We the People

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this episode celebrates King’s life and work, his hopeful vision for America, and his fight to pass landmark civil rights laws and realize the promises of the Constitution. Civil rights and constitutional law experts Michael Klarman of Harvard Law and Theodore M. Shaw of UNC Law join guest host Lana Ulrich to explore King’s constitutional legacy. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

The Supreme Court has not decided a major Second Amendment case since McDonald v. Chicago in 2010, but the Court may break this silence soon if it decides to grant certiorari in Mance v. Whitaker – a challenge to a law prohibiting interstate handgun sales. In this episode, Cato's Clark Neily, a leading Second Amendment litigator, and Adam Winkler, UCLA Law professor and noted Second Amendment scholar, join host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss Mance and other pending cases and debate whether courts have treated the Second Amendment as a “second class right.” Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected]

President Trump and congressional Democrats remain at an impasse over a White House proposal to fund the construction of a southern border wall. The president has said that if Congress decides not to appropriate the funds, then he will “probably” declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress and build the wall. On this episode of We the People, we ask: what would happen if the president decided to declare a national emergency and divert military funds to build the wall? What statutes could he rely on? And would such an action be constitutional? Host Jeffrey Rosen and constitutional law experts Mark Tushnet of Harvard Law and Sai Prakash of University of Virginia Law explore the constitutional clauses, cases, and laws at issue in this hotly contested debate, including the Take Care, Appropriations, and Takings Clauses of the Constitution, the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer case, and the National Emergencies Act of 1976 and related statutes. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

Jeffrey Rosen hosts a live conversation at the National Constitution Center with leading journalists—Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic; Michelle Goldberg, op-ed columnist for The New York Times; and Jonah Goldberg, senior editor of the National Review—discussing what James Madison might think of mainstream media today and the effects of social media on modern democracy and politics. The conversation explores everything from Twitter mobs and the threats posed by growing tribalism to Facebook’s proposed “Supreme Court” and the challenges presented by online content regulation. This event was presented in partnership with The Atlantic magazine and generously sponsored by the John S. Templeton Foundation as part of the NCC’s Madisonian Constitution for All Initiative. This episode originally aired on our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall, where you can hear live constitutional conversations held here at the National Constitution Center and across America. Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected].

Pulitzer-prize winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin sits down with host Jeffrey Rosen at the National Constitution Center to discuss her new book, Leadership in Turbulent Times–a culmination of five decades of acclaimed study in presidential history. Goodwin compares the leadership styles of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson, sharing fascinating anecdotes and lessons from these legendary presidents, and offering hopeful advice about how to apply these lessons to solve some of the toughest constitutional issues of today. This episode originally aired on our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall, where you can hear live constitutional conversations held here at the National Constitution Center and across America. Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected].

This episode looks back at the biggest constitutional issues of 2018—from the recent ruling striking down Obamacare, to the Emoluments Clause lawsuits, the census case, the Mueller investigation, and more. Guests Emily Bazelon and Josh Blackman join host Jeffrey Rosen to give updates about where these constitutional questions stand and forecast where they’re headed next year. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to several crimes, including illegally making hush money payments to two women alleging affairs with then-candidate Trump. On this episode, campaign finance law experts Rick Hasen, a law professor at UC Irvine and co-editor of Election Law Journal, and Brad Smith, former chair of the FEC and founder of the Institute for Free Speech, debate the campaign finance laws at issue, explore precedents like the John Edwards case, and consider possible legal liability for President Trump. They also dive into other current election and campaign finance law issues, including the case involving Donald Trump Jr. Jeffrey Rosen hosts.

This episode examines the constitutionality of the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act – bipartisan legislation that, if passed, would impose regulations on firing a Special Counsel (such as Robert Mueller). Although the bill is stalled for now, legal thinkers continue to offer a range of views on its constitutionality. Joining host Jeffrey Rosen to explore this debate are Josh Geltzer of Georgetown, arguing that the bill is not constitutional, and Eric Posner of University of Chicago, arguing that it is. BONUS: Hear Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) – one of the co-sponsors of the act – discuss it with Jeffrey Rosen on a special bonus episode, recorded the same day that Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) voted to stall the bill on the Senate floor.

