Sandra Day O'Connor Institute

In 1776, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense transformed frustration into a call for independence, inspiring ordinary colonists to support revolution. Discover the pamphlet that helped change the course of American history. Before It Became History , a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode looks beyond the legend...

Nathan Hale left behind the classroom to serve the cause of American independence, becoming one of the Revolution’s most remembered patriots. Discover the story behind the famous words: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose…” Before It Became History , a podcast series from the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, explores the people and moments that shaped the American story. Each episode loo...

How do social media and digital platforms shape the way younger generations learn about civics and engage in public life? This episode explores whether today’s technologies strengthen or hinder civic education—and how they might be used more effectively to support informed engagement. Featuring voices from 36 states, the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute’s Public Square discussion offers insights into...

First released in 2022, this episode revisits an often overlooked influence on the American founding. Professor Robert James Miller explores how tribal governments and Indigenous political thought helped shape the ideas of the Founding generation and left lasting marks on the U.S. Constitution. Moderated by Myles V. Link, the conversation invites listeners to view the Constitution not only through...

Originally released during the height of the global pandemic, this episode returns as we approach the March 11 anniversary of the COVID-19 national emergency. Featuring Pew Research Center’s Kim Parker and Richard Fry, the conversation examines how COVID-19 reshaped the social and economic lives of Millennials and Gen Z—generations already navigating significant challenges before the crisis. This...

Education. The economy. Technology. Civil discourse. These issues shape our daily lives and shared future. In this public square we reviewed recent poll results from our Civics for Life Community App, exchanged perspectives, and explored how respectful dialogue and civic participation can help shape the year ahead. The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute offers a platform of civil discourse to allow div...

First released in 2021, this conversation feels increasingly relevant as social media continues to shape how Americans communicate, disagree, and connect. Monica Anderson of the Pew Research Center and Beau Kiniry of BuzzFeed explore whether civil discourse can coexist with today’s digital platforms—and how online speech influences relationships, public dialogue, and civic life. As polarization pe...

This special episode from our original Constitution Series returns in honor of Black History Month, spotlighting the life and ideas of Thomas Sowell, one of America’s most influential and thought-provoking thinkers. Drawing from Jason L. Riley’s landmark biography Maverick, the program traces Sowell’s journey from a Black orphan growing up in the Jim Crow South to a leading voice in economics, rac...

How does today’s polarized climate shape what—and how—civics is taught in America’s classrooms? This Public Square virtual conversation was inspired by the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute’s latest policy brief, “Why Are Teachers Uncomfortable Teaching Civics?” The research offers an urgent look at the challenges many civics educators face when teaching the very subject they were hired to lead. The f...

Perhaps no extant product of the U.S. Constitution has received more bipartisan animus than the Electoral College. Since 1800 there have been more than 700 proposals introduced in Congress to amend or eliminate the way in which America chooses its presidents. Yet the Electoral College lives on. Why do we have this system? Why does it inspire such cross-party antipathy? Can it be changed -- should...

In his book The Quest for Character , Massimo Pigliucci asks: can good character be taught? Through an exploration of Greek and Roman philosophy, and especially the interaction of Socrates and Alcibiades, Pigliucci helps us understand what makes a good leader, and how we can educate others, and ourselves, to be better people and citizens. This podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Ins...

Do open primaries and ranked-choice voting have the potential to improve American elections, or will they create more problems than they solve? Kevin Meyer, former lieutenant governor of Alaska; Steve Goldstein, executive director of Save Democracy AZ; and Jaime Molera, former Arizona superintendent of public instruction join the O'Connor Institute and Civics for Life to discuss the issue. Th...

Civics for Life and the O'Connor Institute welcome Jed Perl as he joins Liam Julian, director of Public Policy, for a discussion on the relationship between art and society, the artist’s role in society, and whether art and artists have definite social and political responsibilities. Perl is the author of nine books, including a two-volume biography of the American sculptor Alexander Calder;...

Americans today are more politically polarized than in the past. We are more likely to align our political identities with specific ideological stances, and we are more likely to view the opposition with hostility (according to data from, among other sources, Pew Research Center and Rice and Stanford Universities). Can this political polarization be overcome?  This podcast is created by the Sandra...

Emancipation in America is often presented as a single and singular undertaking. But Professor Kris Manjapra's new book, Black Ghost of Empire , complicates that story by situating America's national emancipation in a long line of global emancipations--including the first emancipations, which occurred in America's North in the late 18th century--that were in many ways structured to...

Civics for Life and the O'Connor Institute welcome Professor Cristina Rodríguez and Mr. Adam White as they join host Liam Julian, director of Public Policy, for an online conversation and share diverse perspectives on the Future of the Court. Rodríguez and White both served as members of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, formed by President Joe Biden'...

On Thursday, Oct. 17, we welcomed participants from 36 states to our Public Square online discussion on the decline of civics education being taught today. The research is clear: study after study shows that we Americans don't know civics.  This is especially the case for younger Americans, who data reveal to be less informed about civics than their older counterparts. Obviously there is a ne...

The story often told is that rural America is in decline, and that rural Americans are resentful of their suburban and urban counterparts. But Elizabeth Currid-Halkett argues in her new book The Overlooked Americans: The Resilience of Our Rural Towns and What It Means For Our Country that rural Americans and rural America are in many ways actually thriving. Currid-Halkett joins Institute director...

What is the museum’s role in society? How does – and can – the museum function as a civic space? Dr. Anthea Hartig, the first woman director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, sat down with Civics for Life to briefly discuss these and other questions. The following podcast is created by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessa...

Economist Dr. Art Laffer—creator of the famous Laffer Curve and advisor to U.S. presidents including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton—joins the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy for a wide-ranging conversation about the American economy. From inflation and government spending to monetary policy and long-term growth, Dr. Laffer shares his unique perspective, blending economic analy...

Gerrymandering, according to Webster, is "to divide or arrange (an area) into political units to give special advantages to one group when voting districts are designed to achieve specific political outcomes." Nick Seabrook, an authority on gerrymandering and constitutional law, discusses his book, One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America and, just weeks be...

"This is a film about why you should join a club." So begins the documentary Join or Die , available to stream on Netflix , that follows the work of sociologist Robert Putnam, who famously argued that American civic organizations and engagement were in serious and steady decline and that this would not bode well for the nation. The documentary's co-directors and co-producers (and si...

From trade wars to rising prices, America’s economic landscape is being reshaped by powerful forces. How do tariffs affect U.S. industry and global standing? With inflation cooling but uncertainty lingering, where are things headed next—and what does it mean for policy and growth? Economist John Cochrane joins the Institute to explore the pressures and policies defining this critical moment for th...

At a time when civic knowledge is in decline, political scientist Jeffrey Sikkenga makes the case that the health of our democracy depends on how—and whether—we teach American principles. Sikkenga, executive director of the Ashbrook Center, joined the O’Connor Institute to discuss A Republic, If We Can Teach It , which he coauthored with Hoover Institution fellow David Davenport. The book explores...

Is democracy in trouble? Many Americans believe so: recent polls consistently rank "threats to democracy" as one of respondents' top concerns. In the new book The Civic Bargain, authors Brook Manville and Josiah Ober look to history for examples of democracies under threat. By examining the ways in which historical democracies confronted their own challenges, the authors are able to...