Constitutional debates from the National Constitution Center hosted by Jeffrey Rosen
After more than 12 years of distinguished service as President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Rosen has transitioned to the role of CEO Emeritus, enabling him to devote his full time and energy to his scholarship and public dialogue.
The Center’s Board of Trustees appointed Vince Stango to serve as Interim President and CEO.
From all of us at the National Constitution Center, we express our gratitude to Jeff for his leadership and vision, including his role as the long-time host of the Center’s We the People podcast, where he brought constitutional debate to life for millions of listeners.
For the full announcement, visit the website. While you’re there, check out the many exciting things, including the Interactive Declaration, and all of our resources for America’s 250th!
As we work to bring you the next chapter of We the People, we will continue to share recent programs and episodes from the archive.
In this episode, we're sharing an America's Town Hall program with historians, Akhil Reed Amar, David Blight, and Annette Gordon-Reed, who joined for a sweeping conversation about the Constitution and the debates that have shaped America—from the founding era to today. They examine transformative moments in American history and landmark Supreme Court decisions.
This program is presented in partnership with the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute and the Organization of American Historians.
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In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal discusses her new book, Native Nations: A Millennium in North America, which traces a thousand years of Native history—from the rise of ancient cities and the arrival of Europeans to today’s ongoing fights for sovereignty. Thomas Donnelly, chief scholar of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
This conversation was originally streamed live on November 4, 2025, as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series.
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Matthew Continetti, author of The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism, joins prize-winning biographer Sam Tanenhaus to discuss Tanenhaus’s new book, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, and to trace American conservatism’s evolution from the Progressive Era, through the rise of William F. Buckley Jr., to today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on December 11th, 2025.
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John Q. Barrett, discoverer and editor of Robert H. Jackson's acclaimed book That Man: An Insider's Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt and writer of the popular blog The Jackson List, joins author and constitutional scholar Gerard Magliocca, author of The Actual Art of Governing: Justice Robert H. Jackson's Concurring Opinion in the Steel Seizure Case, and G. Edward White, author of Robert H. Jackson: A Life in Judgment, to discuss the Jackson’s legacy in debates over presidential power, constitutional interpretation, and the prosecution of war crimes at Nuremberg. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
This program is presented in partnership with the Robert H. Jackson Center. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on December 8th, 2025.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson discusses his newest book, Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Still Matters, which traces the idea of American independence in one pivotal year—1776—and its continued significance today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on November 24, 2025.
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In this episode, Thomas Berry of the Cato Institute and Jed Shugerman of the Boston University School of Law join the recap the oral arguments from Trump v. Slaughter and debate whether the statutory removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission violate the separation of powers. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
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In this episode, the National Constitution Center launches our Article V Project, a new initiative examining the founders’ vision for Article V and an historical look at the use of the Article V process from 1789 to the present. Project contributors and constitutional law scholars Gerard Magliocca, Sanford Levinson, Michael Rappaport, and Stephen Sachs explore the origins, debates, and ongoing challenges surrounding Article V, as presented in their essays. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series on December 3, 2025. The Article V Project was made possible with the support of Democracy Restated.
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In our 12-part podcast series, Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen explores the founders’ lives with the historians who know them best and filmmaker Ken Burns shares his daily practice of self-reflection.
The “pursuit of happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in American history. When America’s founders wrote it in the Declaration of Independence, they intended it to mean happiness through lifelong learning and self-improvement.
In the last episode of the series, listeners share some big and small changes that they have made. Plus, Jeffrey Rosen, filmmaker Ken Burns, and scholar Robert P. George explore Benjamin Franklin’s virtue of silence, which he defines as “speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.”
Listen to Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness on Apple Podcast and Spotify.
Watch the full performance of the Pursuit of Happiness: Song Cycles by Jeffrey Rosen.
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In this episode, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Eric Foner joins to discuss his book, Our Fragile Freedoms, a new collection of essays exploring a range of topics, including debates over slavery and antislavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Jim Crow and the battle to dismantle it, and modern debates over the Constitution and how to teach American history. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was originally streamed live on September 24, 2025, as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall program series.
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In this episode, best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson joins to discuss his new book, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, with Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, Isaacson explores the intellectual inspirations and drafting history of the Declaration’s famous second sentence, which lays the foundation for the American dream and defines the common ground we share as a nation.
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In our new podcast, Pursuit: The Founders’ to Guide to Happiness Jeffrey Rosen explores the founders’ lives with the historians who know them best. Plus, filmmaker Ken Burns shares his daily practice of self-reflection.
Listen to episodes of Pursuit on Apple Podcast and Spotify.
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In this episode, Samuel Estreicher of the NYU School of Law and John Yoo of the UC Berkeley School of Law join to recap the oral arguments from the pair of challenges to President Trump’s tariffs and discuss whether International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorizes the president to impose extensive tariffs on nearly all goods imported into the United States. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Resources
In our new podcast, Pursuit: The Founders’ to Guide to Happiness Jeffrey Rosen explores the founders’ lives with the historians who know them best. Plus, filmmaker Ken Burns shares his daily practice of self-reflection.
Listen to episodes of Pursuit on Apple Podcast and Spotify.
Stay Connected and Learn More