APR 27 I 12 p.m. ET

The National Constitution Center and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University present a new panel in their ongoing partnership of conversations about how to restore the guardrails of American democracy. On the heels of a contentious presidential and Senate election season, voting bills have been introduced across the nation. Theodore Johnson of the Brennan Center for Justice, Rich Lowry of the National Review, Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, and Kim Wehle, author of What You Need to Know About Voting—And Why, discuss the most significant legislation being considered, the constitutional issues they present, and what the Supreme Court might say. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

This program is presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and made possible with support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

APR 29 I 12:30 p.m. ET

In light of the critical events and national debates over the past year about race, rights, and equality, the National Constitution Center is hosting an online discussion exploring the question: “Do we need a third Reconstruction?” Join Sherrilyn Ifill, president and counselor-director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; professor Wilfred Codrington III of Brooklyn Law School; political scientist William Allen; and professor Kurt Lash of the University of Richmond School of Law and author of a new two-volume series, The Reconstruction Amendments, for a discussion on the history of Reconstruction and its legacy, the civil rights movement and constitutional change, and whether or not America needs a third era of Reconstruction.  

This program is presented with support from Citizens.

MAY 5 I 7 p.m. ET

Akhil Reed Amar on The Words That Made Us

Following the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, ordinary Americans and statesmen alike continued to wrestle with weighty questions over the nature of government. Preeminent legal scholar Akhil Reed Amar of Yale Law School and host of the Amarica’s Constitution podcast joins National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a discussion about the biggest constitutional questions early Americans wrote and spoke about, as described in his groundbreaking new book, The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840.

MAY 12 I 12 p.m. ET

Law professors Bernadette Meyler of Stanford University and Alison LaCroix of the University of Chicago Law School and co-editor of the new book, Cannons and Codes: Law, Literature, and America's Wars, join political scientist professor Catherine Zuckert of the University of Notre Dame, for a discussion exploring the ways American literature—including the works of Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and others—has intersected with the Constitution and American democracy from the nation’s founding, to the Civil War, and beyond. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

MAY 20 I 7 p.m. ET

A week before the anniversary of the start of the Constitutional Convention on May 25, 1787, join scholars Richard Albert of the University of Texas at Austin, Jonathan Gienapp of Stanford University, and Colleen Sheehan of Arizona State University as they delve into the key texts, authors, and sources the founders looked to when drafting the Constitution. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

JUN 10 I 7 p.m. ET

Chief Justice John Marshall and Justice John Marshall Harlan are two of the most influential Supreme Court justices in American history. Join Robert Strauss, author of the new book John Marshall: The Final Founder; Peter Canellos, author of the new book The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America's Judicial Hero; and Elizabeth Slattery, senior fellow at the Pacific Legal Foundation and co-host of Dissed podcast; for a wide-ranging discussion on what made Marshall, Harlan, and other justices influential, and what their legacy is today. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and author of William Howard Taft and Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet, moderates.

JUN 15 I 12 p.m. ET

Should the government or private companies identify and regulate truth and lies? Join Martha Minow, professor at Harvard Law School and author of the new book, Saving the News: Why the Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve Freedom of Speech, Paul Matzko of the Cato Institute and Libertarianism.org, and Jonathan Rauch, author of the new book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, who will discuss the history of American protection for free speech values and how they are challenged by the social media landscape today. They will also discuss current debates about the regulation of online speech, from content regulation to algorithmic disinformation, and what reforms, if any, might promote the free trade in ideas and expression in the future. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

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