Shows / We the People
We the People
A weekly show from the National Constitution Center hosted by Julie Silverbrook and Tom Donnelly where listeners can hear the best arguments on all sides of the constitutional issues at the center of American life.
Episodes
We the PeopleScott Greenberger on The Forsaken Founder: Gouverneur Morris
In this episode, author Scott S. Greenberger discusses his new book, The Forsaken Founder, which explores the colorful life and consequential legacy of…
We the PeopleCan Article V Conventions Advance Constitutional Reform?
Article V of the U.S. Constitution establishes two methods for proposing constitutional amendments: a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress or a…
We the PeopleDavid O. Stewart on The Democracy We Must Keep
Historian David O. Stewart joins to discuss his latest book, The Democracy We Must Keep, which examines the foundational ideas in nine key founding-era…
We the PeoplePreviewing the Supreme Court’s 2026-2027 Term
The National Constitution Center previews the Supreme Court’s 2026-2027 term. Masha Hansford, partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, Amy Howe, co-founder of…
We the PeopleFrederick Douglass and Free Speech
Frederick Douglass is remembered as one of the most powerful orators in American history, a leading voice for abolition, and an extraordinary champion of equal…
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The Past, Present, and Future of the Second Amendment
In this episode, Joseph Blocher of Duke University School of Law and Clark Neily of the Cato Institute trace the ongoing debates over the Second Amendment…
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William Magnuson on The Just and the Good: How Law Made the Western World
In this special Constitution Day episode, author William Magnuson discusses his latest book, The Just and the Good: How Law Made the Western World, which is a…
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The State of Free Speech in 2026
Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago Law School and Eugene Volokh, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and UCLA School of Law, discuss the First…
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Mary Sarah Bilder on the Origins of the Bill of Rights
In this episode, Mary Sarah Bilder, Founders Professor at Boston College Law School, explores the history of rights and liberties in America and the origins of…
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Chatrie and the Future of the Fourth Amendment
In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that law enforcement’s use of a geofence warrant, which collected identity and location data from mobile…
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Fergus Bordewich on Centennial and the Great Fair of 1876
In this episode, prize-winning author and historian Fergus M. Bordewich discusses his latest book, Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of…
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Rosemarie Zagarri on The Declaration’s Grievances
When Americans think about the Declaration of Independence, we tend to remember its most famous words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” and its…
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What the 2025-2026 Supreme Court Term Revealed About the Roberts Court
The Supreme Court's latest term featured landmark decisions on executive power, birthright citizenship, voting rights, and more. But beyond the headlines, what…
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Free Speech in a Changing World
In this episode, Nadine Strossen, New York Law School professor emerita and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Jacob Mchangama…
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Does Article II of the Constitution Grant the President Power to Fire Anyone in the Executive Branch?
In this episode, legal scholars Michael Ramsey and Jed Shugerman the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook, which address…
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Civil Discourse and the Supreme Court
In this episode, legal scholars Jonathan Adler, Greg Garre, Katherine Mims Crocker, and Howard Wasserman discuss the state of civil discourse inside the…
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The Supreme Court and Executive Power
In this episode, legal scholars Gillian Metzger, Julian Mortenson, and Ilya Somin discuss the Supreme Court’s approach to executive power in recent decisions…
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The Supreme Court Strikes Down President Trump’s Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship
In this episode, Richard Epstein and Martha Jones discuss the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Trump v. Barbara, which struck down President Trump’s…
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The Ideas at the Heart of the Declaration and the Constitution
In this episode, David Blight, Robert P. George, and Annette Gordon-Reed explore the enduring ideas at the core of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S…
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Eric Slauter on The Declaration’s Promises
The National Constitution Center recently published The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals (Simon & Schuster), a keepsake collection of…
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Carol Berkin on the Declaration’s lesser-known signers
If you ask Americans to name the signers of the Declaration of Independence, they will probably mention John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and…
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Justice Stephen Breyer on The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals
In this episode, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, retired, honorary co-chair of the National Constitution Center, joins to discuss The Promise of…
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David Armitage on the Declaration’s Influence Around the World
The National Constitution Center recently published The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals (Simon & Schuster), a keepsake collection of…
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Michael Auslin on National Treasure
In this episode, Michael Auslin joins to discuss his new book, National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America, a sweeping and vivid…
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Jonathan Adler and Stephen Vladeck Debate the Use of the “Shadow Docket” on the Roberts Court
In this episode, Jonathan Adler of William & Mary Law School and Stephen Vladeck of Georgetown University Law Center explore a part of the Supreme Court’s work…
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Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Congressional Map
On April 29, 2026, in Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court invalidated a Louisiana congressional map, holding that racial considerations cannot predominate…
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Sarah Isgur on Last Branch Standing
Sarah Isgur joins for a conversation on her new book, Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court…
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Revolutionary State Constitutions
In this episode, scholars Nicholas Cole and Robert Williams examine how American constitutional democracy is rooted in the crafting of Revolutionary-era state…
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Women and the American Revolution
Acclaimed historians Mary Beth Norton, the Mary Donlon Alger Professor Emerita of American History at Cornell University, and Rosemarie Zagarri, distinguished…
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Emily Sneff on When the Declaration of Independence Was News
In this episode, historian Emily Sneff discusses her new book, When the Declaration of Independence Was News, which focuses on the nation’s founding document…
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Madison's Vision and Revisions: Looking Back on the Constitution's Father
In this episode we’re sharing a live conversation that explores James Madison’s vision for the constitution with Mary Sarah Bilder of Boston College Law…
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Ellen DuBois on the Revolutionary Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton
In celebration of Women’s History Month, award-winning historian Ellen DuBois, author of Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life, joins to discuss the…
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The Revolutionary Lives of Catharine Macaulay and Mercy Otis Warren
As the Center marks the 250th anniversary of the nation, we’re taking a closer look at the people, events, and ideas that set the American Revolution in motion…
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What is the Constitutional Balance of War Powers Between Congress and the President?
