Your Weekly Constitutional

Join us for the thrilling conclusion of our visit to one of the sites of Bacon's Rebellion, the first significant uprising in the British North American colonies.

Will Nathaniel Bacon shoot Governor Berkeley? How will the Rebellion end?? What will happen to Bacon himself???

Tune in and find out!

Ever heard of Bacon's Castle? No? How about Bacon's Rebellion? Here's a hint: 1676. Here's another hint: it was the first major rebellion against the British Crown in North America. Ring any bells? Kinda? Sorta?

Well, Stewart had also kinda, sorta known about Bacon's Rebellion when he ran into two fine ladies from a wonderful group called Preservation Virginia, Jennifer Hurst-Wender and Joanna Braswell. Jen and Joanna recently took Stewart on a tour of Bacon's Castle that was so enlightening that we couldn't cram the whole interview into a single episode. So here's our first installment. We know you'll enjoy it.

When former Marine pilot Ralph Stewart decided to retire from his job with a major airline, he chose to live in a scenic area he'd noticed from his cockpit window: Northeast Tennessee.

What he didn't realize is that he'd bought a one-way ticket to the Bible Belt, where the Constitution is sometimes interpreted somewhat . . . differently . . . than it is elsewhere. He figured it out on his first trip to the local courthouse, where he was confronted with some constitutional history that didn't seem quite accurate to him. That's where our story begins.

Join us!

Tort reform is largely seen as a conservative cause, but Brian Brooks, a Reagan-voting, free-enterprise-defending Arkansas attorney, sees it differently. He thinks that tort reform undercuts some fundamental conservative, and constitutional, values.

Join us for an unexpected and enlightening discussion!

Mark S. Weiner tells us all about what happens in the absence of a strong, capable government. It's not pure anarchy. It's . . . The Rule of the Clan.

We speak with author David O. Stewart about his newest book, "Madison's Gift," which illuminates a part of James Madison's life that was central to his success: his ability to form strong, productive partnerships.

There's more than one life lesson here.

We’ve all heard of the Jim Crow era, when African-Americans were barred from most restaurants, gas stations and hotels in the South. Did you ever wonder how black people were able to travel during that time?

One resource they used was The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to those places where they could find food, shelter, and a friendly face during a very unfriendly era.

Join us for an enlightening discussion with law professor Alfred Brophy, who’s done extensive research on The Green Book and who has a lot to tell us about it.

Ever heard of Frederick Douglass? Sure you have. But how about his contemporary and fellow ex-slave and abolitionist, William Wells Brown?

No? Well, now you have, and you’ll learn even more through our discussion with Ezra Greenspan, the author of a new biography.

You've seen nasty posts on Facebook and other social media. Perhaps you've posted a few - ahem - regrettable things yourself. Can one of those posts put you in the slammer?

The answer is yes. If you post something called a "true threat," you may find yourself in handcuffs. But how do we define a "true threat?" That's what Anthony Elonis is arguing about, right now, in the United States Supreme Court.

Join us! And, in the meantime, be nice.

Earlier this year, we spoke with Mary Kent Whittaker, a teacher at Watauga High School in Boone, North Carolina, and several of her students, about an attempt to remove a book from her Honors English curriculum. The book at issue was "The House of the Spirits," by Isabel Allende.

Since our original episode, Ms. Whittaker received several additional awards, both local and state-wide. And Ms. Allende was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.