In part two of our series #1AUSA–conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future, live from last year’s National Conference on the First Amendment at Duquesne University–you’ll hear stories of ordinary citizens who have had an extraordinary impact on the First Amendment. The first panel, on First Amendment history and landmark cases, is moderated by Duquesne President Ken Gormley with panelists NCC Scholar in Residence Michael Gerhardt, radio and television commentator Hugh Hewitt, NYU professor Stephen Solomon, and Tulane Law School Professor Amy Gajda. Next, one of those landmark cases is brought to life as President Gormley sits down with Mary Beth Tinker, a plantiff from a pivotal First Amendment case, and First Amendment historian Shawn Peters. Later, Ohio Governor John Kasich shares his thoughts on the special place that First Amendment protections hold among bedrock American freedoms.

This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. 

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

Last week, the National Constitution Center opened its new permanent exhibit  ‘Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality’ –America’s first devoted to exploring how constitutional clashes over slavery set the stage for the Civil War, and how the nation transformed the Constitution after the war with the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. To celebrate the exhibit’s opening, NCC President Jeff Rosen sat down with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates is the host of a new PBS series about Reconstruction and the author of the new book “Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow”. In this conversation, Gates tells the story of Reconstruction – discussing the advancements of Reconstruction and the Reconstruction Amendments, how those advancements were thwarted by Jim Crow laws and the rise of hate groups, how the Civil Rights Movement fought against that backlash, and how we are still dealing with many of these issues and challenges today. 

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Today, we kick off our special series: #1AUSA – conversations on the First Amendment’s past, present, and future. This five part series will dive into the landmark cases and events that have shaped the First Amendment, and explore the technological, political, and legal developments that continue to shape it today. These conversations were held live last year at the National Conference on the First Amendment in Pittsburgh, hosted by Duquesne University and the Pittsburgh Foundation in partnership with the National Constitution Center. You’ll hear from journalists, judges, plaintiffs, and lawyers who have been at the center of some of the most consequential moments in First Amendment history.

This first episode starts off with a panel moderated by NCC President Jeffrey Rosen. Jeff sits down with radio host Hugh Hewitt; Fox News contributor Juan Williams; and Professor Nadine Strossen of New York Law School. They discuss how private actors not bound by the First Amendment—like social media companies and media outlets— make decisions about how to regulate speech, and what to do about it. Next, you’ll hear from U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco and Third Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman, who share their personal experiences litigating and adjudicating First Amendment cases, in conversation with Duquesne University President Ken Gormley. Later, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shares a message about what the First Amendment means to her. The MC throughout is Joy McNally, interim director of the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education at Duquesne University School of Law.

This episode was presented by Duquesne University and The Pittsburgh Foundation. For more information about the National Conference on the First Amendment, visit www.duq.edu/1a. 

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected]. 

This episode features a lively debate exploring the question: Does President Trump have the constitutional and legal authority to use emergency powers to build a border wall? Our debaters are: Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, who voiced his support for the wall as a policy matter but argues the president acted illegally and unconstitutionally by unilaterally declaring a national emergency to fund the wall’s construction using various prior appropriations. Lowry debates Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington Law School and a nationally recognized legal commentator, who disagrees with the president’s immigration policy but believes President Trump acted constitutionally and within his delegated statutory emergency powers. In their debate, Lowry and Turley dive into the scope of presidential emergency powers under the law and the Constitution,  the conflict with Congress over the president’s recent national emergency declaration committing federal funds to building the wall, and the historic and proper role of the U.S. military in the border conflict. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen moderates. 

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

Last week, CNN legal analyst and renowned Supreme Court biographer Joan Biskupic stopped by the National Constitution Center to discuss her new book "The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts." Biskupic details some of the most consequential decisions of Chief Justice Roberts’s tenure, and explores the dual motivations she sees in Roberts’s work: his desire to follow his conservative conscience, and his mission to uphold the Supreme Court’s institutional legitimacy. She sits down with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

In a sold out event at the National Constitution Center last week, Preet Bharara discussed his new book “Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law” with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Preet is the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and host of the podcast “Stay Tuned with Preet.” He shared stories and lessons from his work as a federal prosecutor, offered his take on the aftermath of the Mueller investigation, and gave his view on what it means to uphold the rule of law and do justice.

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

What happens when religious liberty collides with anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people or other minorities? Scholars and advocates from all sides of the debate join host Jeffrey Rosen for a civil dialogue to address this question head on. Jeff sits down with advocates who have represented both sides in legal cases about this issue: Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented the baker refusing to create a cake for a same sex wedding in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, and Tobias Wolff of Penn Law School, who has represented gay couples who have been denied similar services. Also on the panel were religion and constitutional law scholars Robin Fretwell Wilson of the Illinois College of Law and Elizabeth Clark of Brigham Young University Law School.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected]. 

Should social media companies voluntarily adopt First Amendment free speech principles to govern speech and content posted and shared on their platforms? Is the First Amendment the best tool to combat challenges such as hate speech, disinformation, and other harmful content, or should carefully considered laws or internationally-focused policies be used to tackle these challenges? Is the problem too much, or not enough, regulation? Four experts explored these questions in a live Intelligence Squared Debate hosted at the National Constitution Center. The motion for debate was: “Constitutional Free Speech Principles Can Save Social Media Companies from Themselves.” Arguing for the motion was David French, senior writer for the National Review, and Corynne McSherry, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Arguing against the motion was Marietje Schaake, a Dutch politician and member of European Parliament, and Nate Persily, a professor at Stanford Law. John Donvan, Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News, hosts.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

The National Constitution Center hosted a symposium on campus free speech and academic freedom on March 18, and this episode shares two panels from that event. On the first panel—Amy Wax of The University of Pennsylvania  Law School, Anita Bernstein of Brooklyn Law School, and Cary Nelson of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne share what academic freedom means to them and discuss their differing views on how some on-campus controversies should be handled. Next, university administrators have the chance to respond, and detail how they have handled such controversies. The second panel features Dean Ted Ruger of Penn Law, President Tom Sullivan of the University of Vermont, President Ken Gormley of Duquesne University, and President Julie Wollman of Widener University.

Note: The second panel includes a discussion of the University of Chicago principles—a set of guiding principles that some colleges and universities have adopted in an effort to show their commitment to free speech and expression—and you can read them here.

This coming May, be sure to tune in to our special series on the First Amendment—in partnership with Duquesne University—on Live at America’s Town Hall. The series features audio of the 2018 National Conference on the First Amendment held at Duquesne University, which the NCC helped coordinate. We’ll be sharing conversations with leading First Amendment scholars, activists, journalists and more—from First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams and U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, to New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, and more.  

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected].

Are we in the midst of a global crisis of decline in democracy? And is the United States vulnerable to that trend? Sharing insights from their book “How to Save a Constitutional Democracy,” University of Chicago law professors Aziz Z. Huq and Tom Ginsburg to explain why they think democracy might be headed for “death by 1,000 cuts” in places like Hungary and Poland and is at risk elsewhere in the world—but offer solutions to save it. They also evaluate the state of democracy in the United States through the lens of the Special Counsel investigation, access to the polls, and institutions like the Electoral College. National Constitution Center Director of Content and Constitutional Fellow Lana Ulrich moderates.

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at [email protected].