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We the People: Daily Summaries Delivered
by National Constitution Center
A weekly show from the National Constitution Center hosted by Julie Silverbrook and Tom Donnelly where listeners can hear the best arguments on all sides of the constitutional issues at the center of American life.
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The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 4 days ago46 min
Frederick Douglass and Free Speech
Frederick Douglass is remembered as one of the most powerful orators in American history, a leading voice for abolition, and an extraordinary champion of equal rights. He was also one of the 19th century’s most important thinkers about freedom of speech. For Douglass, free speech was not simply a constitutional protection against government censorship. It was a fundamental human right, an indispensable weapon in the struggle against slavery, and an essential condition of equal citizenship and self-government. In this episode, scholar Jacob Mchangama examines Douglass’s remarkably expansive understanding of free speech, drawing on a new research project that examines hundreds of his speeches, writings, and letters. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources The Future of Free Speech, Jacob Mchangama Frederick Douglass Free Speech Corpus, Jacob Mchangama “Free Speech in a Changing World,” We the People (July 30, 2026) Jacob Mchangama, Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media (2022) Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff, The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom (2026) Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition, National Constitution Center First Amendment: Speech and Press Clauses, National Constitution Center Stay Connected and Learn More Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Support our important work by making a donation today. Donate
- 1 weeks ago1h 4m
The Past, Present, and Future of the Second Amendment
In this episode, Joseph Blocher of Duke University School of Law and Clark Neily of the Cato Institute trace the ongoing debates over the Second Amendment. They analyze recent Supreme Court decisions on this key provision, preview a case on the Court’s docket this term, and look ahead to the issues on the horizon. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources The Second Amendment, Interpretation & Debate, National Constitution Center District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) Supreme Court Cases Library, National Constitution Center McDonald v. Chicago (2010) New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen (2022) United States v. Rahimi (2024) “No earthquake, but did the Supreme Court shift a bit in its approach to guns?,” NCC’s Constitution Daily blog, (June 24, 2024) United States v. Hemani (2025) “Supreme Court rules in favor of man facing gun ban for using marijuana,” NCC's Constitution Daily blog, (June 18, 2026) Josephe Blocher and David Pozen, “The Excluded Middle of Law: Constitutional Drivers of Extremism in Gun and Drug Policy,” Duke Law School 2026 Supreme Court Review (forthcoming) Wilford v. Lopez (2025) “Supreme Court strikes down Hawaii law regulating firearms possession,” NCC's Constitution Daily blog, (June 25, 2026) Brief of the Cato Institute as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners, Viramontes v. Cook County Stay Connected and Learn More Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Support our important work by making a donation today. Donate
- 2 weeks ago1h 4m
William Magnuson on The Just and the Good: How Law Made the Western World
In this special Constitution Day episode, author William Magnuson discusses his latest book, The Just and the Good: How Law Made the Western World, which is a sweeping tour of the history of the law. He explores how the pillars of the rule of law were built—from the courts of ancient Athens to the United States Constitution, to Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitutional Center, moderates. Resources William Magnuson, The Just and the Good: How Law Made the Western World (2026) Stay Connected and Learn More Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Support our important work by making a donation today. Donate
- 3 weeks ago1h 11m
The State of Free Speech in 2026
Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago Law School and Eugene Volokh, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and UCLA School of Law, discuss the First Amendment and the rapidly evolving speech landscape—from social media and artificial intelligence to college campuses and the press. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitutional Center, moderates. Resources Moody v. NetChoice, LLC (2024) “What is Section 230?,” We the People (June 4, 2020) Citizen United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) National Constitution Center, Supreme Court Case Library “Meta reaches landmark $18 billion settlement with states in trial over teen social media addiction,” Associated Press (Aug 26, 2026) Free Speech Coalition, INC v. Paxton (2025) Ashcroft v. ACLU (2004) NRA v. Vullo (2024) “Scaling Laws: Eugene Volokh: Navigating Libel and Liability in the AI Age,” Lawfare (July 17, 2025) New York Times Company v. Sullivan (1964) National Constitution Center, Supreme Court Case Library Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974) Stay Connected and Learn More Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Support our important work by making a donation today. Donate
- Sep 3, 202639 min
Mary Sarah Bilder on the Origins of the Bill of Rights
