Live At America's Town Hall

Part four of our series #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future, from the National Conference on the First Amendment held at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh – explores the crucial role of the free press in American democracy, and the challenges that journalists and editors face today. The first panel – moderated by National Constitution Center President Jeff Rosen – features Harvard professor and former TIME magazine managing editor Nancy Gibbs, New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly, editor of Pittsburgh’s Tribune-Review Luis Fabregas, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman. The second panel features executive editors of the nation’s leading news organizations: Dean Baquet of The New York Times, Marty Baron of The Washington Post, and David Shribman, then of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. You’ll also hear from founder and CEO of Project Veritas James O’Keefe and CNN reporter Salena Zito. The MC you’ll hear throughout is Joy McNally, interim director of the Thomas R.

Constitutional scholar Bruce Ackerman discusses his new book, 'Revolutionary Constitutions: Charismatic Leadership and the Rule of Law'―an exploration of the origins, successes, and threats to revolutionary constitutionalism around the world—in conversation with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen. Professor Ackerman uses historical analysis and comparative constitutionalism to explore how constitutional change happens―here in the United States and around the world.If you’d like to hear more from Professor Ackerman, check out last week’s episode of our companion podcast We the People:“The Constitutional Stakes of the 2020 Election.”Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Part three of our series #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future from the National Conference on the First Amendment, held at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh – explores what happens when press freedom collides with the interests of national security, and how the Supreme Court has ruled on those disputes, including the Pentagon Papers case. You’ll hear from one of the legendary lawyers involved in that case, Floyd Abrams, in conversation with National Constitution Center Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt. Next, Gen. Michael Hayden, the former director of the NSA and the CIA, and former Sec. of Homeland Security and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge sit down with former Dept. of Homeland Security official Paul Rosenzweig to discuss how they navigated situations that pitted “free speech versus national security” as agency heads. Finally, Google’s Vice President of News, Richard Gingras, explains how Google seeks to keep up with the latest developments in free expression onli

This episode features a panel discussion on eugenics and its dark social, political, legal, and constitutional history. The National Constitution Center hosted a screening of the documentary “A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream.” Following the screening, NCC President Jeffrey Rosen sat down with the film’s co-writer Andrew Kimbrell, journalist and author of ‘The Guarded Gate: Bigotry, Eugenics and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians, and Other European Immigrants Out of America’ Daniel Okrent, and legal and bioethics scholars Paul Lombardo and Dorothy Roberts for a fascinating discussion of this dark chapter in American history.Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

In part two of our series #1AUSA–conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future, live from last year’s National Conference on the First Amendment at Duquesne University–you’ll hear stories of ordinary citizens who have had an extraordinary impact on the First Amendment. The first panel, on First Amendment history and landmark cases, is moderated by Duquesne President Ken Gormley with panelists NCC Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt, radio and television commentator Hugh Hewitt, NYU professor Stephen Solomon, and Tulane Law School Professor Amy Gajda. Next, one of those landmark cases is brought to life as President Gormley sits down with Mary Beth Tinker, a plantiff from a pivotal First Amendment case, and First Amendment historian Shawn Peters. Later, Ohio Governor John Kasich shares his thoughts on the special place that First Amendment protections hold among bedrock American freedoms. This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information

Last week, the National Constitution Center opened its new permanent exhibit  ‘Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality’ –America’s first devoted to exploring how constitutional clashes over slavery set the stage for the Civil War, and how the nation transformed the Constitution after the war with the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. To celebrate the exhibit’s opening, NCC President Jeff Rosen sat down with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates is the host of a new PBS series about Reconstruction and the author of the new book “Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow”. In this conversation, Gates tells the story of Reconstruction – discussing the advancements of Reconstruction and the Reconstruction Amendments, how those advancements were thwarted by Jim Crow laws and the rise of hate groups, how the Civil Rights Movement fought against that backlash, and how we are still dealing with many of these issues and challenges today. Que

Today, we kick off our special series: #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future. This five part series will dive into the landmark cases and events that have shaped the First Amendment, and explore the technological, political, and legal developments that continue to shape it today. These conversations were held live last year at the National Conference on the First Amendment in Pittsburgh, hosted by Duquesne University and the Pittsburgh Foundation in partnership with the National Constitution Center. You’ll hear from journalists, judges, plaintiffs, and lawyers who have been at the center of some of the most consequential moments in First Amendment history.  This first episode starts off with a panel moderated by NCC President Jeffrey Rosen. Jeff sits down with radio host Hugh Hewitt; Fox News contributor Juan Williams; and Professor Nadine Strossen of New York Law School. They discuss how private actors not bound by the First Amendment—like social media companies and m

This episode features a lively debate exploring the question: Does President Trump have the constitutional and legal authority to use emergency powers to build a border wall? Our debaters are: Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, who voiced his support for the wall as a policy matter but argues the president acted illegally and unconstitutionally by unilaterally declaring a national emergency to fund the wall’s construction using various prior appropriations. Lowry debates Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington Law School and a nationally recognized legal commentator, who disagrees with the president’s immigration policy but believes President Trump acted constitutionally and within his delegated statutory emergency powers. In their debate, Lowry and Turley dive into the scope of presidential emergency powers under the law and the Constitution,  the conflict with Congress over the president’s recent national emergency declaration committing federal funds to building the wall, and the histori

Last week, CNN legal analyst and renowned Supreme Court biographer Joan Biskupic stopped by the National Constitution Center to discuss her new book "The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts." Biskupic details some of the most consequential decisions of Chief Justice Roberts’s tenure, and explores the dual motivations she sees in Roberts’s work: his desire to follow his conservative conscience, and his mission to uphold the Supreme Court’s institutional legitimacy. She sits down with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