On this episode – originally published on our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall – Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) breaks down the recent developments related to The Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, which he co-sponsored. (We explored the constitutionality of the act on this week’s episode of We the People.) Sen. Coons also shares his plans to make the Constitution a bigger part of the work of the Senate, and asks, what ever happened to Senate debates? He sits down with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen (his former Yale Law School classmate!).

This episode explores the Supreme Court case The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, which concerns a lawsuit over the possible demolition of a 40 foot tall cross that is part of a World War I memorial on public property in Maryland. Lawyers representing both sides — Ken Klukowski and Monica Miller — explain the history of the cross at issue, debate whether or not it unconstitutionally promotes Christianity, and forecast the case’s potential impact on how the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause is interpreted. Jeffrey Rosen hosts.

President Trump’s revocation of CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass and the ongoing lawsuit CNN v. Trump have brought issues relating to press freedom and due process under the Constitution back into the news. On this episode, David French, senior writer at National Review and Katie Fallow, senior attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, break down the latest developments in the CNN case as well as broader First Amendment issues in the courts today – exploring public forum doctrine, the legal battle over the president blocking users on Twitter, Facebook’s proposal to create its own “Supreme Court” to decide how to regulate content, and the potential effects of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange’s prosecution for publishing classified information. Jeffrey Rosen hosts.

After Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request of President Trump, the president appointed Sessions’ former chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, to serve as acting attorney general, and a flurry of questions about the legality, constitutionality, and political repercussions of these developments ensued. Constitutional law scholar Steve Vladeck and political scientist Greg Weiner join host Jeffrey Rosen to think through those questions, including: Is Whitaker’s appointment constitutional? What are Congress’ powers to investigate or even subpoena the President or other executive branch officials over Sessions’ departure? How could the President respond? What will happen to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation? Is a constitutional crisis developing, or is this simply the Constitution at work?

President Trump’s declaration that he could revoke birthright citizenship with an executive order has set off a firestorm of controversy among legal scholars. On this episode, Professors Akhil Amar and Edward Erler debate whether or not the 14th Amendment requires birthright citizenship for all, and dive into the disputed history and original meaning of the Constitution’s Citizenship Clause. Jeffrey Rosen moderates as Amar argues that birthright citizenship is constitutionally required, while Erler asserts that it is not, and that Congress has the power to change it—and should. Check out the Citizenship Clause of our Interactive Constitution: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiv/the-citizenship-clause-by-akhil-amar-and-john-harrison/clause/56

As Americans prepare to head to the polls next week, We the People partnered with Ballotpedia for a rundown of the election law and voting rights issues most relevant to the 2018 midterms. Ballotpedia’s News Editor Sarah Rosier joins election law scholars Franita Tolson and Michael Morley to break down all sides of the legal arguments surrounding voter ID laws, gerrymandering, “signature matching,” the purging of voter rolls, and felon disenfranchisement. Jeffrey Rosen hosts.

With the 2018 midterm elections fast approaching, this episode delves into the history of congressional elections, from the Founding to today, answering the questions: What did the Founders expect that Congressional elections would look like? What did they look like throughout the 19th and 20th centuries? How did they lead to the political tribalism of the 21st century? And what can the most consequential congressional elections, the ones that realigned and redefined our nation, tell us about the upcoming election? Host Jeffrey Rosen is joined by two leading experts on Congress, its history, and congressional elections – Matthew Green of Catholic University and Thomas Mann of UC Berkeley and Brookings.

In the aftermath of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, debates about the Supreme Court’s legitimacy remain in the public spotlight. Some believe that the Kavanaugh confirmation caused a legitimacy crisis that can only be solved by reform proposals such as court packing and term limits for justices, while others believe the Court has maintained its legitimacy and is still a neutral arbiter of the law. Is the Supreme Court really having a legitimacy crisis? Host Jeffrey Rosen discusses that question and the future of the Court with two constitutional scholars from opposing sides of the Kavanaugh debate – Professor Jennifer Mascott, who testified on Justice Kavanaugh’s behalf at his confirmation hearings, and Professor Melissa Murray, who testified against his nomination.

