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Fergus Bordewich on Centennial and the Great Fair of 1876 Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, prize-winning author and historian Fergus M. Bordewich discusses his latest book, Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America’s Future, which explores the story of the nation’s 100th birthday and the first world’s fair. Bordewich traces the lives of President Rutherford B. Hayes, the inventor Alexander Graham Bell, railroad magnate Tom Scott, and the African American sculptor Edmonia Lewis—revealing a country striving to live up to the promise of the founders while bracing for the tidal wave of the 20th century. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources

Fergus M. Bordewich, Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America’s Future (2026)
Fergus M. Bordewich, Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction (2023)
Fergus M. Bordewich, Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America (2020)
Fergus M. Bordewich, The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government (2016)
Fergus M. Bordewich, America’s Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise that Preserved the Union (2012)
The Hayes-Tilden Election of 1876, Live at the National Constitution Center (Oct 13, 2020)

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Rosemarie Zagarri on The Declaration’s Grievances Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

When Americans think about the Declaration of Independence, we tend to remember its most famous words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” and its promise of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But to fully understand the Declaration we also need to read the section most Americans skip: its 27 grievances against King George III. For the founding generation, these grievances were not simply a list of complaints. They were central to the Declaration’s argument, laying out the case for how the King and Parliament had violated their rights and why independence had become necessary. Historian Rosemarie Zagarri explores what the grievances meant in 1776, what they reveal about the colonists’ understanding of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and how reading them more closely can deepen our understanding of the Declaration as a constitutional argument and a justification for revolution. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources

The Declaration of Independence, National Constitution Center
“The Declaration’s Grievances Against the King,” by Rosemarie Zagarri for the National Constitution Center
Primary Source: Declaration of Independence (Short list of grievances), National Constitution Center
The Promise of America: Reflections on, Our Enduring Ideals

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What the 2025-2026 Supreme Court Term Revealed About the Roberts Court Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

The Supreme Court's latest term featured landmark decisions on executive power, birthright citizenship, voting rights, and more. But beyond the headlines, what did the term tell us about the Roberts Court itself? In this episode, Masha Hansford and Jonathan Adler examine the justices' opinions to explore the defining decisions, shifting coalitions, and influential concurrences and dissents that shaped the term. Together, they consider the Court's institutional role, the distinct jurisprudence of its individual justices, and what this term may signal for the future of constitutional law. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources

2026 Supreme Court Review: Key Decisions, Executive Power, Civil Discourse, National Constitution Center
“Four cases to watch in the Supreme Court’s next term,” Scott Bomboy for the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog
“The Supreme Court in Review: Another Landmark Term,” Scott Bomboy for the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog

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Free Speech in a Changing World Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Nadine Strossen, New York Law School professor emerita and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Jacob Mchangama, the founder and executive director of The Future of Free Speech, discuss the history, enduring debate, and ongoing importance of free expression in our changing world. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

This program is part of the NCC Across America series and is presented in partnership with the City of Asylum Bookstorein Pittsburgh, PA. It was recorded on July 21, 2026.

Resources

The First Amendment
Jacob Mchangama, Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media (2022)
Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff, The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom (2026)
Nadine Strossen and Greg Lukianoff, The War On Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail (2025)

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Does Article II of the Constitution Grant the President Power to Fire Anyone in the Executive Branch? Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, legal scholars Michael Ramsey and Jed Shugerman the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook, which address the president’s authority to remove members of the executive branch. They trace the history of presidential removal power from the founding era through the Court’s 1935 landmark Humphrey’s Executor decision to the present day and explore what Slaughter and Cook may mean for the future of executive power. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources

Trump v. Cook (2026)
Trump v. Slaughter (2026)
Humphrey's Executor v. United States (1935)
“Trump v. Slaughter: Another Win for Justice Scalia,” Michael Ramsey, The Originalism Blog, June 30, 2026
Brief Amicus Curiae of Professor Jed Shugerman in Trump v. Slaughter
“Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC member but not Fed director,” National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily

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Questions or comments? Email ⁠⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠⁠.
Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and ⁠⁠sign up⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate.
Support our important work by making a donation today.

