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We the People

We the People

National Constitution Center

A weekly show of constitutional debate hosted by National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen where listeners can hear the best arguments on all sides of the constitutional issues at the center of American life.
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Top 10 We the People Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best We the People episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to We the People for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite We the People episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

We the People - The Indictment of Former President Trump
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04/06/23 • 53 min

Earlier this week, on Tuesday, April 4, former President Donald Trump was indicted in a Manhattan court on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. President Trump pleaded not guilty. This indictment is legally and constitutionally significant as it is the first indictment of a president in American history. In this episode, David French, an opinion columnist at The New York Times and co-host of Advisory Opinions, and Kimberly Wehle, professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a legal analyst at ABC News, join to help break down the legal charges against former president Trump as well as the broader legal significance of this case. Host Jeffrey Rosen moderates.

Resources

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.

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.

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We the People - The Supreme Court Hears Glossip v. Oklahoma
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10/18/24 • 57 min

Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Glossip v. Oklahoma, a case challenging the constitutionality of Richard Glossip’s conviction and sentencing to death for a 1997 murder. In this episode, Paul Cassell of the University of Utah and Andrea Miller of the Oklahoma Innocence Project join Jeffrey Rosen to recap the oral arguments and debate whether or not Glossip’s conviction should stand in light of newly revealed documents that allegedly suggest prosecutorial misconduct.

Resources:

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  • Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr.
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  • Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube.
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Last week the Supreme Court announced that it adopted a formal code of ethics, endorsed by all nine Justices. In this episode, Professor Daniel Epps of Washington University School of Law and Professor Stephen Vladeck of the University of Texas School of Law join Jeffrey Rosen to break down the Supreme Court ethics code and explore questions about how it will be applied and enforced.

Resources:

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.

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.

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We the People - Supreme Court 2020 Term Preview
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10/01/20 • 53 min

The new U.S. Supreme Court term is set to begin Monday, October 5, the first day of remote oral arguments. To preview what’s ahead, Adam Liptak, Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times, and Marcia Coyle, Supreme Court correspondent for the Center’s blog Constitution Daily and Chief Washington correspondent for The National Law Journal, joined host Jeffrey Rosen. They explored how the election and the forthcoming confirmation battle over Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination might affect the Court, how the Court might shift with the addition of a new ninth justice, and the key cases to be heard this term including:

  • California v. Texas (the most recent challenge to the Affordable Care Act)
  • Fulton v. Philadelphia (a case asking whether religious organizations must allow same-sex couples to become foster parents, and whether the Court should revisit its decision in Employment Division v. Smith)
  • Torres v. Madrid (a police violence case asking when physical force constitutes a seizure under the Fourth Amendment)
  • Tanzin v. Tanvir (a lawsuit related to the “no-fly list” and whether the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 allows lawsuits for money damages against federal agents)
  • Carney v. Adams (a case about the First Amendment and state judges’ partisan affiliations)

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

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Earlier this month, the Supreme Court handed down a major voting rights decision in the Allen v. Milligan case. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court upheld Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and found that Alabama’s 2022 congressional map likely violated Section 2. This comes as a surprising victory for voting rights and the Thornburg v. Gingles (1986) test after a series of other Supreme Court cases that have narrowed the scope of the Voting Rights Act, including the Brnovich v. DNC case in 2021 and Shelby County v. Holder in 2013. The decision was written by Chief Justice John Roberts and was joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh along with the liberal justices. In this episode, Jason Torchinsky of Holtzman Vogel and Rick Hasen of UCLA School of Law join host Jeffrey Rosen to break down the Allen decision; discuss why Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh voted with the liberal justices to uphold the Gingles framework; what other conservative justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch wrote in dissent; and what this means for redistricting and voting rights in 2024 and beyond.

Resources:

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.

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.

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Jeffrey Rosen, host of “We the People,” moderates a panel discussion at the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival about the Supreme Court’s momentous recent term.

From same-sex wedding cakes to voting rights to gerrymandering to public unions, the latest term was full of news-making decisions, even when the Justices decided not to decide.

Note: This event was held several hours before Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the Court.