Cries of “defamation” came from the White House following the publication of in-depth reporting on President Donald Trump and his finances by The New York Times, but this is not the first time the president has expressed criticism of the press or U.S. libel laws. Adam Liptak of The New York Times and NYU Law Professor Richard Epstein join Jeffrey Rosen to explain what libel is and how laws against libel and slander fit within the First Amendment’s protections of free speech and the free press. Liptak and Epstein also debate media objectivity today and the effect of the heated coverage of the Kavanaugh confirmation battle on the legitimacy of our democratic institutions.

Senators Jeff Flake and Chris Coons join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss their important role in the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, including their last-minute agreement to pause the nomination to allow for an FBI investigation of the allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. They also share their hopes and fears for the future of the Senate and the Supreme Court, and how political tribalism today threatens the legitimacy of these American institutions. This conversation, recorded live at The Atlantic Festival in Washington, D.C. earlier this week, was presented in partnership with The Atlantic and generously sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. This episode was engineered by Greg Scheckler and David Stotz, and produced by Jackie McDermott and Scott Bomboy. Research was provided by Lana Ulrich and Jackie McDermott.

We take a deep dive into the upcoming Supreme Court term, set to begin Monday, October 1, and explore forthcoming cases that involve everything from double jeopardy and excessive fines to cemeteries and endangered frogs. Host Jeffrey Rosen is joined by Brianne Gorod of the Constitutional Accountability Center and Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, who both filed amicus briefs in many of the cases discussed, and filed jointly in one of this term’s key cases, Gamble v. United States.

This episode, recorded live in New York City at the Federal Bar Association’s 2018 annual convention, features a debate of the following question: “Should Chevron Be Overturned?” The 1984 Supreme Court decision Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council established a judicial doctrine of deference to certain administrative agency actions commonly known as “Chevron deference.” As wonky as it may sound, Chevron is implicated in important constitutional debates surrounding the modern administrative state and separation of powers. Columbia Law School professors Philip Hamburger and Gillian Metzger explain just what Chevron deference is, why it matters, and whether or not it should be overturned. Lana Ulrich guest hosts.

Nina Totenberg and Neal Katyal join host Jeffrey Rosen to unpack Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings and evaluate his testimony. Totenberg and Katyal recap what we learned about Kavanaugh’s judicial philosophy and his views on everything from the role of precedent to presidential power, and forecast how Kavanaugh, if confirmed, might shape the Supreme Court in years to come.

In the midst of the contentious confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, we explore the history of Supreme Court confirmation hearings and consider their constitutional implications. How did the Framers envision the Senate’s role in providing “advice and consent,” and how has it evolved over time? Guests: Lori Ringhand – professor at the University of Georgia School of Law and Adam J. White – research fellow at the Hoover Institution. This is the first episode in a two-part series covering the confirmation process. Join us next week for a post-hearing wrap-up.

Last week’s guilty plea from Michael Cohen and the conviction of Paul Manafort prompted widespread debate over whether the president was implicated in criminal acts and if he should be impeached. Alan Dershowitz and Joshua Matz join host Jeffrey Rosen for a spirited debate on when and how the Framers intended for the impeachment power to be used. A transcript of the podcast is linked here. This text may not be in its final form and accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.

In the midst of the Civil War, Robert Smalls overtook a Confederate boat filled with 17 other enslaved people and steered it to freedom. This extraordinary act was the first of many, as Smalls went on to a groundbreaking career of activism and became one of the first African American men elected to Congress. We examine his remarkable life on this final episode of our special Stories of the Civil War and Reconstruction series. Guests: Kate Masur, associate professor of history at Northwestern University, and Michael B. Moore, CEO and president of the forthcoming International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Moore is the great-great-grandson of Robert Smalls.