In a sold out event at the National Constitution Center last week, Preet Bharara discussed his new book “Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law” with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Preet is the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and host of the podcast “Stay Tuned with Preet.” He shared stories and lessons from his work as a federal prosecutor, offered his take on the aftermath of the Mueller investigation, and gave his view on what it means to uphold the rule of law and do justice. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

What happens when religious liberty collides with anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people or other minorities? Scholars and advocates from all sides of the debate join host Jeffrey Rosen for a civil dialogue to address this question head on. Jeff sits down with advocates who have represented both sides in legal cases about this issue: Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented the baker refusing to create a cake for a same sex wedding in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, and Tobias Wolff of Penn Law School, who has represented gay couples who have been denied similar services. Also on the panel were religion and constitutional law scholars Robin Fretwell Wilson of the Illinois College of Law and Elizabeth Clark of Brigham Young University Law School.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. 

Should social media companies voluntarily adopt First Amendment free speech principles to govern speech and content posted and shared on their platforms? Is the First Amendment the best tool to combat challenges such as hate speech, disinformation, and other harmful content, or should carefully considered laws or internationally-focused policies be used to tackle these challenges? Is the problem too much, or not enough, regulation? Four experts explored these questions in a live Intelligence Squared Debate hosted at the National Constitution Center. The motion for debate was: “Constitutional Free Speech Principles Can Save Social Media Companies from Themselves.” Arguing for the motion was David French, senior writer for the National Review, and Corynne McSherry, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Arguing against the motion was Marietje Schaake, a Dutch politician and member of European Parliament, and Nate Persily, a professor at Stanford Law. John Donvan, Emmy Award-winning correspondent

The National Constitution Center hosted a symposium on campus free speech and academic freedom on March 18, and this episode shares two panels from that event. On the first panel—Amy Wax of The University of Pennsylvania  Law School, Anita Bernstein of Brooklyn Law School, and Cary Nelson of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne share what academic freedom means to them and discuss their differing views on how some on-campus controversies should be handled. Next, university administrators have the chance to respond, and detail how they have handled such controversies. The second panel features Dean Ted Ruger of Penn Law, President Tom Sullivan of the University of Vermont, President Ken Gormley of Duquesne University, and President Julie Wollman of Widener University. Note: The second panel includes a discussion of the University of Chicago principles—a set of guiding principles that some colleges and universities have adopted in an effort to show their commitment to free speech and expression—a

Are we in the midst of a global crisis of decline in democracy? And is the United States vulnerable to that trend? Sharing insights from their book “How to Save a Constitutional Democracy,” University of Chicago law professors Aziz Z. Huq and Tom Ginsburg to explain why they think democracy might be headed for “death by 1,000 cuts” in places like Hungary and Poland and is at risk elsewhere in the world—but offer solutions to save it. They also evaluate the state of democracy in the United States through the lens of the Special Counsel investigation, access to the polls, and institutions like the Electoral College. National Constitution Center Director of Content and Constitutional Fellow Lana Ulrich moderates.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

With 2020 election campaigns gearing up, we’re sharing one of our favorite past programs that explores Citizens United, corporate speech rights, and much more. Adam Winkler, author of "We the Corporations: How American Business Won Their Civil Rights"and Kent Greenfield, author of "Corporations Are People Too",explain how corporations won their rights through landmark cases and showdowns—including the case of Henry Ford versus the Dodge Brothers. National Constitution Center Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt hosts this wide-ranging discussion of the history of corporations in America and the evolution of corporate law. 

Exploring how the Bible influenced the American Founding and the creation of the Constitution—National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen is joined by leading religion scholars Professor Marci Hamilton of the University of Pennsylvania, Professor Daniel Mark of Villanova University, and author/historian Russell Shorto. This program was presented in partnership with the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center in Philadelphia. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

In this special episode, we’re bringing you the chamber ensemble premiere performance of Notorious RBG in Song—a musical portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that illuminates aspects of her professional and personal life through song renditions of letters, conversations, and Court opinions—performed by Patrice Michaels. Michaels—composer, soprano, creator, and daughter-in-law of Justice Ginsburg— is joined by Inscape Orchestra's new music ensemble, pianist Andrew Harley, the a capella group Capital Hearings, and guest speaker Jeanette Lerman Neubauer. This program features musical selections from The Long View: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 9 Songs by Patrice Michaels, with music by Lori Laitman, Lee Hoiby, Stacy Garrop, Vivian Fung, and John Musto. The music director for this performance was Kuang-Hao Huang. Support for this program was generously provided by the Bernstein Family Foundation.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

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.

Professor Holly Brewer of the University of Maryland, Dean Risa Goluboff of the University of Virginia School of Law, and Professor Lea VanderVelde of the University of Iowa College of Law detail the battle over race and equality across American history, from the Founding to Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Revolution. NCC president Jeffrey Rosen moderates.This program was presented in partnership with the Guggenheim Foundation.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

The first in a two-part series honoring African American History Month and chronicling the struggle for racial equality throughout American history—this episode features leading Reconstruction historians Thavolia Glymph of Duke and David Blight of Yale. Glymph and Blight explore the meaning of freedom, equality, and emancipation, in conversation with National Constitution Center scholar-in-residence Michael Gerhardt. This panel was part of the 2017 celebration of the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 14th Amendment held here at the NCC in Philadelphia.Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.