Next week on "We the People," former Kennedy clerks will be joining us to discuss Justice Kennedy's legacy and the ways in which he shaped the Court.

Emily Bazelon is a Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School. She is also a staff writer at the New York Times Magazine

Judge Nancy Gertner is a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School. In September of 2011, Judge Gertner retired from the federal bench.

Mimi Marziani is President of the Texas Civil Rights Project and she teaches at the University of Texas School of Law.

Ramesh Ponnuru is senior editor at National Review, visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and contributor to CBS News.

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected]

The National Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

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We the People - The United States v. Microsoft
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03/01/18 • 58 min

Can the federal government compel a U.S.-based email provider to turn over its records as part of a criminal investigation when those records are located outside of the country?

The United States v. Microsoft case pending before the Supreme Court could have big implications for law enforcement, consumer privacy and the business operations of many companies that do business overseas.

The Microsoft case deals with a specific question: If a U.S. provider of email services must comply with a probable-cause-based warrant (issued under 18 U.S.C. § 2703) by disclosing in the United States electronic communications within that provider’s control, even if the provider has decided to store that material abroad.

Joining us to discuss these important issues are two leading experts on the case.

Benjamin Battles is the solicitor general of Vermont, which filed an amicus brief with 34 other states and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico in support of the federal government in United States v. Microsoft.

Vivek Krishnamurthy is a Clinical Instructor in Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic. He specializes in the international aspects of internet governance and on the human rights challenges associated with offering new internet-based services in different legal environments around the world.

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you. Contact the We the People team at [email protected]

The Constitution Center is offering CLE credits for select America’s Town Hall programs! Get more information at constitutioncenter.org/CLE.

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Elizabeth Wydra of the Constitutional Accountability Center and Earl Maltz of Rutgers University discuss how Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump approach abortion, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and more.

Get the latest constitutional news, and continue the conversation, on Facebook and Twitter.

We want to know what you think of the podcast! Email us at [email protected].

Please subscribe toWe the PeopleandLive at America’s Town Hall on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out the full roster at Panoply.fm.

Despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit; we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more.

This show was engineered by Jason Gregory and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Lana Ulrich and Tom Donnelly. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.

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We the People - Impeachment, Incitement, and the First Amendment
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02/11/21 • 49 min

Did President Trump’s January 6 speech prior to the attack on the Capitol constitute the crime of incitement? Is it necessary to demonstrate that it did in order for the Senate to find him guilty of incitement as a high crime and misdemeanor under the Impeachment Clause and convict him? What are the relevant legal and constitutional standards? Catherine Ross, George Washington University Law School professor and author of the forthcoming book A Right to Lie? Presidents, Other Liars, and the First Amendment, and Josh Blackman, professor of law at South Texas College of Law in Houston whose work has been cited by President Trump’s defense team during this second impeachment trial, join host Jeffrey Rosen to debate those questions.

Some terms that will be helpful to know this week:

  • “The Brandenburg test”: In Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the Supreme Court established that speech could be punished in a criminal trial only when the speech is:
  • “directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action” AND
  • “likely to incite or produce such action”
  • Impeachment: per Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

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We the People - Civic Virtue and Citizenship
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08/17/23 • 57 min

Christopher Beem, author of The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy; Richard Haass, author of The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens; and Lorraine Pangle, author of Reason and Character: The Moral Foundations of Aristotelian Political Philosophy, discuss the concepts of civic virtue and citizenship in democratic societies. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was originally streamed live on March 30, 2023, as part of our America’s Town Hall series.

This program was made possible through the generous support of Citizen Travelers, the nonpartisan civic engagement initiative of Travelers.

Resources:

Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected].

Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.

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.

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FAQ

How many episodes does We the People have?

We the People currently has 542 episodes available.

What topics does We the People cover?

The podcast is about News, History, News Commentary and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on We the People?

The episode title 'The Pandemic, the President and the 25th Amendment' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on We the People?

The average episode length on We the People is 56 minutes.

How often are episodes of We the People released?

Episodes of We the People are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of We the People?

The first episode of We the People was released on Aug 15, 2014.

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