We the People

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 him to devote his full time and energy to his scholarship and public dialogue.  The Center’s Board of Trustees appointed Vince Stango to serve as Interim President and CEO.  From all of us at the National Constitution Center, we express our...

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal discusses her new book, Native Nations: A Millennium in North America, which traces a thousand years of Native history—from the rise of ancient cities and the arrival of Europeans to today’s ongoing fights for sovereignty. Thomas Donnelly, chief scholar of the National Constitution Center, moderates.  This con...

Matthew Continetti, author of The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism, joins prize-winning biographer Sam Tanenhaus to discuss Tanenhaus’s new book, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, and to trace American conservatism’s evolution from the Progressive Era, through the rise of William F. Buckley Jr., to today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the Nationa...

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 blog The Jackson List, joins author and constitutional scholar Gerard Magliocca, author of The Actual Art of Governing: Justice Robert H. Jackson's Concurring Opinion in the Steel Seizure Case, and G. Edward White, author of Robert H. Jacks...

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson discusses his newest book, Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Still Matters, which traces the idea of American independence in one pivotal year—1776—and its continued significance today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.   This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Ha...

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. Slaughter and debate whether the statutory removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission violate the separation of powers. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.   Resources  Thomas B...

In this episode, the National Constitution Center launches our Article V Project, a new initiative examining the founders’ vision for Article V and an historical look at the use of the Article V process from 1789 to the present. Project contributors and constitutional law scholars Gerard Magliocca, Sanford Levinson, Michael Rappaport, and Stephen Sachs explore the origins, debates, and ongoing cha...

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 filmmaker Ken Burns shares his daily practice of self-reflection.  The “pursuit of happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in American history. When America’s founders wrote it in the Declaration of Independence, they intended it to me...

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 topics, including debates over slavery and antislavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Jim Crow and the battle to dismantle it, and modern debates over the Constitution and how to teach American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of...

In this episode, best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson joins to discuss his new book, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, with Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, Isaacson explores the intellectual inspirations and drafting history of the Declaration’s famous second sentence, which lays the foundati...

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 challenges to President Trump’s tariffs and discuss whether International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorizes the president to impose extensive tariffs on nearly all goods imported into the United States. Jeffrey Rosen, president a...

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, historian Stephen Knott, and filmmaker Ken Burns unpack Hamilton’s life and legacy to see what lessons he can teach us about restraint. Then, Jeffrey Rosen and acclaimed historian and biographer Ron Chernow further explore the meteoric rise, inspir...

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 Constitution Center in conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic. The book explores how the opposing constitutional visions of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton have defined the nation since its founding, shaped pr...

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 is out this week: The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America. Their conversation explores how the opposing constitutional visions of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton have defin...

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 meaning of the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement purposes. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.     Resources Illinois v. Trump...

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 arguments from Chiles v. Salazar and discuss whether Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy violates the First Amendment. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.     Resources  United States v. Skrmetti (2025...

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 20th anniversary and preview the important cases in the Supreme Court’s upcoming term, which begins on Monday, October 6. The National Constitution Center’s Griffin Richie guest hosts. Resources  Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump  Trump v. Slaug...

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 Jimmy Kimmel by ABC and the broader history and constitutionality of jawboning, the practice of government officials pressuring private actors to stifle speech.    Resources National Rifle Association v. Vullo (2024)  Murthy v. Missouri (202...

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 celebration of Constitution Day 2025 and the release of her new book, Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and the Constitution. Justice Barrett reflects on her journey to the Court and offers a glimpse into her role (and daily li...

In our new podcast, Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen explores the founders’ lives with the historians who know them best. Plus, filmmaker Ken Burns shares his daily practice of self-reflection.  The “pursuit of happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in American history. When America’s founders wrote it in the Declaration of Independence, they intended it to mean happi...

In this episode, Christine Chabot of Marquette University Law School and Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School join to discuss Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s termination and the broader legal and constitutional issues it raises, such as the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve and the scope of the president’s removal power.    Resources Trump v. Wilcox (2025) Collins v. Yellin (2021)...

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 partisan gerrymandering, including the mid-decade redistricting battles of the Gilded Age and the ongoing mid-decade redistricting efforts in Texas and California. Resources Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)  Reynolds v. Sims (1964)  Nicholas Stepha...

In this episode, Sabrina Lynn Motley, director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, discuss how their institutions are celebrating America’s 250th birthday. This conversation took place at Chautauqua Institution 2025 Summer Assembly. Resources Jeff Rosen, The Pursuit of Liber...

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 racial gerrymandering, including how the Court’s upcoming decision in Louisiana v. Callais could affect the Voting Rights Act.  Resources Louisiana v. Callais (2025)  Allen v. Milligan (2023)  Shelby County v. Holder (2013)  Nicholas Stephanopo...

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 new book The Oldest Constitutional Question: Enumeration and Federal Power, which challenges the prevailing understanding of congressional power and argues that Congress is not limited to its textually enumerated powers. Their conversation...