We the People

Two leading scholars of the First Amendment’s religion clauses, Stephanie Barclay of Georgetown Law and Marci Hamilton of the University of Pennsylvania, discuss Saint Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, an important First Amendment religious liberty case being argued before the Supreme Court. At issue is what the State of Colorado describes as a universal preschool program that provides state funds to help families send their children to the preschool of their choice. All Colorado schools—both secular and religious—are eligible for this funding. However, participating schools must meet certain state standards and sign a non-discrimination agreement that requires them to “provide eligible children an equal opportunity to enroll and receive preschool services regardless of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing, income level, or disability.” The Catholic preschools challenging the Colorado program in this case have been excluded from Colorado’s program and are challenging this exclusion on First Amendment grounds—rooting their arguments in the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. Tom Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

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Technology and constitutional scholar Jonathan Zittrain and Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School Ellen Goodman examine the intersection of the First Amendment and artificial intelligence, how constitutional values can help guide emerging technologies, and what the future of free expression looks like in the digital age. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

This conversation was recorded on September 9, 2026, at the National Constitution Center as part of First Amendment Day, a new annual celebration hosted in partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, inviting visitors of all ages to explore the five freedoms of the First Amendment through conversation, creativity, history, and hands-on experiences. 

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In this episode, author Scott S. Greenberger discusses his new book, The Forsaken Founder, which explores the colorful life and consequential legacy of Gouverneur Morris, the “Penman of the Constitution,” an often overlooked and forgotten figure of the American founding. Greenberger highlights Morris’s indispensable contributions to the American Revolution, his central role in shaping the language and structure of the Constitution, and how he helped to guide the early republic in its fragile first years. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

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Article V of the U.S. Constitution establishes two methods for proposing constitutional amendments: a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress or a convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures. Although all 27 ratified amendments have been proposed by Congress, and no Article V convention has ever been called, the convention process remains an alternative path to constitutional reform. In this episode, Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School and David A. Super of Georgetown University Law Center debate whether Article V conventions offer a necessary alternative to a politically gridlocked Congress or pose unacceptable risks to the constitutional order. They examine the history and purpose of Article V conventions, current movements to amend the Constitution, concerns about a runaway convention, and potential safeguards to ensure democratic accountability. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

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Historian David O. Stewart joins to discuss his latest book, The Democracy We Must Keep, which examines the foundational ideas in nine key founding-era documents that shaped America's constitutional democracy. Stewart discusses how the founders sought to create a government strong enough to govern but constrained enough to protect liberty, the compromises and debates that shaped the Constitution, and the warnings about political parties and factionalism in Washington’s Farewell Address and Jefferson’s First Inaugural. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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The National Constitution Center previews the Supreme Court’s 2026-2027 term. Masha Hansford, partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSblog, and Greg Stohr, Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg News, join to break down the biggest cases on the docket, unpack the constitutional questions at stake, and explore the issues that could have the biggest impact on the Court in the year ahead. Tom Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

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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. 

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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.

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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 Constitution Center, moderates. 

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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 Constitution Center, moderates.

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