Your Weekly Constitutional

We've been meaning to do an episode on Patrick Henry for a long time. Finally, we've had a chance to visit his final home, his rustic, little-known estate in rural Virginia known as Red Hill.

And boy, were we impressed. The ladies at Red Hill arranged for us to visit with Mark Couvillon, who knows more about Patrick Henry than anyone we've ever met. In fact, Mark knows so much that we couldn't cram all of his knowledge into one episode, or even two! Yep, that's right: this will be the first of three full episodes devoted to Patrick Henry.

It turns out that he did much, much more of importance in our constitutional history than just giving one speech. Did you know, for example, that . . .

Sorry, not enough space here. Guess you'll just have to listen.

You've heard of Thomas Jefferson. You've heard of Monticello. Perhaps you've even visited Jefferson's famous plantation. But did you know that our third President had another home, a secret hideaway deep in the forests of western Virginia, where he could escape the madding crowds that descended upon him at Monticello?

No? Never heard of Poplar Forest? Well that was kind of the point, wasn't it?

But we love visiting historical sites and sharing their secrets with you. So please join us as we visit Poplar Forest, T. Jeffy's secret man-cave.

This week's episode is all about blueberry soup. Whaaa? Oh, sorry for the confusion -- blueberry soup is Icelandic comfort food. Think chicken and dumplings, or perhaps grits.

But, again: whaaa?

This week we're talking about Iceland. Why? Because in the wake of the recent financial crisis, Iceland had itself a full-blown, grass-roots constitutional reform process. And documentary filmmaker Eileen Jarrett was there. And now she'll tell us all about it.

Join us!

In a 2012 poll, the Pew Research Center noted that almost 20% of Americans responded to a question about their religious affiliation with "none of the above." That's the highest percentage in history. And it may change the way we interpret the Religion Clauses of the Constitution.

We'll talk to Garrett Sheldon, a Southern Baptist minister and a member of the Political Science Department at the University of Virginia's College at Wise; we'll also speak with John Shuck, a Presbyterian minister and the host of Religion for Life, a public radio show produced at WETS, the same station that produces our show. Finally, we'll hear from a college student, Ben Harris, a second-year at the University of Virginia, who'll share his experience with the role of religion on campus.

Correction: our host, Stewart Harris, states twice in this episode that the Supreme Court is currently composed of five Roman Catholic Justices and four Jewish Justices. The actual number is six Roman Catholics and three Jews. We regret the error.

Our good friend Ed Kelly is quite a storyteller, which makes sense, given the wide range of interesting cases he deals with as the general counsel of East Tennessee State University, where our show is produced.

In our fascinating interview, we focus upon Ed's many constitutional cases, which run the gamut from free speech to due process - and also upon some interesting stories from Ed's checkered past.

Join us!

You've heard of the famous plot to kill Hitler in 1944, code-named Valkyrie. But did you know that the last of the Valkyrie plotters only recently died? His name was Ewald von Kleist, and we'll be talking about him with one of his American relatives, Eric von Kleist. It turns out that the von Kleists, an old aristocratic family from what is now Poland, were anti-Nazi before anti-Nazi was cool. And their adventures make quite a cool story.

Never heard of John Bingham? That's a shame. He shouldn't be mysterious at all. For while Thomas Jefferson claimed that "all men are created equal," John Bingham actually wrote equality into the Constitution.

What a novel idea.

What can you do if an ex-lover posts explicit photographs of you online? Aren't there laws against such behavior?

There are, indeed, according to our two guests. But are such laws effective? And, even if they might be effective, do they violate the First Amendment?

Join us for a timely, and disturbing, discussion.

Part II of our fascinating interview with Simon Winchester. Go back and listen to Part I, then come back here and finish it up. Now! Go!

After we finish speaking with Simon, we'll discuss fashion with Charlie Condon, Associate Dean at the Appalachian School of Law -- he's such a snappy dresser. Actually, we'll discuss an important labor case pending in front of the Supreme Court with Charlie - but the case does revolve around clothing, the sort one wears in a steel mill. So, perhaps we should call it Labor Law Fashion. In any event, it's an important case and an interesting discussion.

Best-selling author Simon Winchester discusses his new book, "The Men Who United the States." The unity of our nation is not just a political or social phenomenon. It is also physical, made possible throughout our history by roads, canals, railroads, telegraph lines – up to and including the Internet. The story of how Simon Winchester came to write the book is as fascinating as the book itself.

Also, Stewart talks to Matt Reeves, the Chief Archeologist at Montpelier, James Madison’s historic home in Orange, Virginia.