The Democratic Constitution Podcast

The Vise Tightens. By Luke Pickrell. Published on May 7, 2025. Original Article: https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/stop-playing-by-the-constitutions?utm_source=publication-search

Luke talks with Greg Grandin about two of his recent books, The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind , and American, América . Topics include the importance of the frontier and Westward Expansion in US history, Reconstruction, and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Greg is the Peter V. and C. Vann Woodward Professor of History at Yale and the aut...

Luke talks with Professor Austin Sarat about calls for a new constitution, popular discontent with politics, and why the death penalty is an affront to democracy, universal and equal rights. Professor Sarat is the author of two articles on the Constitution — “ It's Time to Acknowledge America’s Constitutional System is Broken and Begin Building a New One ” and “ Coping with Constitutional Ignoranc...

Luke talks with Professor Erwin Chemerinsky about calls for a new constitution and his latest book, No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States . Professor Chemerinsky is the current dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the UC Berkeley School of Law. In the interview, Luke mentions his review of No Democracy Lasts Forever in Jacobin , and a Ne...

Luke talks with Lic. Alfredo Villalpando, a student of Mexican political life, and Dr. Sami Tapio Tenoch Laaksonen, a political activist and journalist , about Mexico’s June 1st judicial elections. Alfredo and Sami were on the podcast in February for a more general discussion of Mexican politics. Luke recently spoke with Mariano Guevara about the same topic. This episode is in Spanish. An abridged...

Luke talks with Mariano Guevara about Mexico’s first-ever popular election for federal judicial officials, including why the elections are significant, what’s taking place in preparation for the elections, and what the elections mean for students and the younger generation in Mexico. Mariano is a law student and political activist in Mexico. He can be found at mariano_gl17 on X and Instagram. This...

Luke talks with Gary Berton about Thomas Paine, including why the U.S. doesn’t fit Paine’s definition of democracy, why Paine argued against the Constitution, the importance of the 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution, and the significance of a forthcoming six-volume set of Paine’s writings that includes previously unpublished works. In the interview, Luke mentions Gary’s article, “ Burying Thomas Paine...

Luke talks with Samuel Moyn about what constitutes a constitutional crisis, why faith in the courts versus Trump is misplaced, what people in the academy and legal arena are talking about, and how the Constitution’s undemocratic features got us into our current mess. Sam is the author of Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times (Yale University Press, 2023) and...

The Abduction of Mahmoud Khalil. By Luke Pickrell. Published on March 11, 2025. Original Article: https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/the-abduction-of-mahmoud-khalil

Steven Raney returns to the podcast to discuss where things stand in DSA and YDSA around fighting the Constitution and demanding a democratic republic, DSA’s upcoming convention, student organising, what makes Marxist Unity group (MUG) unique, and how to think about the political moment. Steven Raney is a member of Marxist Unity Group, a caucus in Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). He is also...

A New Foundation. By Luke Pickrell. Published on March 24, 2025. Original article: https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/a-new-foundation

Luke talks with Ricardo Mirando, Academic Secretary of the Programa Universitario de Estudios sobre Democracia, Justicia y Sociedad ( PUEDJS-UNAM ) in Mexico City. PUEDJS is a multifaceted initiative that “dreams of the possibility of achieving true democratic processes in Mexico” by promoting “dialogue, debate, research and citizen participation to generate reflection and action.” Ricard discusse...

Luke speaks with Aziz Rana about the importance of viewing the Trump administration through the lens of constitutional critique, the need for a majoritarian political system that also recognizes the particularities of U.S. history, and Indigenous and Black struggles for democracy, universal and equal rights, and a different constitution. Last year, Aziz appeared on the Democratic Consitution Podca...

Luke speaks with Gil Schaeffer about the Democratic Constitution Blog’s reader, “ Equal Human and Political Rights and Democratic Republicanism .” Their conversation encompasses several topics, such as the reader’s origins, the foundations of universal and equal rights, insights from Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, and the importance of a political strategy focused on winning...

Luke talks with Daniel Lazare about current events. Dan is the author of The Frozen Republic , The Velvet Coup , and America’s Undeclared War . He has written several articles for the blog and appeared on the podcast two other times ( here and here ). Dan covers several topics, including the meaning of a “constitutional crisis,” Trump’s concentration of executive power, the importance of Thomas Ho...

Luke talks with Lic. Alfredo Villalpando, a student of Mexican political life, and Dr. Sami Tapio Tenoch Laaksonen, a political activist and journalist. Sami’s journalism can be found online . Alfredo and Sami examine the political landscape in Mexico, the rise of Morena, the party’s success and challenges, Claudia Sheinbaum’s response to Donald Trump, and recent changes to the Mexican Constitutio...

Luke talks with Matt McManus , the author of several articles, including “ The Political Tradition of Republicanism Should Be a Touchstone for Democratic Socialists ,” “ Democratic Socialism Can Make Liberal Rights Real ,” “ C. B. Macpherson Wanted a Socialism That Didn’t Lose Sight of the Individual ,” and the book, The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism . Matt discusses several topics, includ...

Captive Workers. By Luke Pickrell. Published on Jan 14, 2025. Original Article: https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/captive-workers

Project 2026. By Luke Pickrell. Published on Jan 13, 2025. Original Article: https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/project-2026

Luke talks with Louis Michael Seidman , the author of several books and articles on constitutional skepticism and disobedience, including On Constitutional Disobedience (2012), “ The Secret History of American Constitutional Skepticism: A Recovery and Preliminary Evaluation ” (2014), and From Parchment to Dust: The Case for Constitutional Skepticism (2021). Mike covers several topics, including th...

The Filibuster Stays. By Luke Pickrell. Published on Jan 8, 2025. Original article: https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/project-2026

Luke talks with Dr. Alexander Gourevitch , the author of several important works, including From Slavery to Cooperative Commonwealth and “ Freedom Now ,” co-authored with Corey Robin. I also spoke with Alex in August 2023 on an episode of Cosmopod . Alex covers several topics, including the importance of language, values, and intellectual struggles to the Left, the connection between economic unfr...

Luke talks with Dr. Richard Albert, the author of several important works, including “ The World’s Hardest Constitution to Amend ?” and Constitutional Amendments: Making, Breaking, and Changing Constitutions . Richard covers several topics, including ongoing constitutional discussions and critiques in the academic community, the state of constitutional veneration, comparative constitutionalism, an...

Luke with Dr. Lisa M. Miller , the author of several important works, including “ Checks and Balances, Veto Exceptionalism, and Constitutional Folk Wisdom: Class and Race Power in American Politics ,” “ Amending Constitutional Myths ,” and “ Up From Federalism .” Lisa is currently working on a book about constitutional myths and folk wisdom. In the interview, Lisa covers several topics, including...

Luke talks with DSA members Sam Withers and Tyler Martin about Voters Deserve More, a cross-caucus (unofficial) working group dedicated to breaking America’s archaic two-party system and transforming the country into a multi-party democracy. Sam and Tyler discuss the peculiarities of American politics and offer a possible path toward an independent political party through a campaign for proportion...