This week, we uncover the life of Harriet Scott, the wife and co-plaintiff of Dred Scott in the infamous case Dred Scott v. Sanford. Although much is known about the case itself – in which the Supreme Court held that African Americans were not citizens of the United States – little attention has been devoted to the people who brought the case before the Court and lived with the devastating consequences. Guests: Martha S. Jones – author and professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Lea VanderVelde – professor at Iowa College of Law and author of the definitive biography on Harriet Scott. Guest hosted by Lana Ulrich.

This episode delves into the extraordinary life of reparations advocate Callie House, who tirelessly traveled the country organizing newly freed African Americans in the quest to right the wrongs of slavery. Despite her status as a former slave, a woman, and a widower with five children, House defied societal conventions and led one of the largest grassroots movements in African American history. Guests: Mary Frances Berry – professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the definitive biography on House, and Tiffany Patterson – professor at Vanderbilt University. Hosted by Lana Ulrich.

John Bingham was one of the most influential but least known visionaries of the post-Civil War Constitution. Dubbed “the James Madison of the 14th Amendment” by Justice Hugo Black, Bingham drafted a constitutional provision that changed the course of American history by ensuring that states were duty-bound to uphold their citizens’ constitutional rights. A moderate Republican and dedicated supporter of abolition before the Civil War, Bingham spearheaded the Reconstruction-era efforts to guarantee citizenship to all people born in the United States, regardless of race, and to extend the Constitution’s promise of equality to all American citizens. Gerard Magliocca is the Samuel R. Rosen Professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and the author of the definitive biography of Bingham. Kurt Lash is the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of Richmond School of Law and the author of the book The Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges or Immunities of American Citizenship. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

On this debut episode of our special Stories of the Civil War and Reconstruction Series, we examine the life of one of America’s most influential abolitionists, orators, writers, and statesmen – Frederick Douglass. Growing up as an enslaved person in Maryland, Douglass set himself apart by learning to read and write at an early age. After escaping from slavery, Douglass moved to Massachusetts where he became involved with local anti-slavery groups and newspapers. Ardently advocating for abolition, Douglass toured the country with William Lloyd Garrison and spoke extensively about the relationship between the Constitution and slavery in America. David Blight is Class of 1954 Professor of American History at Yale University. An expert scholar on Frederick Douglass, Blight has written extensively on him. Blight’s newest book, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, will be released on October 2. Blight also serves as Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale and previously taught at Amherst College for 13 years. Noelle Trent is director of interpretation, collections and education at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Trent earned her doctorate in American history at Howard University, where she also served as a lecturer for 4 years. Her dissertation, “Frederick Douglass and the Making of American Exceptionalism,” is currently being expanded into a book. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

After his recent meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin and comments about Russian interference in the 2016 elections, President Donald Trump has sparked a new controversy relating to the constitutional definition of treason, and to what extent actions taken in support of a foreign nation might constitute treason. Jeffrey Rosen leads a discussion about the Treason Clause of the Constitution, what it means, and how it has been interpreted. Paul Crane is an assistant professor of law at the University of Richmond Law School. Previously, he served as a Bigelow Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. He has also worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia, as a Bristow Fellow for the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States, and clerked for Chief Justice Roberts on the U.S. Supreme Court. Deborah Pearlstein is a professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. Previously, she served in the White House from 1993 to 1995 as a Senior Editor and Speechwriter for President Clinton, and served as the founding director of the Law and Security Program at Human Rights First, where she worked on military commission trials at Gitmo. Pearlstein also clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Jeffrey Rosen leads a discussion about the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Gorsuch’s first year on the Supreme Court, and what the future of the Court might look like. Brianne Gorod is the Constitutional Accountability Center’s chief counsel. She previously served as CAC’s Appellate Counsel. Elizabeth Slattery is a legal fellow and appellate advocacy program manager at the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and Institute for Constitutional Government at the Heritage Foundation. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Leading Civil War and Reconstruction scholars discuss the history and meaning of the 14th Amendment in celebration of its 150th anniversary. Allen Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era, and Director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College. Martha Jones is Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. Kurt Lash is E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in Law and Founder and director of the Richmond Program on the American Constitution at Richmond School of Law. Darrell A.H. Miller is Melvin G. Shimm Professor of Law at Duke Law School. The host is Jeffrey Rosen. Sherrilyn Ifill, the seventh President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Trustee of the National Constitution Center, provides introductory remarks. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

