Live at the National Constitution Center

Live constitutional conversations and debates featuring leading historians, journalists, scholars, and public officials hosted at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and across America. To watch National Constitution Center Town Halls live, check out our schedule of upcoming programs at constitutioncenter.org/townhall. Register through Zoom to ask your constitutional questions in the Q&A or watch live on YouTube at YouTube.com/ConstitutionCenter.

History
News
126
The Founders' and the People's Constitutions
How should we understand constitutional development over time? Authors discuss.
61 min
127
Constitutionalism in the American Revolution
Gordon Wood unveils his new book and panelists discuss.
62 min
128
Patriotism and Dissent in America
An exploration of what patriotism has meant over time.
57 min
129
Should Qualified Immunity for Police Officers B...
A discussion of a major issue at the forefront of national police reform.
57 min
130
Religious Exemptions From the Founding to Today
Scholars discuss what the founders thought about religious exemptions and debates about exemptions today.
62 min
131
Federal Judges on Major Supreme Court Cases
Judges from the Third Circuit discuss their decisions that later became blockbuster Supreme Court cases.
57 min
132
2020-21 Supreme Court Term Review
Supreme Court commentators recap the biggest cases of this past term.
65 min
133
Freedom of Speech in France and America
How does France protect freedom of speech as compared to the United States? Experts discuss.
55 min
134
Should More Power Be Returned to the People?
A debate on a crucial question for the future of American democracy.
57 min
135
Laboratories of Democracy: State Constitutions
We explore how state constitutions influenced the U.S. Constitution and other founding documents.
64 min
136
Free Speech, Media, Truth and Lies
Should the government or private companies identify and regulate truth and lies? Experts discuss.
56 min
137
Great Justices: Founders, Dissenters, and Prophets
Experts highlight John Marshall, John Marshall Harlan, and other Supreme Court justices who blazed trails in constitutional law.
54 min
138
The State of Congress Today
Members of Congress discuss how to resist partisan pressure in government today.
58 min
139
Justice Breyer on Precedent, Pragmatism, and th...
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer joins National Constitution Center president Jeffrey Rosen for a wide-ranging conversation.
61 min
140
The Founders’ Library
What the founders read before and while drafting the Constitution shaped it significantly. Experts discuss.
55 min
141
Literature and the Constitution
Scholars discuss how literature and the Constitution have been intertwined throughout American history.
56 min
142
The Words That Made Us
Akhil Amar unveils his new book.
57 min
143
Do We Need a Third Reconstruction?
In light of ongoing national debates about race, rights, and equality—panelists consider whether we need a new era of change in America today.
75 min
144
Voting Rights Today
Voting rights experts consider how our election process could and should be reformed.
58 min
145
Constitution 101 with Jill Lepore
Jill Lepore explores the ideas that sparked the constitutional convention and continue to shape American life.
48 min
146
Religious Liberty in France and America
French and American scholars compare the countries' constitutions and views on religious liberty.
58 min
147
The Fights for Abolition and Women's Rights
Dorothy Wickenden and Thavolia Glymph highlight these world-changing movements and the relationship between them.
55 min
148
The Girl in the Picture
A conversation with Kim Phuc, the subject of one of the most famous photographs of the Vietnam War, from our archives.
66 min
149
Congress, the Constitution, and Compromise
Experts discuss how the potential end of the filibuster and other reforms might lead to different outcomes.
56 min
150
Why Do the Innocent Plead Guilty?
Proposing reforms to combat the challenges in American criminal justice today, Judge Jed Rakoff, former Judge Paul Cassell, and professor Carissa Byrne Hessick join Jeffrey Rosen.
55 min