/populists-and-progressives-2/

No Country for Old Men w/ Carson Holloway Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

Carson Holloway's bio on the UNO page can be found here: https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/political-science/about-us/directory/carson-holloway.php

His essay, "Tradition, Demonic Evil, and Despair in No Country for Old Men" appears in a volume he coedited with Micah Watson, Faith and Film: Modern Cinema and the Struggle to Believe, which can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Film-Faith-Struggle-Politics-Literature/dp/1666934046

His books include

- Hamilton and Jefferson in the Washington Adminstration: Completing the Founding or Betraying the Founding? https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-versus-Jefferson-Washington-Administration/dp/1107521114/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nIsITDFSXSg8e-EBFfniHViHFBDYxWINMmKMUOoBUhiWYXs3Y0f2Ww7MkUSI3z5uwAmCKFMWpmr6mQ-qycPiPw4j3GytJNzNwHsmNkWFTXjFV4BHzYlqdjctLXWLPd7NbKxedocO-n6nSj3nAopgZCSm7HYZkLNmKcgZ80Mk2FAbXVosZq6tHg1hDH2pwjxtAK7LsTP9MVJOdRILQT1TCTVO66wm-pOWBvU7193w6Sg.vftOYXmhIHsMZKl4srd_GBDb89zYpMTYycjbW6cNf9s&dib_tag=se&qid=1790651121&refinements=p_27%3ACarson+Holloway&s=books&sr=1-3&text=Carson+Holloway

- The Way of Life: John Paul II and the Challenge of Liberal Modernity. https://www.amazon.com/Way-Life-Challenge-Liberal-Modernity/dp/1932792961/ref=sr_1_7?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nIsITDFSXSg8e-EBFfniHViHFBDYxWINMmKMUOoBUhiWYXs3Y0f2Ww7MkUSI3z5uwAmCKFMWpmr6mQ-qycPiPw4j3GytJNzNwHsmNkWFTXjFV4BHzYlqdjctLXWLPd7NbKxedocO-n6nSj3nAopgZCSm7HYZkLNmKcgZ80Mk2FAbXVosZq6tHg1hDH2pwjxtAK7LsTP9MVJOdRILQT1TCTVO66wm-pOWBvU7193w6Sg.vftOYXmhIHsMZKl4srd_GBDb89zYpMTYycjbW6cNf9s&dib_tag=se&qid=1790651121&refinements=p_27%3ACarson+Holloway&s=books&sr=1-7&text=Carson+Holloway

- All Shook up: Reason, Passion, and Politics. https://www.amazon.com/All-Shook-Up-Passion-Politics/dp/1890626333/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nIsITDFSXSg8e-EBFfniHViHFBDYxWINMmKMUOoBUhiWYXs3Y0f2Ww7MkUSI3z5uwAmCKFMWpmr6mQ-qycPiPw4j3GytJNzNwHsmNkWFTXjFV4BHzYlqdjctLXWLPd7NbKxedocO-n6nSj3nAopgZCSm7HYZkLNmKcgZ80Mk2FAbXVosZq6tHg1hDH2pwjxtAK7LsTP9MVJOdRILQT1TCTVO66wm-pOWBvU7193w6Sg.vftOYXmhIHsMZKl4srd_GBDb89zYpMTYycjbW6cNf9s&dib_tag=se&qid=1790651121&refinements=p_27%3ACarson+Holloway&s=books&sr=1-6&text=Carson+Holloway

- w/ Paul Dehart, Reason, Revelation, and the Civic Order: Political Philosophy and the Claims of Faith. https://www.amazon.com/Reason-Revelation-Civic-Order-Philosophy-ebook/dp/B07WPYD6VT/ref=sr_1_9?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nIsITDFSXSg8e-EBFfniHViHFBDYxWINMmKMUOoBUhiWYXs3Y0f2Ww7MkUSI3z5uwAmCKFMWpmr6mQ-qycPiPw4j3GytJNzNwHsmNkWFTXjFV4BHzYlqdjctLXWLPd7NbKxedocO-n6nSj3nAopgZCSm7HYZkLNmKcgZ80Mk2FAbXVosZq6tHg1hDH2pwjxtAK7LsTP9MVJOdRILQT1TCTVO66wm-pOWBvU7193w6Sg.vftOYXmhIHsMZKl4srd_GBDb89zYpMTYycjbW6cNf9s&dib_tag=se&qid=1790651121&refinements=p_27%3ACarson+Holloway&s=books&sr=1-9&text=Carson+Holloway

- w/ Bradford P. Wilson, The Political Writings of George Washington. https://www.amazon.com/Political-Writings-George-Washington-1754-1788-ebook/dp/B0CCJYZJ3Q/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zp_laVS0nZpdPpdm4cNdP8ff1IE9MDkCWBBsNLj5EqShYe4SWZv1xOYGsW_1YOPjKL9U7YwJveHJyMzigAkoqYhPlQDr16lqRGLRHki1ZjqjA-ydlv6p2hpuid7jppPL.gSwKTXZ0OsoxQQpN3Ezj1OW52B9iar3LPp8qKafNVIo&dib_tag=se&qid=1790651628&refinements=p_27%3ABradford+P.+Wilson&s=digital-text&sr=1-6&text=Bradford+P.+Wilson

