We the People

This week, we look at the case Hargan v. Garza, a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of undocumented immigrantthat asks if the federal government can deny access to an abortion for pregnant undocumented teens. As of January 11, 2018, the Supreme Court was considering the case in private conference. Joining us to discuss this important question are two of America’s leading experts on constitutiona...

In the Gill case this year, the Supreme Court might determine the constitutional future of partisan gerrymandering. Scholars and advocates have been discussing the arguments at the heart of the case – as well as those involved in related cases heading toward the Supreme Court. At a December event at the National Constitution Center, Caroline Fredrickson, president of the American Constitution Soci...

Franklin Foer, national correspondent for The Atlantic, explores how tech platforms like Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Google have transformed the way we think and produced a new culture of misinformation that is trampling values such as privacy, autonomy, and individuality.  Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates this discussion, hosted at the Center in Nov...

Gail Heriot and Diane Rosenfeld join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss how several federal laws may work to address sexual harassment and assault claims. Gail Heriot is Professor of Law at the University of San Diego Law School and a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She is also a contributor to our Interactive Constitution on the 19th Amend...

In May, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Since Mueller’s appointment, the probe has raised a number of constitutional questions, ranging from whether the president can legally fire Mueller and end the investigation to what remedies exi...

Gus Hurwitz and Travis LeBlanc join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for an engaging debate about the potential repeal of Obama-era net neutrality rules. To learn more about this week’s topic, visit our podcast resources page at constitutioncenter.org/debate/podcasts. Visit the resources page to explore show notes, guest bios, related Interactive Constitution essays, an...

Vanita Gupta and Michael Moreland join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to preview next week’s Supreme Court arguments about a dispute over a cake shop owner’s right to not create a cake for a same-sex marriage event. Gupta is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. The Leadership Conference joined an amicus brief in this case with...

Alex Abdo of the Knight First Amendment Institute and Orin Kerr of George Washington Law debate whether warrantless searches and seizures of cellphone records violate the Fourth Amendment in a special podcast hosted at the National Press Club. In late November, the Supreme Court will tackle a very modern question about the venerable Fourth Amendment: Does it allow police to see where you’ve been f...

Joseph Fiskin from the University of Texas at Austin Law School and Steven Willis from the University of Florida, Levin College of Law join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to look at potential constitutional issues related to tax reform measures under debate at Congress. Please rate and review our podcasts on iTunes. And visit our Resources page at constitutioncenter.o...

Bruce Ackerman and Chris Fonzone join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss a lawsuit challenging several congressional actions used to authorize United States military actions against ISIS and other terror groups.

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump ran on a platform of rolling back the “administrative state.” Since taking office, President Trump has followed through on some of his campaign promises, signing various Executive Orders aimed at undoing previous Executive Orders issued by President Obama. What will be the impact of the president’s regulatory agenda? Is Trump restoring constitutional order...

Josh Blackman and Jed Shugerman join the National Constitution Center’s Jeffrey Rosen to discuss President Trump’s alleged violation of the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses.

Debo Adegbile and Will Consovoy join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss constitutional challenges to the Voting Rights Act and election law.

In the aftermath of the Las Vegas tragedy, renewed attention has come to controversy over the constitutional status of guns in the United States and the role of the Second Amendment. Joining National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss this central question are two of the leading scholars on this subject. Saul Cornell is the Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American Hist...

Michael Morley and Daniel Tokaji join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss Supreme Court arguments in a potential landmark case about gerrymandering.

Shannon Gilreath and Keith Whittington join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss if the courts can regulate hate speech.

Michael Dorf and Ilya Shapiro join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to preview a potentially blockbuster Supreme Court term starting in early October.

In commemoration of Constitution Day 2017, we will explore what James Madison would think of today’s presidency, Congress, courts, and media and how we can resurrect Madisonian values today.

Brian Kalt and Margaret Love join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen in a broad-ranging discussion about the President’s constitutional powers to issue pardons.

Protests in Charlottesville, Baltimore, and Ferguson have prompted many questions about the right to protest in our country. What restrictions can governments place on assemblies? What responsibilities do governments have to protect protestors? How should we think about the right to protest in a free society? John Inazu and Burt Neuborne join National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey...

Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, raise armies, and regulate forces. Yet Article II names the President the Commander-in-Chief and vests him with the executive power. Who should be in charge of the nation’s security? What does the Constitution say about the relationship between Congress and the President in wartime? With rising tensions with North Korea, Afghan...

Can President Trump block citizens from following his own Twitter feed? The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University has filed suit on behalf of several Twitter users who were denied the ability to follow the President’s Twitter feed after they made comments critical of him. The Institute claims that the ban is a violation of a First Amendment right to free speech and free assembly,...

National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderates a special discussion about the 1963 Birmingham Church bombing and how it impacted the meaning of equality in America. In this event, held on June 16 in Philadelphia, bombing survivor Sarah Collins Rudolph, Washington Post editor and author of Kennedy and King Steven Levingston, and Philadelphia Orchestra composer-in-residence H...

John Avlon, editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast, discusses the first president’s momentous and prescient farewell address to the nation and how the address could help reunite America through the lessons rooted in Washington’s experience as described in his new book, Washington’s Farewell: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations. Michael Gerhardt, scholar-in-residence at the National Con...

In a special We The People podcast event, National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen talks about the importance of the Supreme Court’s future at the famed Chautauqua Institution. Rosen spoke to an enthusiastic crowd on July 26, 2017 at the Institution in the southwestern part of New York State, which was founded in 1874. Among the upcoming cases Rosen discussed were free speech a...