Your Weekly Constitutional

There are lots of bad guys out there. And lots of people who could be bad guys. And other guys . . . well, we're not so sure about them.

But can the President simply make a list, sit down in his big chair in the Oval Office, and decide which of these alleged bad guys to kill?

We speak with David Adler, the Director of the Andrus Center for Public Policy at Boise State University, an expert on presidential power. David takes us on a fascinating journey, concentrating on the way executive power has dramatically increased during and after the Cold War, and especially after 9/11.

You'll want to listen to this one. In the meantime, don't make the President mad.

James Madison knew that only an educated citizenry could govern itself while preserving its essential freedoms. He spent much of his life building such a citizenry in America.

Today, the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at Montpelier carries on Madison's work in a variety of ways and through a variety of media -- including this radio show. Another way is through the Montpelier Seminars, residential programs in which teachers, judges, police officers and others learn about our constitutional history and values at the very place where Madison lived and worked. We'll talk to Professor David Marion, who recently led a Montpelier Seminar on the Bill of Rights.

It's a noble effort.

Well, we spent last week beating up on Thomas Jefferson, so this week . . . we're going to beat up on him some more. We finish our conversation with Paul Finkelman of Albany Law School, who discusses not only Jefferson's hypocrisy over the slavery issue, but his deep racism and his illicit relationship with his slave Sally Hemings.

After we finish our discussion with Paul, we have a first: an appeal of Constitutional Quiz! Actually, for you lawyers out there, it's more like a filing of an amicus brief by a third party, a professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, Jim Melcher. Jim thought that Eric, a contestant who failed to win a T-shirt some time ago, had actually given the correct answer to a quiz, while our preferred answer was actually wrong. After a full and fair hearing on the merits, the decision of the appellate panel was . . . .

Who? What? Are we talking about Thomas Jefferson? You bet.

There is an ongoing debate among historians (and other people, lots of other people) about old Tom's place in American history. Everyone admires the Declaration of Independence and "all men are created equal." But then there's that slavery thing. Ouch.

We'll talk with Paul Finkelman, author of "Slavery and the Founders," who is among Jefferson's harsher critics. Paul doesn't pull any punches. But don't worry, this is just one conversation among many that we've had, and will have again, about a remarkable, contradictory man who is arguably our most troubling Founder.

Who are those guys?

You've heard of them - the United States Attorneys. They sound pretty important. But who are they, and what do they do? Quite a lot, it turns out. And a lot of what they do involves the Constitution, starting out with their appointment by the President and their extensive and arduous confirmation process before the United States Senate.

We talk to two of these powerful government officials: Tim Heaphy, from the Western District of Virginia; and Bill Killian, from the Eastern District of Tennessee. Tim and Bill tell us about their duties, their backgrounds, and how they came to occupy these important positions. And, yes, they share lots of good war stories.

We continue our discussion with actor Fred Morsell, who has portrayed Frederick Douglass for 30 years.

In Part I we discussed Douglass's early life and his escape from slavery. In Part II we discuss his activities as an abolitionist, newspaper publisher, advocate for women's rights, author and public speaker.

Join us!

Slavery was the original sin in our Constitution. This is the story of a man who helped us to recognize that sin and, ultimately, destroy it.

We'll talk to Fred Morsell, an actor who has portrayed Frederick Douglass for 30 years, and who knows so much about him that one episode of YWC is simply not enough. Part I covers Douglass's early life as a slave and his journey to freedom. Part II focuses upon Douglass the free man and abolitionist.

Please join us for a poignant, powerful American story.

D-u-u-u-de! Colorado and Washington State have legalized recreational marijuana! But don't get too excited - the feds still criminalize the wacky weed.

So what's a poor Washingtonian or Coloradan to do? We speak with Vanderbilt law professor Robert Mikos about this smokin' hot constitutional issue. We also get the latest from the trenches of the drug wars from Howard Wooldridge of Citizens Opposed to Prohibition (COPs).

Maybe we should just scrap the Constitution and start all over again.

Hey, before you get angry at us, consider the source: Thomas Jefferson suggested that we adopt a new constitution every 20 years or so. And Christopher Phillips, author of "Constitution Cafe," wants to take him up on it.

Protestors. Editorials. Talking heads. Think you've heard everything there is to say about abortion?

You haven't. The decision in Roe v. Wade, which constitutionalized the abortion debate, was handed down just over 40 years ago. So we decided to go back to the beginning. Actually, before the beginning. And we spoke with someone who was there: Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse, who reported on the Supreme Court for almost three decades, and who has co-authored a book with Reva B. Siegel called "Before Roe v. Wade: Voices that Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court's Ruling."

We learned a lot. So will you. Please join us for a fascinating discussion about the most controversial Supreme Court decision in the past, well, 40 years.