National Constitution Ctr

•

Channel • 4 Shows

News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated weekly
History

History

Updated weekly
Kids & Family

Kids & Family

Updated 2 days ago
History

History

Twice monthly

14/10/2025

Sincerity with Phillis Wheatley

In 1773, Phillis Wheatley became the first African American to publish a book in English. Her poems show a deep understanding of previous poets, a drive to represent herself and her world in the printed page, and a belief in equality. Jeffrey Rosen, Professor David Waldstreicher and Ken Burns explore how her life highlights the importance of acting with sincerity, no matter how many people may be against you. Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr Explore the America at 250 Civic Toolkit Learn more about the NCC’s and Arizona State University's new online course on civic virtue, 'What the Founders Meant by “Happiness”: A Journey Through Virtue and Character’ and sign up for email updates Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube Support our important work: Donate Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness is made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation. © 2025 National Constitution Center. All Rights Reserved.

14/10/2025

•

32 min
19/02/2019

Michael Tomasky on Polarization and How to Fix It

Michael Tomasky, special correspondent for The Daily Beast, stops by the National Constitution Center to discuss his new book If We Can Keep It: How the Republic Collapsed and How It Might be Saved. Speaking to a sold-out crowd, in conversation with NCC President Jeffrey Rosen, Tomasky tells of the unique history of American political parties, the rise of polarization and its negative effects on government, and possible solutions for healing the divides we face today. – like expanding the House of Representatives, eliminating the filibuster and the Electoral College, and encouraging moderate Republicans to run for office. Tomasky even offers his take on a possible presidential run by Howard Schultz. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

19/02/2019

•

1hr 2min
24/03/2016

Celebrating the appointment of Chief Justice John Marshall

Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, explores the Great Chief Justice's constitutional clashes with Thomas Jefferson and his influence on later Justices in a talk for the Supreme Court Historical Society. We need your help to make this podcast even better! Go to bit.ly/wtpfeedback to share your feedback. Freedom Day is April 13, 2016. Learn more and get involved: constitutioncenter.org/freedom-day. Get the latest constitutional news, and continue the conversation, on our Facebook page and Twitter feed. We want to know what you think of the podcast. Email us at editor@constitutioncenter.org. Please subscribe to We the People. While you’re in the iTunes Store, leave us a rating and review—it helps other people discover what we do. Please also subscribe to Live at America’s Town Hall, featuring conversations and debates presented at the Center, across from Independence Hall in beautiful Philadelphia. We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out all of our sibling podcasts at iTunes.com/Panoply. Despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit—we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more. This show was engineered by Jason Gregory and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen; he will return next week.

24/03/2016

•

57 min
21/11/2014

Experts analyze President Obama’s immigration actions and the Constitution

Louis Fisher from the Constitution Project and Chris Edelson from American University analyze President Obama’s speech and executive orders about immigration, in an in-depth conversation with the National Constitution Center’s Jeffrey Rosen.

21/11/2014

•

40 min
24/05/2018

George Will on Madisonian Government

This week, during a symposium held at the National Constitution Center, We the People host Jeffrey Rosen sat down with George Will, Pulitzer-prize winning columnist for The Washington Post, to discuss federalism, the 17th Amendment, and the state of American politics today. This America’s Town Hall program was made possible through the generosity of John Agliolaro. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at podcast@constitutioncenter.org The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

24/05/2018

•

57 min
14/01/2015

Charlie Hebdo and the freedom of speech

Eric Posner from the University of Chicago and Jonathan Rauch from the Brookings Institution tackle an urgent constitutional debate: If speech is perceived to be insulting or indecent, is it permissible for government to regulate its expression?

14/01/2015

•

25 min
02/04/2015

The constitutional debate over state RFRA laws

The National Constitution Center's Jeffrey Rosen speaks with Brigham Young University's Frederick Mark Gedicks and the University of Richmond's Kevin Walsh about the national debate over state RFRA laws.

02/04/2015

•

43 min
13/04/2017

Article I and the role of Congress

In a special event at Columbia University, David Pozen of Columbia and Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz of Georgetown University discuss how to restore the separation of powers. 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. Please subscribe to We the People and our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall, on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out the full roster of podcasts at Panoply.fm. Despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit; we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more. This show was edited by Jason Gregory and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Lana Ulrich and Tom Donnelly. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen. Special thanks to Zach Morrison and the Columbia chapters of the American Constitution Society and the Federalist Society for their partnership in producing this event.

13/04/2017

•

1hr 11min
25/01/2018

The Constitution in Year One of the Trump administration

On January 20, 2017, President Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. In the year since he took office, a variety of novel constitutional issues have arisen, from the interpretation of the Emoluments Clauses, to the constitutionality of Executive Orders on immigration, and even the meaning of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. In this episode, we look at the past year of the Trump presidency and what it means for our Constitution. Joining us to discuss the past year of constitutional debates are two of America’s leading scholars of constitutional law. Josh Blackman is an Associate Professor of Law at the South Texas College of Law in Houston who specializes in constitutional law, the United States Supreme Court, and the intersection of law and technology. He filed an amicus brief in the CREW v. Trump and DC and Maryland v. Trump lawsuits on behalf of another legal scholar, Seth Barrett Tillman. Lisa Manheim is an associate professor of law at the University of Washington School of Law and co-author of a recently published book, intended for lawyers and non-lawyers alike, called The Limits of Presidential Power: A Citizen’s Guide to the Law. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at podcast@constitutioncenter.org And don't forget to take our new podcast survey at constitutioncenter.org/survey The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

25/01/2018

•

46 min
30/10/2018

Why State Constitutions Matter

Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and author of the new book, 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law, explores four constitutional debates — school funding, the exclusionary rule, eugenics, and mandatory flag salutes — to shed light on the importance of state courts and state constitutions in protecting liberty. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

30/10/2018

•

1hr 2min

Listen to the latest discussions, debates, and analysis on the biggest constitutional issues of the day from the National Constitution Center.

Website

National Constitution Ctr

Top Shows

Sincerity with Phillis Wheatley

Michael Tomasky on Polarization and How to Fix It

Celebrating the appointment of Chief Justice John Marshall

Experts analyze President Obama’s immigration actions and the Constitution

George Will on Madisonian Government

Charlie Hebdo and the freedom of speech

The constitutional debate over state RFRA laws

Article I and the role of Congress

The Constitution in Year One of the Trump administration

Why State Constitutions Matter

About

National Constitution Ctr

Top Shows

Top Episodes

About