John Elwood, Leah Litman, and Christopher Yoo, three of Anthony Kennedy’s former clerks, join We The People to discuss the Justice’s Supreme Court legacy. John Elwood is a partner at Vinson & Elkins law firm, teaches at the University of Virginia School of Law’s Supreme Court litigation clinic, and is a contributor to SCOTUSblog. He clerked for Justice Kennedy from 1996–1997. Leah Litman is assistant professor of law at the University of California, Irvine Law School. She is a guest host of the First Mondays Supreme Court podcast and blogs at the Take Care blog. She clerked for Justice Kennedy from 2011-2012. Christopher Yoo is John H. Chestnut Professor of Law, Communication, and Computer & Information Science; director, Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition at Penn Law School. He clerked for Justice Kennedy from 1997-1998. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Jeffrey Rosen, host of “We the People,” moderates a panel discussion at the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival about the Supreme Court’s momentous recent term. From same-sex wedding cakes to voting rights to gerrymandering to public unions, the latest term was full of news-making decisions, even when the Justices decided not to decide. Note: This event was held several hours before Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the Court. Next week on "We the People," former Kennedy clerks will be joining us to discuss Justice Kennedy's legacy and the ways in which he shaped the Court. Emily Bazelon is a Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School. She is also a staff writer at the New York Times Magazine Judge Nancy Gertner is a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School. In September of 2011, Judge Gertner retired from the federal bench. Mimi Marziani is President of the Texas Civil Rights Project and she teaches at the University of Texas School of Law. Ramesh Ponnuru is senior editor at National Review, visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and contributor to CBS News. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Erin E. Murphy of New York University Law School and Andrea Roth of University of California Berkeley School of Law discuss the Golden State killer case and the future of genetic privacy with host Jeffrey Rosen. This past April, California police announced they had a suspect for the “Golden State Killer” – 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo. Using genetic data from old crime scene samples, police uploaded his information into a genealogy website, GEDmatch, enabling them to identify DeAngelo’s relatives, and eventually narrow the pool down to find DeAngelo. This case – along with others that have followed - has raised privacy concerns, leading many to wonder what the future for genetic privacy is under the Fourth Amendment. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

In this episode, We the People host Jeff Rosen answers constitutional questions that you, our listeners, have been asking. We’ve been collecting your questions over the past few months from social media, our weekly newsletter, Constitution Weekly, and email. Among the topics: the limits of presidential pardons, james Madison’s views about political factions, and new Court guidance about automobile searches. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Michael Dorf from the Cornell University Law School and Ilya Shapiro from the Cato Institute join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss some major cases already decided in the Supreme Court's current term and others expected from the Justices in the next few weeks. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Today we are joined by Ken Burns, renowned American filmmaker and documentarian, to discuss the history of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the legacy of the 14th Amendment. Ken Burns is prolific: His widely known documentary series include The Civil War (1990), Baseball (1994), Jazz (2001), The War (2007), The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009), Prohibition (2011), The Roosevelts (2014), and The Vietnam War (2017). He’s won 15 Emmy Awards, been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has been featured on PBS numerous times. His 11-hour magnum opus, The Civil War, has won over 40 major awards. This year being the 150th Anniversary of the 14th Amendment, there is no better figure to speak to on its enduring legacy than Ken. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

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 [email protected] The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

On May 8, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal, calling the deal “horrible,” “one-sided” and “the worst deal ever.” The president said he planned to institute sanctions against Iran, and that the U.S. would also sanction any other nation that helps it pursue nuclear weapons, as well as U.S. and foreign companies and banks that continue to do business with Iran. The Iran Deal was one of President Obama’s major foreign policy achievements, which had re-opened diplomatic negotiations between the two countries; yet the deal also had its critics, both of its merits and its constitutionality. Joining us to discuss the complex history of Iran-U.S. relations, President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran Deal, and any constitutional issues implicated as a result are two leading national security and constitutional experts. Jamil Jaffer is the founder of National Security Institute and an Adjunct Professor of Law and Director of the National Security Law & Policy Program at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Jake Sullivan is a Martin R. Flug Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School. He served in the Obama administration as a national security and served as the key architect of the Iran Nuclear Deal. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

On May 3, the National Constitution Center hosted a traveling America’s Town Hall panel at Stanford Law School to discuss the effects of digital disinformation on democracy today. We the People host Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s Vice President of Communications and Public Policy, Nick Pickles, Senior Public Policy Strategist at Twitter, Juniper Downs, Global Head of Public Policy and Government Relations at YouTube, as well as Nathaniel Persily of Stanford Law School and Larry Kramer President of the Hewlett Foundation. They discuss whether digital disinformation poses a threat, what its effect on speech, democracy, and government regulation might be, and the role of the Internet and social media in combatting disinformation. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified on July 9, 1868. Last week, the National Constitution Center and the Thurgood Marshall Institute at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund co-hosted a daylong symposium commemorating this important anniversary. In this We the People episode, former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., discusses the importance of the 14th Amendment today during the symposium’s keynote conversation. He is joined by Sherilynn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of LDF, and We the People host Jeffrey Rosen. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

On Wednesday, April 25, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in one of the biggest cases of the year: Trump v. Hawaii, the challenge to the latest iteration of President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict travel to the United States by nationals from certain countries. The federal government contends that a ruling for the challengers would “hamstring” the president’s ability to conduct foreign relations and protect the national security; the challengers counter that allowing the so-called “travel ban” to stand will not only preclude over 150 million people, overwhelmingly Muslim, from coming to the United States, but it will also consolidate “breathtakingly vast” power in the executive branch. Josh Blackman is an Associate Professor of Law at the South Texas College of Law Houston. He blogs at JoshBlackman.com and has written dozens of blog posts, editorials, and articles on the Trump v. Hawaii case. Joshua Matz is of counsel at Gupta Wessler PLLC and Kaplan & Company LLP. He is the publisher of the Take Care blog. He filed an amicus brief (with Robbie Kaplan) on behalf of constitutional law scholars in Trump v. Hawaii, on behalf of the respondents. Jeffrey Rosen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Constitution Center, the only institution in America chartered by Congress “to disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Jeffrey Rosen discusses the recent Facebook hearingsand the broader impact of social media on free speech and democracy with Nate Persily of Stanford Law and Kate Klonick of Yale Law School. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Our president and CEO, Jeffrey Rosen sits down with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston. They discuss the First Amendment, hate speech, the Citizens United decision, and other free speech cases. Stephen G. Breyer is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jeffrey Rosen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Constitution Center, the only institution in America chartered by Congress “to disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

When President Donald Trump took office last year, there were over 100 federal court vacancies, roughly twice as many as when President Barack Obama faced the same situation in 2009. Since then, President Trump has been nominating judges and having nominees confirmed at “record speed,” leading many senators from both sides of the aisle—from Senator Ted Cruz to Senator Chris Coons—to assert that the most long-lasting and significant legacy to the Trump administration “will be the men and women appointed and confirmed to the federal bench.” This topic and others were part of the Federal Bar Association’s annual mid-year meeting in Washington, D.C. John Malcolm is Vice President of the Institute for Constitutional Government and Director of the Meese Center for Legal & Judicial Studies and Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where he oversees the Heritage Foundation’s work to increase understanding of the Constitution and the rule of law. Elizabeth Wydra is President of the Constitutional Accountability Center. From 2008-2016, she served as the CAC’s Chief Counsel, representing the Center as well as constitutional scholars and historians, state and local government organizations, and groups such as the League of Women Voters and the AARP. Jeffrey Rosen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Constitution Center, the only institution in America chartered by Congress “to disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” He is also a professor at The George Washington University Law School, and a contributing editor for The Atlantic. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

This week, the National Constitution Center celebrates the March 2018 opening of its new exhibit, Hamilton: The Constitutional Clashes That Shaped a Nation. This compelling new exhibit highlights the competing ideas of Alexander Hamilton and his legendary rivals, including Madison, Jefferson, Adams, and Burr, and the personalities and constitutional debates that shaped America. The exhibit also provides an intimate look into Hamilton’s enduring role in the constitutional and political arguments that continue to create sparks to this day. Joining us to discuss the debut of this fascinating new exhibit and the life and constitutional legacy of Alexander Hamilton are two of America’s leading scholars of Hamilton and the Founding. Jay Cost is a political historian and journalist and a contributing editor at The Weekly Standard and a contributor to the National Review. He is the author of the new book The Price of Greatness: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and the Creation of American Oligarchy. Nancy Isenberg is an American historian, and T. Harry Williams Professor of history at Louisiana State University. She is the author of Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr, and co-author (with Andrew Burstein) of a dual biography of Madison and Jefferson. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

In his new book for The American Presidents Series, the National Constitution Center’s President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen argues that William Howard Taft was our most judicial president and presidential Chief Justice, and explores Taft’s crucial role in shaping how America balances populism with the rule of law. In this exclusive book launch held at the Constitution Center on March 20, Mr. Rosen was interviewed by Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the U.S Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, who calls Taft “the most under-appreciated constitutional figure since George Mason.”

Over the past few months, President Trump has announced new tariffs on imported goods from solar panels and washing machines to steel and aluminum. He has also taken swift executive action to block international mergers that he has deemed harmful to U.S. interests from occurring, and has even said he would consider withdrawing from NAFTA and related trade agreements. President Trump’s protectionist policies are a reversal of mostly free-trade orientated policies of past administrations, and his actions raise important constitutional questions about the extent of executive power over trade policy, separation of powers and the non-delegation doctrine, as well as the future of U.S. and global trade. Timothy Meyer is a Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School. He is an expert in public international law, with an emphasis on international economic and energy law. He previously worked as a Legal Advisor for the Department of State, and clerked for now-Justice Neil Gorsuch while he was on the 10th Circuit. Steve Charnovitz is Associate Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School. He is a member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Law Institute, and the author of many publications including The Path of World Trade Law in the 21st Century. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Can an employment lawsuit be based on the premise that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a Title VII violation under the Civil Rights Act of 1964? On Feb. 26, 2018, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 10-3 decision in Zarda v. Altitude Express Inc. that sexual orientation discrimination constitutes a form of discrimination “because of . . . sex,” in violation of Title VII. Some legal experts have predicted that the case might eventually make its way to the Supreme Court. Last April, the Seventh Circuit ruled in a separate case that Title VII could be applied to a similar workplace situation. But the Supreme Court passed on a third case, out of Georgia, that dealt with the same issue. Joining us on this podcast are two experts with different takes on this question. John Eastman is Henry Salvatori Professor of Law and Community Service and Former Dean at Chapman University Law School. He is also the Director of the University’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence. Suzanne Goldberg is Herbert and Doris Wechsler Clinical Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, where she also directs the Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law and its Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic. National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderates the discussion. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

Can the federal government compel a U.S.-based email provider to turn over its records as part of a criminal investigation when those records are located outside of the country? The United States v. Microsoft case pending before the Supreme Court could have big implications for law enforcement, consumer privacy and the business operations of many companies that do business overseas. The Microsoft case deals with a specific question: If a U.S. provider of email services must comply with a probable-cause-based warrant (issued under 18 U.S.C. § 2703) by disclosing in the United States electronic communications within that provider’s control, even if the provider has decided to store that material abroad. Joining us to discuss these important issues are two leading experts on the case. Benjamin Battles is the solicitor general of Vermont, which filed an amicus brief with 34 other states and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico in support of the federal government in United States v. Microsoft. Vivek Krishnamurthy is a Clinical Instructor in Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic. He specializes in the international aspects of internet governance and on the human rights challenges associated with offering new internet-based services in different legal environments around the world. Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected] The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.