On February 28, President Trump announced “major combat operations in Iran.” The operation, known as Epic Fury, has renewed a long-standing debate about the…
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NCC Revisited: Women and the American Idea
In celebration of Women’s History month, we revisit a conversation that explores the life and legacy of women who have inspired Constitutional change…
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Supreme Court Rules Trump’s Tariffs Unlawful Under IEEPA
On February 20, the Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known as IEEPA, does not authorize President Trump’s sweeping…
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Juan Williams on the Rise of America’s Second Civil Rights Movement
New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie joins award-winning journalist Juan Williams for a conversation on Williams’ latest book, New Prize for These Eyes: The…
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Thomas Paine and the 250th Anniversary of Common Sense
Gary Berton, the president of The Thomas Paine Historical Association, joins Scott Cleary, co-editor of New Directions in Thomas Paine Studies and author of…
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The Declaration of Independence and the Push for Racial Equality
In celebration of Black History Month, scholars Lucas Morel and Melvin Rogers join to discuss how African American leaders and citizens, such as Prince Hall…
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Best of 2025: Michael Lewis on Who Is Government?
In this Best of 2025-episode, Best-selling author Michael Lewis discusses his new book, Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service. As Americans’…
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The Lost Founder: James Wilson
This week, we explore the life of an influential and yet, often overlooked founder, James Wilson. Whose ideas and influence continue to shape current debates…
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The Story of the U.S. Constitution: Past and Present
After more than 12 years of distinguished service as President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Rosen has transitioned to the role of CEO Emeritus, enabling…
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Kathleen DuVal on Native Nations
In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal discusses her new book, Native Nations: A Millennium in North America…
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William F. Buckley and the Intellectual History of American Conservatism
Matthew Continetti, author of The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism, joins prize-winning biographer Sam Tanenhaus to discuss Tanenhaus’s…
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The Constitutional Legacy of Justice Robert Jackson
John Q. Barrett, discoverer and editor of Robert H. Jackson's acclaimed book That Man: An Insider's Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt and writer of the popular…
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Ed Larson on Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson discusses his newest book, Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Still Matters, which traces the idea of American…
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Can President Trump Fire a Federal Trade Commissioner Without Cause?
In this episode, Thomas Berry of the Cato Institute and Jed Shugerman of the Boston University School of Law join the recap the oral arguments from Trump v…
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Amending the Constitution and the Article V Project
In this episode, the National Constitution Center launches our Article V Project, a new initiative examining the founders’ vision for Article V and an…
We the PeopleFrom Pursuit: Silence in Order to Listen
In our 12-part podcast series, Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen explores the founders’ lives with the historians who know them best and…
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Eric Foner on Our Fragile Freedoms
In this episode, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Eric Foner joins to discuss his book, Our Fragile Freedoms, a new collection of essays exploring a range of…
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Walter Isaacson on the Greatest Sentence Ever Written
In this episode, best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson joins to discuss his new book, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, with Jeffrey Rosen, president and…
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Are Trump’s Tariffs Lawful?
In this episode, Samuel Estreicher of the NYU School of Law and John Yoo of the UC Berkeley School of Law join to recap the oral arguments from the pair of…
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Alexander Hamilton: Closet Monarchist or Visionary Nationalist?
This episode is a two-part show on Alexander Hamilton. First, in a new episode of the podcast Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen…
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The Pursuit of Liberty: A Conversation with Jeffrey Rosen and Jeffrey Goldberg
Jeffrey Rosen launched his new book, The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America, at the National…
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The Dinner Party that Defined America
In this bonus episode, we’re sharing a live conversation with Jeffrey Rosen, Joanne Freeman, George F. Will, and Sean Wilentz exploring Rosen’s new book, which…
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Can President Trump Invoke the Insurrection Act Over the Objections of State Governors?
In this episode, William Banks of Syracuse University College of Law and Laura Dickinson of the George Washington Law School join to discuss the history and…
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Do Bans on Conversion Therapy Violate the First Amendment?
In this episode, Stephanie Barclay of the Georgetown University Law Center and Erwin Chemerinsky of the UC Berkeley School of Law join to recap the oral…
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What Is the Legacy of the Roberts Court on Its 20th Anniversary?
In this episode, Steve Vladeck of the Georgetown University Law Center and Sarah Isgur of SCOTUSblog join to discuss the legacy of the Roberts Court on its…
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Can Government Officials Pressure Private Companies and Universities to Restrict Speech?
In this episode, Genevieve Lakier of the University of Chicago Law School and Eugene Volokh of the UCLA School of Law join to discuss the recent suspension of…
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A Conversation with Justice Amy Coney Barrett on ‘Listening to the Law’
On September 17, 2025, the Honorable Amy Coney Barrett, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, joined Jeffrey Rosen for an America’s Town Hall program in…