The Democratic Constitution Podcast

Author and scholar Kate Masur joins the podcast to talk about the struggles for equality during the Antebellum and Reconstruction periods. Our conversation focuses on two of Kate’s works: An Example for All the Land: Emancipation and the Struggle Over Equality in Washington, D.C. and Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement , from the Revolution to Reconstruction . We cover...

In this episode, we talk with Ajamu Baraka , an author, educator, and political activist. Topics include the Green Party and the two-party duopoly; proportional representation and the need for political change; the Black Agenda Report and the importance of independent media projects; human rights and the Black Alliance for Peace ; and the Black radical tradition, including the legacy of Reconstruc...

In this episode, John Mulkins and I put our heads together and discuss how people understand the demand for a democratic constitution, who will get involved in the struggle, the role of socialism in the demand for democracy, and the counterrevolution of 1787. John last appeared on the show in August.

Professor Julie Suk joins the show to discuss the Supreme Court’s immense power, the challenges of invoking Article V, the general constraints on necessary change posed by the Constitution, and a possible solution in alternative bodies like a shadow court. Julie is the author of several books on constitutional reform, particularly regarding gender equality and patriarchy. Her forthcoming book is T...

“No legislative assembly ever debated constitutional issues more thoroughly and more loudly and more angrily than the French National Assembly of 1789 to 1791. Imagine a group of 1,200 people meeting in a hall with no amplification equipment, shouting at each other and trying to work out the details of the Constitution.” Luke talks with Professor Jeremy Popkin, author of several books on the Frenc...

“The poorest he that is in England hath a right to live as the greatest he” - Col. Thomas Rainborowe, Leveller. In this episode, I speak with Geoffrey Robertson, an English barrister, historian, and the author of several works on the English Civil War and the Levellers, including The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man who sent Charles I to the Scaffold , and the introduction to Verso books’ T...

The hubbub surrounding McConnell, Platner, and Graham stems from the undemocratic Senate, argues Steven Raney. In a democratic political system, McConnell and Graham would be historical footnotes, and their life’s work would be nothing. But thanks to the radically anti-egalitarian Senate, a President who lost the popular vote (who they  helped  shield  from meaningful consequences for trying to re...

“We don’t need two legislatures to enact a piece of legislation. You want to have representation? Create an assembly of people who can faithfully represent the people and let them deliberate about whatever legislation they have in mind and let them make their own decisions. You’d need someone across the hall saying ‘No, the people can’t do that… the people are dangerous.’” Luke talks with John Mul...

“The bourgeoisie has fought democracy for the last 230 years, because democracy would be the transfer of power into the hands of the majority. And the explanation of why all of the other parts of the minimum program are so hard to achieve is because we don’t make the laws… the conquest of political power is key.” Lucas and Luke talk with Gil Schaeffer, a frequent podcast guest and blog contributor...

“The lack of democracy in this country and the broader problems with capitalism and the rise of Trumpism were all tied together. I think it’s hard to understand why so much of the country supported Trump, including large parts of the working class, unless you look at the democratic deficit of this country and the lack of a multi-party system, lack of real political alternatives, and the way that B...

“The whole issue of Reconstruction for Douglass… the whole idea of being able to vote was huge. So what if you’re a black person able to vote, but your vote is now so diluted into white majority districts that your vote doesn’t matter? It’s kind of like you are back to some of the issues that people were arguing about in the Reconstruction period.” Robert Levine joins the podcast to talk about his...

“I think the Constitution is fatally flawed. And I think that the kind of reconstruction that’s required needs to get back to the kind of things that the radical Republicans couldn’t finish.” Historian Tad Stoermer returns to the podcast to talk about his new book, A Resistance History of the United States . We talk about the audience Tad had in mind for his book, the conversations he’s had about...

This year is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and its proclamation that all men are created equal; that they have unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and that they have the right to establish governments to secure these rights. Trump and the Republicans have been wrapping themselves in the flag and claiming they are upholding these principles....

"What Would it Mean to Finish Reconstruction?" By Luke Pickrell. Original article here .

“If we want to understand Black people’s demands for the rights that America denied them, we must pay more attention to how they talked about and used the rights that were not denied them—the associational privileges and common-law civil rights they had been exercising for generations in county clerks’ offices and church basements—rights of everyday use.” Dylan Penningroth joins the podcast to tal...

“There’s a tradition of these rights being claimed by groups who were excluded and who they weren’t originally intended for, because they have that possibility inherent to them, which is the idea of universal equality and universal freedom.” Dr. Guy Aitchison joins the Democratic Constitution Podcast to talk about his 2020 article, “ Popular Resistance and the Idea of Rights ,” in which he argues...

“Beard resigned and wrote a very scathing letter of resignation, which is still read today. But he was such a beloved figure at Columbia, he actually provoked several days of protests and riots on the campus, of students demanding that he return and not be subject to this inquisition, and several other prominent faculty resigned right in his wake as well because of it.” Clyde Barrow returns to the...

“The argument about the absence of democracy is powerful in one way at the workplace. But it is also powerful in another way, in the general community, where it ought to be pushed much, much harder.” This is my conversation with Richard D. Wolff, a longtime economics professor and host of Economic Update , one of the many programs affiliated with Democracy at Work . Richard and I discuss the lack...

This is the recording of my presentation to East Bay DSA about Reconstruction and Radical Republicanism. Apologies for the rough audio quality.

"The Voting Rights Rollback Shows We Need a New Constitution." Originally published on Jacobin on May 6, 2026.

“America is not a democracy, which means we’re being ruled by a small elite. That is just unacceptable. I think that’s the fundamental basis of a political movement in this country. Everyone knows how much power corporations have. They are the elite, and they keep their power by force. They have the power of laws and the police. Well, democracy says someone else is going to control those laws and...

In this episode, I talk with August Nimtz, the author of several books, including Marx and Engels: Their Contribution to the Democratic Breakthrough , The Ballot, The Street—Or Both? , and The Communist and the Revolutionary Liberal in the Second American Revolution: Comparing Karl Marx and Frederick Douglass in Real-Time . August covers a wide range of topics, including Karl Marx, Friedrich Engel...

In this episode, I talk with Beau J. Baumann, a legal scholar and the author of the recent article “ What Would a Russell Vought of the Left Look Like? ” Beau dives into the article, discussing Russell Vought’s influence within the Trump administration and his executive-focused constitutional vision. He also discusses the legacy of the New Deal in the US political imagination, the limits of the De...

In this episode, I talk with Oliver Larkin, an activist, union organizer, and Democratic Socialist running for Congress in Florida’s 23rd District against Jared Moskowitz. Oliver’s campaign website is  here . Oliver and I discuss the details of his campaign, including what it means to run as a proud Democratic Socialist and member of Democratic Socialists of America ( DSA ). We also talk about Flo...

In this episode, I talk with Clyde Barrow, a professor of political science and the author of several works, including a recent Jacobin article, “ Reading C. Wright Mills in the Age of Trump .” I wanted to talk with Clyde about Mills, including his biography and works, his theory of democracy and a democratic state, and his impact on the New Left, including on Tom Hayden and Students for a Democra...