We the People

Latest Episodes:

Can Texas and Florida Ban Viewpoint Discrimination on Social Media Platforms? Mar 01, 2024

Show notes

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in NetChoice v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice,which involved challenges to attempts by Texas and Florida to prevent social media sites from banning viewpoint discrimination. The challenges were brought by NetChoice, which argues that the laws’ content-moderation restrictions and must-carry provisions violate the First Amendment. The case could determine the future of our most important platforms, from Facebook to X to YouTube. Alex Abdo of the Knight First Amendment Institute and Larry Lessig of Harvard Law School recap the key issues in both cases; discuss the ideas raised in oral arguments; and preview the wide-ranging impacts these cases may bring.

Resources:

Moody v. NetChoice (oral argument via C-SPAN; transcript)
NetChoice v. Paxton (oral argument via C-SPAN; transcript)
Larry Lessig, Amicus Brief in Support of Respondents
Alex Abdo, Amicus Brief in Support of Neither Party
Lochner v. New York (1905)
PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins (1980)
Zauderer v. Office of Disc. Counsel (1985)
Rumsfeld v. FAIR (2006)

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You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

The Pursuit of Happiness: A Conversation with Jeffrey Rosen and Jeffrey Goldberg Feb 22, 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.

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)

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

Continue today’s 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. 

You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

The Founders, the Pursuit of Happiness, and the Virtuous Life Feb 15, 2024

Show notes

Jeffrey Rosen talks about his new book, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America, followed by a panel discussion on the influence of classical writers and thinkers on the founding generation. Panelists include University of Chicago Professor Eric Slauter, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George Will; and Melody Barnes, executive director of UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy. This program was recorded live on February 9, 2024.

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
Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics
Melody Barnes, et al, ed., Community Wealth Building and the Reconstruction of American Democracy (2020)
Karsh Institute of Democracy, University of Virginia
Eric Slauter, The State as a Work of Art: The Cultural Origins of the Constitution(2009)
Thomas Jefferson’s Recommended Reading
George Will, Statecraft as Soulcraft: What Government Does (1984)
George Will, The Conservative Sensibility (2019)

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

Continue today’s 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. 

You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library. 

The Constitution Drafting Project: A Discussion of Five New Amendments Feb 09, 2024

Show notes

In this week’s episode, we are sharing audio from a program hosted live from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and presented in partnership with ASU’s Center for Constitution Design. The program centered around a discussion of the National Constitution Center’s landmark Constitution Drafting Project, and featured members from each project team— Georgetown Law’s Caroline Fredrickson of Team Progressive, the Goldwater Institute’s Timothy Sandefur of Team Libertarian, and ASU’s Ilan Wurman of Team Conservative. They discuss their approaches to constitution drafting, review points of consensus and disagreement, and reflect on the importance of cross-partisan dialogue in today’s constitutional environment. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was presented live on February 1, 2024.

Resources:

National Constitution Center, Constitution Drafting Project

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

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

NCC America’s Town Hall program, Justice Stephen Breyer on the Importance of Civics Education (Oct. 6, 2022)

Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024)

Erwin Chemerinsky, We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century(2018)

The Preamble to the Constitution

The Declaration of Independence

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

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

Continue today’s 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. 

You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library. 

David Hume and the Ideas That Shaped America Feb 01, 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. In this episode, we are sharing audio from a recent America’s Town Hall program featuring 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, who 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. This program was streamed live on January 29, 2024.

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 (2024)

Hume Texts Online, https://davidhume.org/

Federalist No. 10

Alexander Hamilton, The Continentalist

Federalist No. 85

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

Continue today’s 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. 

You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Unpacking the Supreme Court’s Tech Term Jan 25, 2024

Show notes

Several recent cases before the Supreme Court have raised important questions at the intersection of technology and law. In this episode, Alex Abdo of the Knight First Amendment Institute, Clay Calvert of the American Enterprise Institute, and David Greene of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, join Jeffrey Rosen for a conversation exploring key tech cases, including Netchoice v Paxton, Murthy v. Missouri, Lindke v. Freed, and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier. This program was streamed live on January 16, 2024.