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Civil Discourse and the Supreme Court Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, legal scholars Jonathan Adler, Greg Garre, Katherine Mims Crocker, and Howard Wasserman discuss the state of civil discourse inside the Supreme Court and in public debate about the Court. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was recorded live in Philadelphia on July 7, 2026, as part of the National Constitution Center’s 2026 Supreme Court Review, which is presented in partnership with the Center on the Structural Constitution at Texas A&M University School of Law. The program featured three panels with scholars of differing perspectives examining the Court’s 2025–2026 term, its approach to executive power, and civil discourse surrounding the Court.

Resources

2026 Supreme Court Review: Key Decisions, Executive Power, Civil Discourse, National Constitution Center
“Retired Justice Kennedy laments coarse discourse of Trump era and its effects on the Supreme Court,” Associated Press, Oct. 8, 2025
“Justice Thomas Bemoans Incivility as Security Prompts Cancellation of In-Person Speech,” The New York Times, Feb. 27, 2026
“Justices Hint at Strains as Supreme Court Comes Under Scrutiny,” The New York Times, May 18, 2026
“Takeaways From Rare Congressional Testimony by Two Supreme Court Justices,” The New York Times, July 15, 2026

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Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen.
Questions or comments? Email ⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠.
Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and ⁠sign up⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate.
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The Supreme Court and Executive Power Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, legal scholars Gillian Metzger, Julian Mortenson, and Ilya Somin discuss the Supreme Court’s approach to executive power in recent decisions. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was recorded live in Philadelphia on July 7, 2026, as part of the National Constitution Center’s 2026 Supreme Court Review, which is presented in partnership with the Center on the Structural Constitution at Texas A&M University School of Law. The program featured three panels with scholars of differing perspectives examining the Court’s 2025-2026 term, its approach to executive power, and civil discourse within and concerning the Court.

Resources

2026 Supreme Court Review: Key Decisions, Executive Power, Civil Discourse, National Constitution Center
Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (2026)
Trump v. Slaughter(2026)
Trump v. Cook (2026)
Trump v. Illinois (2025)

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Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen.
Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate.
Support our important work by making a donation today.

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The Supreme Court Strikes Down President Trump’s Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Richard Epstein and Martha Jones discuss the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Trump v. Barbara, which struck down President Trump’s Executive Order on birthright citizenship. At issue in the case was whether the Constitution guarantees citizenship to children born to parents unlawfully or temporarily present in the United States. The Court concluded that it did. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources

Trump v. Barbara(2026)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Professor Richard A. Epstein
Brief of Historians Martha S. Jones and Kate Masur as Amici Curiae
“Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order in landmark decision,” Scott Bomboy for the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog
“In birthright citizenship opinions, a major constitutional disagreement,” Marcia Coyle for the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog
United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), National Constitution Center
The Citizenship Clause, National Constitution Center

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Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen.
Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate.
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The Ideas at the Heart of the Declaration and the Constitution Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, David Blight, Robert P. George, and Annette Gordon-Reed explore the enduring ideas at the core of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution—including equality, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and government by consent—and examine how those principles have been debated, interpreted, and contested over time. Moderated by Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, the conversation invites audiences to engage deeply with the ideas that launched a nation and to consider how our shared constitutional story continues to unfold.

This conversation was recorded live in Philadelphia on June 8, 2026, as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall series. It is presented in partnership with the Organization of American Historians and the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute.

Resources

Annotated Declaration of Independence, National Constitution Center
Interactive Constitution, National Constitution Center
The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals

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Support our important work by making a donation today.

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Eric Slauter on The Declaration’s Promises Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

The National Constitution Center recently published The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals (Simon & Schuster), a keepsake collection of essays bringing together leading thinkers from across perspectives to reflect on the ideals at the heart of the American experiment and what those principles have meant across generations of American life. In this episode, Professor Eric Slauter discusses his essay, “The Declaration’s Promises,” which explores how the Declaration of Independence evolved from a justification of America’s separation from the British Empire into a global charter of liberty. As Slauter writes, in 1776, “very few in the newly United States besides a small contingent of Black and white antislavery activists would have seen the Declaration as a document of radical egalitarianism or even as a founding document.” However, over time, figures like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr. transformed the phrase “all men are created equal” into a foundational national promise and a powerful tool for social change. As Slauter notes, “it is largely their Declaration, as much as Jefferson’s or Congress’s, that we continue to celebrate today.” Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Resources

Eric Slauter, “The Declaration’s Promises”
National Constitution Center, The Declaration of Independence

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Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen.
Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate.
Support our important work by making a donation today.

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