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.
1
The Living Declaration: Rediscovering America’s...
Historian and former presidential speechwriter Ted Widmer joins Eric Slauter, deputy dean of the Humanities Division and master of the Humanities Collegiate Division associate professor at the University of Chicago, and Lucas Morel, John K. Boardman professor of politics at Washington & Lee University, for a conversation exploring the long afterlife of the Declaration of Independence and its enduring place in American life.
67 min
2
The Holy Experiment: Religious Liberty, Pennsyl...
University of Pennsylvania Professor Marci Hamilton and St. Joseph’s University Professor Emeritus Randall Miller explore how Pennsylvania’s founding shaped the nation’s understanding of religious liberty, what William Penn’s vision achieved, where it fell short, and what this history can teach us about sustaining constitutional democracy today.
57 min
3
Richard Brookhiser on The Hero Returns: Lafayet...
Richard Brookhiser, senior editor at National Review, joins to discuss his latest book, The Hero Returns: Lafayette and the Legacy of Revolution.
59 min
4
Previewing the Supreme Court’s 2026-2027 Term
The National Constitution Center previews the Supreme Court’s 2026-2027 term
60 min
5
Rediscovering America’s Forgotten Founders: Arc...
In celebration of Constitution Day, the National Constitution Center explores the lives and legacies of John Dickinson, Gouverneur Morris, Roger Sherman, and James Wilson, four “forgotten founders” who played critical roles in drafting the Constitution, shaping the structure of the new government, and securing the document’s ratification.
62 min
6
What the Founders Learned From the Ancients
81 min
7
The First Amendment and Artificial Intelligence
Technology and constitutional scholar Jonathan Zittrain and Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School Ellen Goodman examine the intersection of the First Amendment and artificial intelligence.
60 min
8
Timothy Sandefur on Proclaiming Liberty: John A...
Timothy Sandefur joins to discuss his new book, Proclaiming Liberty: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence.
54 min
9
Ilan Wurman on The Constitution of 1789: A New ...
Constitutional scholar Ilan Wurman joins for a conversation on his new book, The Constitution of 1789: A New Introduction.
59 min
10
Civil Discourse and the Supreme Court
Scholars Jonathan Adler, Greg Garre, Katherine Mims Crocker, and Howard Wasserman explore the issue of civil discourse surrounding the Supreme Court
48 min
11
The Supreme Court and Executive Power
Scholars Gillian Metzger, Julian Mortenson, and Ilya Somin explore the Supreme Court’s approach to executive power
49 min
12
The Constitution and the Courts at the 250th
Kevin Arlyck on The Nation at Sea, which tells a new story about the federal judiciary, and about the early United States itself.
34 min
13
Interpreting the Constitution in the Founding Era
A discussion of the Constitution and the Courts at the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, presented in partnership with the Federal Judicial Center.
56 min
14
The Ideas at the Heart of the Declaration and t...
David Blight, Robert P. George, and Annette Gordon-Reed explore the enduring ideas at the core of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution—including equality, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and government by consent—and examine how those principles have been debated, interpreted, and contested over time.
65 min
15
Separation of Powers and the Rule of Law
Three retired federal judges discuss how the separations of powers, federalism, and the rule of law are critical elements of American constitutional democracy that need to be safeguarded.
61 min
16
Civic Story Hour with U.S. Supreme Court Justic...
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, honorary co-chair of the National Constitution Center, and his co-author and former law clerk Janie Nitze join the Center to discuss their new children’s book, Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of Independence.
56 min
17
Jon Meacham on The Promise of America: Reflecti...
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and National Constitution Center Semiquincentennial Scholar Jon Meacham joins the Center to discuss The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals
56 min
18
Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals: A Conversat...
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (Ret.), honorary co-chair of the National Constitution Center, joins to discuss The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals, a new keepsake volume from the National Constitution Center.
58 min
19
Michael Auslin on National Treasure: How the De...
58 min
20
Sai Prakash on The Presidential Pardon: The Sho...
Sai Prakash joins to discuss his new book, The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History.
59 min
21
Sarah Isgur on Last Branch Standing: A Potentia...
Sarah Isgur on Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today’s Supreme Court
59 min
22
Women and the American Revolution
Acclaimed historians Mary Beth Norton and Rosemarie Zagarri examine how women influenced the political, social, and intellectual currents of the American Revolution
57 min
23
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Women’s Suffrage, and t...
Ellen DuBois and Thomas Donnelly discuss the life, ideas, and legacy of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the decades-long struggle for women's suffrage.
54 min
24
National Constitution Center Book Club: Jon Mea...
60 min
25
Thomas Paine and the 250th Anniversary of Commo...
Gary Berton, the president of The Thomas Paine Historical Association, joins Scott Cleary, co-editor of New Directions in Thomas Paine Studies and author of The Field of Imagination: Thomas Paine and Eighteenth-Century Poetry, to discuss the revolutionary life, ideas, and legacy of Thomas Paine in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his famous pamphlet, Common Sense.
57 min