Resources:

Knight Institute amicus brief (in support of neither party) Moody v. NetChoice & NetChoice v. Paxton

Clay Calvert, “Friends of the Court, Friends of the First Amendment: Exploring Amicus Brief Support for Platforms’ Editorial Independence,” AEI (Dec. 22, 2023)

Knight Institute amicus brief in Murthy v. Missouri (in support of neither party)

Clay Calvert, “Persuasion or Coercion? Understanding the Government’s Position in Murthy v. Missouri, Part I,” AEI (Jan. 8, 2024)

David Greene, “In Jawboning Cases, there’s no getting away from textual analysis,” Knight First Amendment Institute (Nov. 7, 2023)

David Greene, EFF Amicus Brief in O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier and Lindke v. Freed (in support of Lindke and Garnier)

Miami Herald Publishing Company v. Tornillo (1974)

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

Continue today’s 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. 

You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library. 

Will The Supreme Court Overturn Chevron? Jan 19, 2024

Show notes

On January 17, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce—two cases that ask whether the Court should overturn the landmark Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Councilcase. In this episode, guests Christopher Walker of Michigan Law School and Timothy Sandefur of the Goldwater Institue join to recap the arguments in both cases and to explore the future of Chevron and the administrative state. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources:

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (oral argument via C-SPAN; transcript)

Relentless v. Department of Commerce (oral argument via C-SPAN; transcript)

Christopher Walker, Amicus Brief in Support of Neither Party, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

Timothy Sandefur, Amicus Brief of Goldwater Institute in Support of Petitioners, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

Chevron U.S.A. Inc., v. Natural Resources Defense Council(1984)

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

Continue today’s 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. 

You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Should President Trump Be Allowed on the 2024 Ballot? Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine Secretary of State determined that President Trump “engaged in an insurrection” after taking an oath to uphold the Constitution and that he is therefore disqualified from serving as president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. In this episode, professors Josh Blackman of the South Texas College of Law Houston and Gerard Magliocca of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law dive into the meaning and purpose of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and the arguments for and against Trump’s eligibility to run for a second term this fall. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources:

Jeffrey Rosen, “The Supreme Court’s Election Dilemma,” WSJ (Jan. 5, 2024)

Gerard Magliocca, “Background as Foreground: Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment and January Sixth,” (Dec. 21, 2022)

Gerard Magliocca, “Amnesty and Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” (July 20, 2021)

Gerard Magliocca, “What the Supreme Court Should Not Do in Trump’s Disqualification Case,” NY Times (Jan. 5, 2024)

Josh Blackman & Seth Tillman, “Sweeping and Forcing the President into Section Three,” (Sept. 19, 2023)

Josh Blackman & Seth Tillman, “Is the President an ‘Officer of the United States’ for Purposes of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment?” (Dec. 20, 2021)

Josh Blackman & Seth Tillman, Amicus Brief in Support of Trump in Trump v. Anderson

Griffin’s Case (1869)

The Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)

Bradwell v. Illinois (1873)

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

Continue today’s 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. 

You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library. 

From Spies to Leakers: The History of the Espionage Act Jan 04, 2024

Show notes

In this episode: The Espionage Act of 1917, one of the most contentious statutes relating to the First Amendment, is back in the news following the indictment of President Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents. What is the Espionage Act and how has it been used over time? Legal scholar Heidi Kitrosser, author of Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution, and political historian Sam Lebovic, author of State of Silence: The Espionage Act and the Rise of America’s Secrecy Regime, explore the origins, history, and constitutional legacy of this World War I-era law. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was streamed live on December 4, 2023.

Resources:

· Sam Lebovic, State of Silence: The Espionage Act and the Rise of America's Secrecy Regime

· Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918 (1917-1918)

· Defense Secrets Act of 1911

· The Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

· Schenck v. United States (1919)

· Heidi Kitrosser, Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution

· Gorin v. United States, 312 U.S. 19 (1941)

· Heidi Kitrosser and David Schulz, “A House Built on Sand: The Constitutional Infirmity of Espionage Act Prosecutions for Leaking to the Press”

· United States v. Morison (4th Cir. 1988)

· Heidi Kitrosser, “The Espionage Act After the Mar-a-Lago Indictment,” Lawfare

· United States v. Morison (4th Cir. 1988)

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

Continue today’s 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.

You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Loyalists vs. Patriots and the American Revolution Dec 28, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Joyce Lee Malcolm, author of The Times That Try Men’s Souls: The Adams, the Quincys, and the Families Divided by the American Revolution—and How They Shaped a New Nation, and Eli Merritt, author of Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution, explore the origins and clashing ideologies during the American Revolution, how loyalists and patriots feared civil war, and how the founders’ fears of demaguges influenced their approach to constitutional design and politics. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was streamed live on December 13, 2023.

Resources: