Live at the National Constitution Center
Live constitutional conversations and debates featuring leading historians, journalists, scholars, and public officials hosted at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and across America. To watch National Constitution Center Town Halls live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs at constitutioncenter.org/townhall. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube at YouTube.com/ConstitutionCenter.
Episodes
June 17, 2025 • 57 mins
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. Jef...
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June 3, 2025 • 56 mins
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...
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The Honorable Stephen G. Breyer, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (ret.) and National Constitution Center honorary co-chair, joins Christiane Taubira, former French justice minister, for a conversation on democracy, the rule of law, and constitutional traditions from French and American perspectives. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Translation is provided by Nicholas Ellio...
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April 29, 2025 • 60 mins
President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship has reignited debates over the 14th Amendment and the meaning of citizenship in America. Legal experts Gabriel Chin of the University of California, Davis School of Law; Amanda Frost of the University of Virginia School of Law; Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond School of Law; and Ilan Wurman of the University of Minnesota Law School analyze the leg...
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April 22, 2025 • 57 mins
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, historians Rick Atkinson, author of The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777; Mary Beth Norton, author of 1774: The Long Year of Revolution; and Rosemarie Zagarri, author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic, explore the events leading to the first shots of the American Revol...
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April 8, 2025 • 59 mins
In this episode, Brian Kalt of Michigan State College of Law and Jeffrey Toobin, author of The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy, explore the founders’ vision for the pardon power and the use of the presidential pardon throughout American history—from Thomas Jefferson’s pardons to those issued by Presidents Biden and Trump. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Resources
Jeffrey...
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April 1, 2025 • 58 mins
Best-selling author Michael Lewis discusses his new book, Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service. As Americans’ distrust in the government continues to grow, Lewis’ book examines how the government works, who works for it, and why their contributions continue to matter. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Resources
Michael Lewis, ed., Who Is Government? The Untold Stor...
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March 25, 2025 • 56 mins
CNN Anchor and Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash joins for a discussion of her book, America’s Deadliest Election: The Cautionary Tale of the Most Violent Election in American History, which explores the little-known story of election violence in 1872 Louisiana, which nearly pushed American democracy to its breaking point, and what we can learn from it today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Cente...
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March 11, 2025 • 58 mins
Jonathan Rauch, author of Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy, and Julian Zelizer, author of In Defense of Partisanship, join for a wide-ranging discussion on their new books and the rise of partisanship in America. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Resources
Julian E. Zelizer, In Defense of Partisanship (2025)
Jonathan Rauch, Cross Purposes: Christianity's ...
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March 4, 2025 • 60 mins
New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie joins award-winning journalist Juan Williams for a conversation on Williams’ new book, New Prize for These Eyes: The Rise of America’s Second Civil Rights Movement, exploring the emergence of a new civil rights era—from the 2008 election of President Obama to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Thomas Donnelly, chief scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates.
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February 18, 2025 • 60 mins
The National Constitution Center and the Federal Judicial Center convene leading historians for conversations on Reconstruction and the Constitution. Martha Jones of Johns Hopkins University, Kate Masur of Northwestern University, and Dylan Penningroth of the University of California, Berkeley, delve into the broader legal and social effects of Reconstruction beyond the amendments. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National C...
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February 18, 2025 • 62 mins
The National Constitution Center and the Federal Judicial Center convene leading historians for conversations on Reconstruction and the Constitution. Pamela Brandwein of the University of Michigan, Sherrilyn Ifill of Howard University School of Law, and Ilan Wurman of the University of Minnesota Law School explore the 14th Amendment and the history of Reconstruction. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Cen...
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January 28, 2025 • 60 mins
The day after the 2025 presidential inauguration, leading presidential historians and contributors to the recently published compendium My Fellow Americans: Presidents and Their Inaugural Addresses, Michael Gerhardt, Kate Masur, and Ted Widmer, reflect on inaugural addresses throughout history and how they relate to a president’s legacy. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Resources:
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December 17, 2024 • 58 mins
Melanie Randolph Miller, editor of the Gouverneur Morris Papers: Diaries Project; Dennis Rasmussen, author of The Constitution’s Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America’s Basic Charter; and William Treanor, dean of Georgetown Law explore the fantastic life and constitutional legacy of Gouverneur Morris: Founding Father, key member of the Committee of Style, and opponent of slavery. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of ...
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December 10, 2024 • 63 mins
In this episode, We explore religious liberty and the founders with Jane Calvert, author of Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson, Vincent Phillip Muñoz, author of Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses, and Thomas Kidd, author of God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of ...
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November 26, 2024 • 56 mins
In this episode, Christopher Cox, former U.S. congressman and author of the new book, Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn, and Professor Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago discuss Wilson’s presidential legacy, constitutional vision, and impact on American democracy. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Resources
Christopher Cox, Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn (2024)
Espion...
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November 12, 2024 • 58 mins
In celebration of Native American Heritage month, Keith Richotte Jr., author of the forthcoming book, The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told: Native America, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Constitution and Matthew L.M. Fletcher of the University of Michigan discuss Native American history and law through the stories of landmark Supreme Court cases. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Res...
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November 5, 2024 • 58 mins
On the eve of the 2024 presidential election, join Jesse Wegman, author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College, and professor Robert Hardaway, author of Saving the Electoral College: Why the National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy, for a program examining the history and current debate over the Electoral College. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Cente...
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November 1, 2024 • 32 mins
This month, the National Constitution Center convened the 2024 National First Amendment Summit, in partnership with FIRE and NYU’s First Amendment Watch. America’s leading legal thinkers joined for a vigorous discussion on the state of free speech in America and around the globe. This episode features a conversation about global free speech with Jason Rezaian of The Washington Post. He spent 544 days unjustly imprisoned by Iranian ...
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October 29, 2024 • 87 mins
This month, the National Constitution Center convened the 2024 National First Amendment Summit, in partnership with FIRE and NYU’s First Amendment Watch. America’s leading legal thinkers joined for a vigorous discussion on the state of free speech in America and around the globe. “Free Speech on Campus Today” features Mary Anne Franks, author of the new book Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment; FIRE’s Vice Pres...
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