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 PeopleIntroducing Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness
In our new podcast, Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen explores the founders’ lives with the historians who know them best. Plus…
- We the People
Can President Trump Fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook?
In this episode, Christine Chabot of Marquette University Law School and Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School join to discuss Federal Reserve Governor Lisa…
- We the People
The History and Future of Partisan Gerrymandering in America
In this episode, Bradley Smith of Capital University Law School and Nicholas Stephanopoulos of Harvard Law School join to discuss the history and future of…
- We the People
A Conversation on America’s 250th
In this episode, Sabrina Lynn Motley, director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Jeffrey Rosen…
- We the People
Is Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act Unconstitutional?
In this episode, Bradley Smith of Capital University Law School and Nicholas Stephanopoulos of Harvard Law School join to discuss the history and future of…
- We the People
The Oldest Constitutional Question
In this episode, Richard Primus of the University of Michigan Law School and John Harrison of the University of Virginia School of Law join to discuss Primus’s…
- We the People
The Past, Present, and Future of Abortion in America
In this episode, Mary Ziegler of the UC Davis School of Law and Stephen Gilles of the Quinnipiac University School of Law join to discuss Ziegler’s new book…
- We the People
W.E.B. Du Bois and His Impact on America
In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Levering Lewis joins to unpack Du Bois’ life, legacy, and enduring impact on American history and…
- We the People
Can President Trump unilaterally lay off 1,400 Department of Education employees?
In this episode, Derek Black of the University of South Carolina School of Law and Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute join to discuss this recent emergency…
- We the People
Covering the Supreme Court
In this episode, Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal, Jan Crawford of CBS News, and Fred Smith Jr. of Stanford Law School join to explore polarization on…
- We the People
Supreme Court Term Roundup
On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court delivered its final decisions of the 2024–25 term. In this episode, Steve Vladeck of the Georgetown University Law Center…
- We the People
Unpacking the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Skrmetti
On June 18, the Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law that prohibits medical transitions for transgender minors. In this episode, William Eskridge Jr. of Yale…
- We the People
Can President Trump Federalize the California National Guard?
On June 7, President Trump asserted control over California’s National Guard. In this episode, Professor Michael Ramsey of the University of San Diego School…
- We the People
Executive Authority: Presidential Power From America’s Founding to Today
Gillian Metzger of Columbia Law School and Saikrishna Prakash of the University of Virginia School of Law join Jeffrey Rosen to examine the founders’ vision…
- We the People
Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation
Charles Sumner was an abolitionist senator who helped to write the post-Civil War Constitution and give birth to modern civil rights law. Zaakir Tameez, author…
- We the People
The History of Jews in the American South
In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, Richard Kreitner, author of Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery, and…
- We the People
Executive Power in the Trump Era
Constitutional scholars Ilya Shapiro, Stephen Vladeck, and Adam White join NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to debate whether the Trump administration has…
- We the People
The Legacy of Justice Souter
Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter passed away on May 8, 2025, at his home in New Hampshire. In this episode, his former clerks, Judge Kevin Newsom of…
- We the People
The Presidential Pardon Power
Brian Kalt of Michigan State College of Law and Jeffrey Toobin, author of The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy, join Jeffrey Rosen to explore the…
- We the People
Are Religious Charter Schools Constitutional?
On April 30, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, which examines the constitutionality of religious…
- We the People
The Future of Birthright Citizenship
On May 15, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of President Trump’s executive order which seeks to end…
- We the People
The Day the Revolution Began
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, historians Rick Atkinson, author of The British Are Coming: The War for…
- We the People
Do the Trump Tariffs Violate the Constitution?
Steven Calabresi of Northwestern University and Samuel Estreicher of New York University join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the statutory authority for President…
- We the People
Judges on Judicial Independence
National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen leads a special panel discussion with Federal Judges Association President Judge J. Michelle…
- We the People
Who Is Government?
Best-selling author Michael Lewis discusses his new book, Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service, with Jeffrey Rosen. As government programs…
- We the People
Deportations and the Law
Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime authority, to summarily deport suspected members of a Venezuelan gang. He also invoked a Cold…
- We the People
Is DOGE Breaking the Law?
Kate Huddleston, senior legal counsel of litigation at the Campaign Legal Center, and Michael McConnell, Richard and Frances Mallery Professor and director of…
- We the People
The State of Partisanship
Jonathan Rauch, author of Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy, and Julian Zelizer, author of In Defense of Partisanship, join Jeffrey…
- We the People
The Supreme Court and the Trump Administration
Jamelle Bouie and David French of The New York Times, Sarah Isgur of The Dispatch, and Melissa Murray of NYU School of Law join Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the…
- We the People
How Powerful is the President?