- w/ Bradford P. Wilson, The Political Writings of Alexander Hamilton. https://www.amazon.com/Political-Writings-Alexander-Hamilton-ebook/dp/B076P9RG2T/ref=sr_1_10?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nIsITDFSXSg8e-EBFfniHViHFBDYxWINMmKMUOoBUhiWYXs3Y0f2Ww7MkUSI3z5uwAmCKFMWpmr6mQ-qycPiPw4j3GytJNzNwHsmNkWFTXjFV4BHzYlqdjctLXWLPd7NbKxedocO-n6nSj3nAopgZCSm7HYZkLNmKcgZ80Mk2FAbXVosZq6tHg1hDH2pwjxtAK7LsTP9MVJOdRILQT1TCTVO66wm-pOWBvU7193w6Sg.vftOYXmhIHsMZKl4srd_GBDb89zYpMTYycjbW6cNf9s&dib_tag=se&qid=1790651617&refinements=p_27%3ACarson+Holloway&s=books&sr=1-10&text=Carson+Holloway

"How the Declaration Disagrees with John Locke" w/ Daniel Burns Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

Daniel Burns is Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Dallas where he teaches both in the excellent great books focused undergraduate program and in the Braniff Graduate School of the Liberal Arts: https://udallas.edu/academics/colleges-schools/school-of-liberal-arts/

The central discussion of this episode revolves around his recent essay: https://america250.aei.org/volume/natural-rights-the-common-good-and-the-american-revolution/how-the-declaration-disagrees-with-john-locke/

Also discussed is his earlier essay, "Liberal Practice vs. Liberal Theory," published in National Affairs: https://nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/liberal-practice-v-liberal-theory

His other publications can be found on his department bio: https://udallas.edu/academics/programs/politics/faculty/burns-daniel.php

He is currently writing a book on Joseph Ratzinger's view of church-state relations.

This episode edited by Jaden Smith.

Early State Constitutions w/Jordan Cash Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

Jordan Cash is Associate Professor in the James Madison College at Michigan State University.

Faculty web page: https://jmc.msu.edu/directory/c/jordan-cash

His books include:

- Adding the Lone Star: John Tyler, Sam Houston, and the Annexation of Texas. University Press of Kansas, 2024

- The Isolated Presidency. Oxford University Press, 2024

- (with Kevin Burns) eds., Congressional Deliberation: Major Debates, Speeches, and Writings, 1774–2023. 2024

- (with Tony Bartl) eds., Constitutionalism and Liberty: Essays in Honor of David K. Nichols. Lexington Books, 2025

Other works referenced:

- David K. Nichols, "Gouveneur Morris and the Creation of American Constitutionalism," in Natural Right and Political Philosophy, Ward and Ward eds., University of Notre Dame Press.

- Ewing, Kleinerman, and Zug eds., Beyond Checks and Balances: The Political Purpose of Separation of Powers, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2026

David Clinton - George Washington's Farewell Address, Part 2 Jul 04, 2025

Show notes

David Clinton is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Baylor University, where he studies international relations theory, American foreign policy, and the art and practice of diplomacy.

The Constitutionalist is a podcast co-hosted by Professor Benjamin Kleinerman, the RW Morrison Professor of Political Science at Baylor University and Founder and Editor of The Constitutionalist Blog, Shane Leary, a graduate student at Baylor University, and Dr. Matthew Reising, a John and Daria Barry Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Princeton University. Each week, they discuss political news in light of its constitutional implications, and explore a unique constitutional topic, ranging from the thoughts and experiences of America's founders and statesmen, historical episodes, and the broader philosophic ideas that influence the American experiment in government.

We want to hear from you!

Email: Constitutionalistpod@gmail.com

X: https://x.com/TheConst_Blog

Shane Leary: https://x.com/ShaneC_Leary

Dr. Benjamin Kleinerman: https://x.com/bkleinerman

The Constitutionalist is proud to be sponsored by the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History. For the last twenty years, JMC has been working to preserve and promote that tradition through a variety of programs at the college and K-12 levels. Through their American Political Tradition Project, JMC has partnered with more than 1,000 scholars at over 300 college campuses across the country, especially through their annual Summer Institutes for graduate students and recent PhDs. The Jack Miller Center is also working with thousands of K-12 educators across the country to help them better understand America’s founding principles and history and teach them effectively, to better educate the next generation of citizens. JMC has provided thousands of hours of professional development for teachers all over the country, reaching millions of students with improved civic learning. If you care about American education and civic responsibility, you’ll want to check out their work, which focuses on reorienting our institutions of learning around America’s founding principles. To learn more or get involved, visit jackmillercenter.org.

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