We the People National Constitution Ctr

On May 30, former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments made during the 2016 election, making him the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. In this episode, two leading historians of the presidency—Stephen Knott of the United States Naval War College, and bestselling and author and attorney David O. Stewart—join Jeffrey Rosen to explore presidential attacks on the judicial system and rule of law throughout American history. They also discuss what this history can teach us in the wake of the Trump criminal verdict.   

Resources:  


“The Trump Manhattan Criminal Verdict, Count By Count,” The New York Times (May 30, 2024)  


The Indictment of Former President Trump, NCC’s We the People podcast (April 6, 2023)   


History of Impeachment from Andrew Johnson to Today, NCC’s We the People podcast (February 1, 2018) 

David O. Stewart, Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy (2009)  

David O. Stewart, American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America (2011) 

Stephen Knott, The Lost Soul of the American Presidency: The Decline into Demagoguery and the Prospects for Renewal (2019) 


Myers v. United States (1926) 


United States v. Cruikshank (1875) 

  
  
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.

On May 23, the Supreme Court issued its opinion upholding a South Carolina congressional map against a challenge from the NAACP. In Alexander v South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, the Court found that the South Carolina legislature had conducted a partisan gerrymander, permissible under the Court’s precedents, and not an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. In this episode, two leading election and voting rights scholars, Joshua Douglas of the University of Kentucky College of Law, and Derek Muller of the University of Notre Dame Law School, join Jeffrey Rosento discuss the Alexander v. NAACP majority opinion, as well as the concurrence and dissent, and review what this decision means for the future of racial gerrymandering cases.
 
Resources:


Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP (2024)

Joshua Douglas, The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights (2024)

Joshua Douglas, “Today’s Supreme Court is Anti-Voter,” Washington Monthly (May 28, 2024)

Derek Muller, “The Long Shadow of the Elections Clause,” Election Law Blog (May 29, 2024) 

Derek Muller, “Faith in Elections,” 36 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol’y 641 (2022)

 

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.

In this episode, two acclaimed Lincoln historians—Sidney Blumenthal, author of the three-volume The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, and Harold Holzer, author of the new book Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration, join Jeffrey Rosen to assess Lincoln’s life and legacy to explore similarities between the 19th century and today. This program was streamed live on March 27, 2024, as part of our America’s Town Hall series. 
 
Resources: 

Harold Holzer, Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration 

Sidney Blumenthal, Wrestling With His Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. II, 1849-1856 

Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address (February 27, 1860) 

Harold Holzer, Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President 

 

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. 

Over the past few weeks, protests on college campuses over the war in Gaza have sparked debate about the extent and limits of student and faculty free speech rights. In this episode, two leading First Amendment scholars, Keith Whittington of Princeton University and Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago, join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the current debates over free speech on campus. They also discuss Whittington’s new book, You Can’t Teach That!: The Battle Over University Classrooms. 

Resources: 

Keith Whittington, You Can’t Teach That!: The Battle Over University Classrooms (2024)  

Keith Whittington, Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech (2019)  

Keith Whittington, “Civil Disobedience Has Consequences,” The Daily Princetonian (May 10, 2024) 

Keith Whittington, “What Can Professors Say in Public? Extramural Speech and the First Amendment,” Case Western L. Rev (2023)  

University of Chicago, Kalven Committee: Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action  

University of Chicago, “Report on the Committee on Freedom of Expression” (2014) 

“UChicago Says Free Speech Is Sacred. Some Students See Hypocrisy,” NYTimes (May 2024) 

 
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. 

Richard Hasen, author of A Real Right to Vote, Sarah Isgur, senior editor of The Dispatch, and Lawrence Lessig, author of How to Steal a Presidential Election, join Jeffrey Rosen for a health check on the state of American democracy. They look ahead to potential areas of vulnerability in the run-up to the 2024 election, and identify ways to strengthen our democratic processes in response. This program was streamed live on March 21, 2024, as part of our America’s Town Hall series.

Resources: 

Richard L. Hasen, A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy (2024)

Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman, How to Steal a Presidential Election (2024)

National Constitution Center’s We the People podcast, “The Supreme Court Says States Can’t Keep Trump Off the Ballot," (March 7, 2024)

Sarah Isgur and David French, “Indictment Watch: The Supreme Court Decides Whether States Can Disqualify Trump,” Advisory Opinions, The Dispatch (March 5, 2024)

Richard L. Hasen, “The Supreme Court Just Delivered a Rare Self-Own for John Roberts,” Slate (March 5, 2024)

Conference Report, “Carter-Baker Commission: 16 Years Later” (2021)


Amicus brief of Richard L. Hasen, Edward Foley and Ben Ginsburg, Trump v. Anderson




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. 

As Meta—the parent company of Facebook and Instagram—surpassed 2 billion users in 2019, the company created an independent oversight board to review appeals of the company’s decisions involving content moderation. In this episode, members of Meta’s Oversight Board, Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School and Kenji Yoshino of New York University School of Law, join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the board’s structure, its key decisions, and its efforts to ensure free and fair elections in advance of the 2024 presidential election. This program was streamed live on April 29, 2024, as part of our America’s Town Hall series. 
 
Resources: 


Meta Oversight Board 


Former President Trump's suspension, Meta Oversight Board decision (2021) 


Meet the Board 


Brazilian general's speech, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023) 


Altered Video of President Biden, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023) 


Oversight Board Announces New Cases on Israel-Hamas Conflict for Expedited Review (Dec. 2023) 


United States posts discussing abortion, Meta Oversight Board decision, (2023) 


Referring to Designated Dangerous Individuals as “Shaheed”, Meta Oversight Board decision, (2023) 


Cambodian prime minister, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023) 


Reporting on Pakistani Parliament Speech, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023) 


How to Appeal to the Oversight Board 

 
 
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.