President Trump’s far-reaching executive actions have given rise to a debate about whether the president is acting within the tradition of presidential…
- We the People
The 14th Amendment and the History of Reconstruction
Jeffrey Rosen discusses the 14th Amendment with Sherrilyn Ifill, the head of the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy at Howard Law School and the former…
- We the People
President Trump’s Executive Orders
Since January 20, 2025, President Trump has issued dozens of executive orders, several of which have attracted legal challenges. Steve Vladeck of Georgetown…
- We the People
What the Black Intellectual Tradition Can Teach Us About American Democracy
New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie and political scientist Melvin Rogers, author of The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African…
- We the People
My Fellow Americans: Presidents and their Inaugural Addresses
Jeffrey Rosen interviews three contributors to the recently published compendium My Fellow Americans: Presidents and Their Inaugural Addresses, Michael…
- We the People
Can Texas Require Age Verification on Adult Sites?
The Supreme Court will determine whether a Texas law requiring age verification for adult websites violates the First Amendment. Nadine Strossen of New York…
- We the People
The Future of TikTok
In TikTok v. Garland, the Supreme Court will determine whether TikTok—the social media platform used by an estimated 170 million Americans—can continue to…
- We the People
For or Against Constitutional Originalism?
Jonathan Gienapp of Stanford University and Stephen Sachs of Harvard Law School join Chief Scholar Thomas Donnelly to discuss Gienapp’s new book, Against…
- We the People
The Life and Constitutional Legacy of Gouverneur Morris
Jeffrey Rosen explores the life and legacy of Gouverneur Morris, author of the Preamble to the Constitution. Joining him are Melanie Miller, editor of the…
- We the People
The Meese Revolution
Steven Calabresi of Northwestern Law School joins Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his new book, The Meese Revolution: The Making of a Constitutional Moment. Calabresi…
- We the People
How Religious Were the Founders?
Jeffrey Rosen discusses the role of religion at the founding with Jane Calvert of the John Dickinson Writings Project, Vincent Phillip Muñoz of the University…
- We the People
Can Tennessee Ban Medical Transitions for Transgender Minors?
A Tennessee law prohibits transgender minors from receiving gender transition surgery and hormone therapy. Professor Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond…
- We the People
Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn
Representative Christopher Cox, author of Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn, and Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago join moderator Jeffrey Rosen to…
- We the People
The President’s Power to Make Recess Appointments
President-elect Trump’s allies have floated the possibility of suspending Congress in order to use the Recess Appointments Clause to install Cabinet officials…
- We the People
The Legacy of John Adams
In celebration of John Adams’s 289th birthday, Jeffrey Rosen joins a discussion on Adams’s legacy with Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University…
- We the People
Native Americans and the Supreme Court
In celebration of Native American History Month, Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Keith Richotte Jr., author of the forthcoming book The Worst Trickster Story Ever…
- We the People
How Should We Elect the President?
On the eve of the 2024 presidential election, Jesse Wegman, member of The New York Times editorial board and author of Let the People Pick the President: The…
- We the People
The NCC’s 2024 National First Amendment Summit
This week, the National Constitution Center convened the 2024 National First Amendment Summit, in partnership with FIRE and NYU’s First Amendment Watch…
- We the People
The Supreme Court Hears Glossip v. Oklahoma
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Glossip v. Oklahoma, a case challenging the constitutionality of Richard Glossip’s conviction and…
- We the People
Can the ATF Regulate Ghost Guns?
This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Garland v. VanDerStok, a case challenging the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and…
- We the People
Anne Applebaum on Autocratic Threats Around the World
In this episode, Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and staff writer for The Atlantic, joins to discuss her newest book, Autocracy, Inc.: The…
- We the People
The 2024 Liberty Medal Ceremony Honoring Ken Burns
This week, the National Constitution Center held its annual Liberty Medal ceremony honoring America’s storyteller, Ken Burns, for illuminating the nation’s…
- We the People
A Conversation With Justice Neil Gorsuch on ‘The Human Toll of Too Much Law’
On September 17, 2024, the Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and NCC honorary co-chair, and his co-author and former law…
- We the People
‘The Highest Calling’: A Conversation With David Rubenstein on the American Presidency
On September 12, 2024, best-selling author, philanthropist, and National Constitution Center Trustee David Rubenstein joined Jeffrey Rosen at the Center in…
- We the People
The Scientist Turned Spy: André Michaux, Thomas Jefferson, and the Conspiracy of 1793
On September 17, Constitution Day, Patrick Spero—the incoming chief executive officer of the American Philosophical Society’s Library & Museum in…
- We the People
Can the Attorney General Appoint a Special Counsel?
In July, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed a criminal case charging former President Donald Trump with hoarding classified documents at his home in…
- We the People
The State of the American Idea
Charles Cooke of the National Review, Melody Barnes of the University of Virginia, and Sean Wilentz of Princeton University explore the debate about the core…
- We the People
The History of Illiberalism in America
Steven Hahn, author of Illiberal America: A History, and Manisha Sinha, author of The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860–1920…
- We the People
The Constitutional Legacy of Watergate
August 8, 2024, marks the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation as president of the United States. His resignation came after the House Judiciary…
- We the People
President Biden’s Proposed Supreme Court Reforms
This week, President Joe Biden announced a three-fold plan to reform the Supreme Court. The proposal includes a constitutional amendment that no former…
- We the People
The Evolution of Originalism
Georgetown Law Professor Randy Barnett is the author of A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist, a new memoir about his remarkable legal…