In this episode, Mary Sarah Bilder, Founders Professor at Boston College Law School, explores the history of rights and liberties in America and the origins of the Bill of Rights. She traces how ideas about rights developed before, during, and after the American Revolution, shaped debates over the Constitution, and ultimately led to the adoption of the first 10 amendments. She also explores how those amendments came to be known collectively as the Bill of Rights and gained the significance they have today. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources “The Blessings of Liberty and Bills of Rights,” by Mary Sarah Bilder for the National Constitution Center Bill of Rights Resources, National Constitution Center The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals, (2026) Stay Connected and Learn More Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Support our important work by making a donation today. Donate
- Aug 27, 202646 min
Chatrie and the Future of the Fourth Amendment
In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that law enforcement’s use of a geofence warrant, which collected identity and location data from mobile phone users, violated the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Professor Orin S. Kerr of Stanford University unpacks the decision in Chatrie v. United States and explores what it means for the future of the Fourth Amendment, privacy, and government surveillance in the digital age. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources Orin S. Kerr, “The Fourth Amendment After Chatrie,” Stanford Law Working Paper Series (Aug 12, 2026) Orin S. Kerr, The Digital Fourth Amendment: Privacy and Policing in Our Online World (2025) The Fourth Amendment, National Constitution Center Chatrie v. United States (2026) Case v. Montana (2026) Carpenter v. United States (2018) Riley v. California (2014) United States v. Knotts (1983) United States v. Leon (1984) Mapp v. Ohio (1961) Stay Connected and Learn More Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Support our important work by making a donation today. Donate
- Aug 20, 20261h 19m
Fergus Bordewich on Centennial and the Great Fair of 1876
In this episode, prize-winning author and historian Fergus M. Bordewich discusses his latest book, Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America’s Future, which explores the story of the nation’s 100th birthday and the first world’s fair. Bordewich traces the lives of President Rutherford B. Hayes, the inventor Alexander Graham Bell, railroad magnate Tom Scott, and the African American sculptor Edmonia Lewis—revealing a country striving to live up to the promise of the founders while bracing for the tidal wave of the 20th century. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitutional Center, moderates. Resources Fergus M. Bordewich, Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America’s Future (2026) Fergus M. Bordewich, Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction (2023) Fergus M. Bordewich, Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America (2020) Fergus M. Bordewich, The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government (2016) Fergus M. Bordewich, America’s Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise that Preserved the Union (2012) The Hayes-Tilden Election of 1876, Live at the National Constitution Center (Oct 13, 2020) Stay Connected and Learn More Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Support our important work by making a donation today. Donate
- Aug 13, 202651 min
Rosemarie Zagarri on The Declaration’s Grievances
When Americans think about the Declaration of Independence, we tend to remember its most famous words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” and its promise of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But to fully understand the Declaration we also need to read the section most Americans skip: its 27 grievances against King George III. For the founding generation, these grievances were not simply a list of complaints. They were central to the Declaration’s argument, laying out the case for how the King and Parliament had violated their rights and why independence had become necessary. Historian Rosemarie Zagarri explores what the grievances meant in 1776, what they reveal about the colonists’ understanding of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and how reading them more closely can deepen our understanding of the Declaration as a constitutional argument and a justification for revolution. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources The Declaration of Independence, National Constitution Center “The Declaration’s Grievances Against the King,” by Rosemarie Zagarri for the National Constitution Center Primary Source: Declaration of Independence (Short list of grievances), National Constitution Center The Promise of America: Reflections on, Our Enduring Ideals Stay Connected and Learn More Stay connected with We the People—follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. Questions or comments? Email podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Follow @ConstitutionCtr on social media and sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Support our important work by making a donation today. Donate
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A weekly show from the National Constitution Center hosted by Julie Silverbrook and Tom Donnelly where listeners can hear the best arguments on all sides of the constitutional issues at the center of American life.
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