What were the key texts, authors, and sources the framers looked to when drafting the Constitution? Scholars Richard Albert of the University of Texas at Austin, Jonathan Gienapp of Stanford University, and Colleen Sheehan of Arizona State University explore what books were on the shelves of founders like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, and where some of the ideas behind the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution came from, in a conversation moderated by National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen. They discuss the influence of ancient and contemporaneous philosophers, thinkers, and writers—including Plutarch, Aristotle, Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, John Locke, Emer de Vattel, William Blackstone, David Hume, and more.

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.
Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library

The Founders’ Library

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

Tech policy experts Mark Coeckelbergh, author of the new book Why AI Undermines Democracy and What To Do About It, Mary Anne Franks of George Washington University Law School, and Marc Rotenberg of the Center for AI and Digital Policy explored the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and constitutional principles and suggest strategies to protect democratic values in the digital age. This conversation was moderated by Thomas Donnelly, chief content officer at the National Constitution Center.
This program was made possible through the generous support of Citizen Travelers, the nonpartisan civic engagement initiative of Travelers.

Resources:

Mark Coeckelbergh, Why AI Undermines Democracy and What To Do About It (2024)

Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP), “Universal Guidelines for AI”


CAIDP, “Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Values”


Mary Anne Franks, Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment, (forthcoming Oct. 2024)


“Tougher AI Policies Could Protect Taylor Swift—And Everyone Else—From Deepfakes,” Scientific American (Feb. 8, 2024)

Marc Rotenberg, “Human Rights Alignment: The Challenge Ahead for AI Lawmakers,” (Dec. 2023)

EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), https://gdpr-info.eu/



“U.S. Senate Will Debate Three Bipartisan Bills Addressing the Use of AI in Elections,” Democracy Docket (May 14, 2024)

OECD Principles on AI

Marc Rotenberg, “The Imperative for a UN Special Rapporteur on AI and Human Rights,” Vol. 1 (2024)

Mark Coeckelbergh, “The case for global governance of AI: arguments, counter-arguments, and challenges ahead,” (May 2024)

Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group Report

Council of Europe and AI

Council of Europe AI Treaty


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Constitutional Challenges in the Age of AI

A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning, in conversation with NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen, author of the new book The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. Listen to their discussion on what it means to live constitutionally today.

Resources:

A.J. Jacobs, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning (2024)


"Colonial America" fashion, Brittanica

Jonathan Gienapp, The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era (2018)

Jud Campbell, “What Did the First Amendment Originally Mean?,” University of Richmond (2018)


Texas v. Johnson (1989)

NCC's We the People podcast, "The Modern History of Originalism," (August 2023)

NCC's We the People podcast, "What the Supreme Court's Opinion in NYSRPA v. Bruen Means for the Second Amendment," (August 2022)

"How a college term paper led to a constitutional amendment," Constitution Daily blog, (May 7, 2024)

NCC's Constitution Drafting Project


Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: A Life, (2004)


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


Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr.


Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate.

Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen.

Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube.

Support our important work.

Donate

Living Constitutionally: Insights From A.J. Jacobs and Jeffrey Rosen

As Meta surpassed 2 billion users in 2019, the company created an independent oversight board to review appeals of controversial decisions involving content moderation. Members of Meta’s Oversight Board Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School and Kenji Yoshino of New York University School of Law discuss the board’s recent work, including its efforts to ensure free and fair elections in advance of the 2024 presidential election. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
This program is made possible through the generous support of Citizen Travelers, the nonpartisan civic engagement initiative of Travelers.

Additional Resources

Meta Oversight Board


Former President Trump's suspension, Meta Oversight Board decision (2021)

Meet the Board


Brazilian general's speech, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)


Altered Video of President Biden, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)


Oversight Board Announces New Cases on Israel-Hamas Conflict for Expedited Review (Dec. 2023)


United States posts discussing abortion, Meta Oversight Board decision, (2023)


Referring to Designated Dangerous Individuals as “Shaheed”, Meta Oversight Board decision, (2023)


Cambodian prime minister, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)


Reporting on Pakistani Parliament Speech, Meta Oversight Board decision (2023)

How to Appeal to the Oversight Board



Stay Connected and Learn More

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


Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr.


Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate.

Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen.

Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube.

Support our important work.


Donate

Ensuring Election Integrity: Insights From Meta’s Oversight Board

Michael Gerhardt, author of the new book FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness, and Andrew Busch, author of Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right, join Jeffrey Rosen to explore the pivotal elections of 1932 and 1980. They compare the transformative presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, and trace how founding-era debates between Hamilton and Jefferson over the scope of federal and executive power re-emerged during the New Deal and Reagan Revolution. This program originally streamed live on April 16, 2024. 
 
Resources: 

Michael J. Gerhardt, FDR’s Mentors: Navigating the Path to Greatness (2024) 

Andrew E. Busch, Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom (2001) 

Andrew E. Busch, Reagan's Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right (2005) 

Andrew E. Busch, The Constitution on the Campaign Trail: The Surprising Political Career of America’s Founding Document (2007) 


Friedrich Hayek, “The Road to Serfdom,” Teaching American History (May 21, 2020) 

Ronald Reagan, Remarks to Commonwealth Club members on March 4, 1983, Reagan Library (July 19, 2018) 

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Undelivered Address Prepared for Jefferson Day, The American Presidency Project 

 

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.

America’s Most Consequential Elections: From FDR to Reagan

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


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Continue today’s conversation on social media @ConstitutionCtr and #AmericasTownHall
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The Founders’ Library

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