In this 2016 conversation from our archives, leading constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar of Yale Law School shares foundational lessons about the Constitution. He discusses his book The Constitution Today: Timeless Lessons for the Issues of Our Era with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen.

Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library.

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Akhil Amar on Timeless Constitutional Lessons

Live constitutional conversations and debates featuring leading historians, journalists, scholars, and public officials hosted at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and across America. To watch National Constitution Center Town Halls live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs at constitutioncenter.org/townhall. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube at YouTube.com/ConstitutionCenter.

History

Society & Culture

News

Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, joins Ronald Collins, author of Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial, to discuss the tragedy of Emmett Till’s murder, the shocking story of the trial that followed, and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement. Thomas Donnelly, chief content officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Ronald K. L. Collins, Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial (2024)


H.R.55 - Emmett Till Antilynching Act

President Joseph Biden,Remarks by President at Signing of H.R. 55 (March 29, 2022)

Joy-Ann Reid, Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America (2024)


Valerie Russ, “A former Temple U law professor speaks about how the Emmett Till murder trial shaped the Civil Rights Movement," The Philadelphia Inquirer (April 11, 2024)

Liz Fields, “The story behind Nina Simone’s protest song, 'Mississippi Goddam,'” PBS (Jan. 14, 2021)

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley, National Monument


Stay Connected and Learn More
Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.
Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

The Legacy of Emmett Till: From Tragedy to Activism

On Thursday March 28 at the NCC, Jeffrey Rosen sat down with Justice Stephen Breyer to discuss his new book, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism. Justice Breyer deconstructs the textualist philosophy of the current Supreme Court’s majority and makes the case for a better way to interpret the Constitution based on pragmatism.
 
Resources
Justice Stephen Breyer, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism (2024)
 
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. 
Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. 
You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Justice Stephen Breyer on Reading the Constitution

Acclaimed Lincoln historians Sidney Blumenthal, author of the three-volume The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, and Harold Holzer, author of the new book Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration, assess Lincoln’s life and legacy to unveil remarkable similarities between the 19th century and today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Harold Holzer, Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration


Sidney Blumenthal, Wrestling With His Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. II, 1849-1856


Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address (1860, February 27)

Harold Holzer, Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President



Stay Connected and Learn More
Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. 
Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.
Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Lincoln’s Lessons: Then and Now

Richard Hasen, author of A Real Right to Vote, Sarah Isgur, senior editor of The Dispatch, and Lawrence Lessig, author of How to Steal a Presidential Election, provide a health check on the state of American democracy, and look ahead to potential areas of vulnerability in the run-up to the 2024 election. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Additional Resources

Richard L. Hasen, A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy


Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman, How to Steal a Presidential Election


Jeffrey Rosen, “The Supreme Court Says States Can’t Keep Trump Off the Ballot," We the People, National Constitution Center

Trump v. Anderson (2024)

Sarah Isgur and David French,“Indictment Watch: The Supreme Court Decides Whether States Can Disqualify Trump,” Advisory Opinions, The Dispatch


Richard L. Hasen, “The Supreme Court Just Delivered a Rare Self-Own for John Roberts,” Slate (March 5, 2023)

Conference Report, “Carter-Baker Commission: 16 Years Later” (2021)


Trump v. Anderson, Amicus brief of Richard L. Hasen, Edward Foley and Ben Ginsburg



Stay Connected and Learn More
Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. 
Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Democracy Checkup: Preparing for the 2024 Election

On Presidents Day 2024, NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen launched his new book at the NCC in conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic. They discuss The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. This program was recorded live on February 19, 2024, and presented in partnership with The Atlantic. 

Additional Resources:  


Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024) 

Cicero, The Tusculan Disputations (ca. 45 BC) 


The Quill Project  


The King James Bible (1611) 


Pythagoras, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  


The Webster-Hayne Debates  


Trump v. Anderson 

“Should President Trump Be Allowed on the 2024 Ballot?,” We the People podcast (Jan. 11, 2024) 

“Rhetoric of Freedom,” The Atlantic (Sept. 1999) 


Stay Connected and Learn More
Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.
Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.
Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

Akhil Amar on Timeless Constitutional Lessons

Download our free app to listen on your phone