We The People Podcasts

For the July installment of the National Constitution Center’s Legacy of 1808 series, three accomplished writers join us for a conversation examining slavery through fiction and scholarship. Fiction and non-fiction writers have different constraints on what stories they tell, but the story-telling techniques they sometimes share are powerful tools for stimulating the historical imagination. “Slavery and the Literary Imagination” features Lorene Cary, educator, social activist and author of The Price of a Child, Lawrence Hill, critically-acclaimed author of Someone Knows My Name, and Beverly Lowry, director of the Creative Nonfiction Program at George Mason University and author of Harriet Tubman: Imagining a Life. Program recorded on 07/16/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

TThe National Constitution Center presents a discussion about the complicated, and often fraught, relationship between the United States and China. The conversation connects to the sweeping, four-part series examining contemporary China, "Koppel on China: The People’s Republic of Capitalism" produced by veteran broadcaster Ted Koppel which aired on the Discovery Channel in July, 2008. Program recorded on 07/08/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The National Constitution Center presents a frank conversation about the existence of modern-day slavery with journalist E. Benjamin Skinner, author of A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery and moderated by Carolyn Davis. Program recorded on 06/09/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Journalist and historian Richard Brookhiser returns to the National Constitution Center for a timely conversation about America’s first president as the nation examines the major party candidates in an effort to assess who can best lead the country. Program recorded on 06/23/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Journalist and historian Richard Brookhiser returns to the National Constitution Center for a timely conversation about America’s first president as the nation examines the major party candidates in an effort to assess who can best lead the country. Program recorded on 06/23/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Veteran Washington reporter Robert Schlesinger joins the National Constitution Center to open a fresh and revealing window into the modern presidency from FDR to George W. Bush through the perspective of their speechwriters. Drawing on his new book, White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters, Schlesinger discusses the crucial and often hidden role played by the men and women who help presidents find the words they hope will define their places in history. Program recorded on 06/26/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Howard Fineman, the highly respected political journalist, joins the National Constitution Center to discuss his absorbing new work of American history, journalism, and analysis "The Thirteen American Arguments." Fineman writes that every debate we have had in the political arena, from our founding to today, has evolved from one of these arguments. Though the conventional wisdom is that Americans argue too much, Fineman believes that just the opposite is true. Fineman finds many of these basic arguments are tied to the U.S. Constitution, from the Preamble being written in the name of “We the People,” to who determines what the law is. Program recorded on 05/20/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Howard Fineman, the highly respected political journalist, joins the National Constitution Center to discuss his absorbing new work of American history, journalism, and analysis "The Thirteen American Arguments." Fineman writes that every debate we have had in the political arena, from our founding to today, has evolved from one of these arguments. Though the conventional wisdom is that Americans argue too much, Fineman believes that just the opposite is true. Fineman finds many of these basic arguments are tied to the U.S. Constitution, from the Preamble being written in the name of “We the People,” to who determines what the law is. Program recorded on 05/20/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The National Constitution Center welcomes historian Allen Guelzo, two-time winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize and author of Lincoln & Douglas: The Debates that Defined America, a new account honoring the 150th anniversary of the debates that made Lincoln a national figure and defined the slavery issue that would bring our country to Civil War. Program recorded on 05/13/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The National Constitution Center welcomes historian Allen Guelzo, two-time winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize and author of Lincoln & Douglas: The Debates that Defined America, a new account honoring the 150th anniversary of the debates that made Lincoln a national figure and defined the slavery issue that would bring our country to Civil War. Program recorded on 05/13/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The Annual John M. Templeton, Jr. Lecture showcases the best constitutional minds in America as they discuss economic liberties in a forum open to the public. The Sixth Annual Templeton Lecture, presented in partnership with AARP, considers the issue of health care and is delivered by Secretary Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin, with a response from Senator Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader from South Dakota, moderated by Douglas Kmiec, Caruso Family Chair in Constitutional Law at the Pepperdine University School of Law. Program recorded on 06/17/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The National Constitution Center is now home to a rare printing of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln. The Proclamation is considered the most important document issued by one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history. Along with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation is a national treasure. What has established this document in the public memory? What is its influence and impact upon African Americans and, indeed, all Americans? This program, with leading scholars Harold Holzer and Robert F. Engs, presents two perspectives on this iconic document. Program recorded on 02/26/08. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The National Constitution Center and The Independent Television Service (ITVS) present a discussion about the history of Liberia and its current policy aimed at preventing a descent into civil war, with Teta V. Banks, the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Liberia, and Amie Sarnor, a 16 year old native of Liberia and sophomore at Constitution High School in Philadelphia. Program recorded on 02/20/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The National Constitution Center and The Independent Television Service (ITVS) present a discussion about the history of Liberia and its current policy aimed at preventing a descent into civil war, with Teta V. Banks, the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Liberia, and Amie Sarnor, a 16 year old native of Liberia and sophomore at Constitution High School in Philadelphia. Program recorded on 02/20/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

America has always struggled to live up to ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the freedoms written by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution. Nowhere has this idea played out more visibly than on the baseball field where men and women have fought to cross racial, cultural, and gender barriers for the equal opportunity to play the game. In conjunction with our spring 2008 exhibit, Baseball as America, the National Constitution Center presents “Baseball: The Melting Pot,” a special conversation about the ways in which the game of baseball has served as a reflection of our social tensions as well as ideals, and our struggle to become a more inclusive society. Program recorded on 04/28/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org