We The People Podcasts

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

A discussion with college filmmaker David Burstein, director of the documentary 18 in '08 featuring interviews with many of today’s most influential politicians, as well as popular culture figures, political activists, media commentators, and student leaders. The film is a call to young people to overturn traditional under-representation in election campaigns, get involved in the political process, and vote. Program recorded on 04/19/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

A discussion with college filmmaker David Burstein, director of the documentary 18 in '08 featuring interviews with many of today’s most influential politicians, as well as popular culture figures, political activists, media commentators, and student leaders. The film is a call to young people to overturn traditional under-representation in election campaigns, get involved in the political process, and vote. Program recorded on 04/19/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The National Constitution Center, in partnership with the Philadelphia Film Festival, presents a discussion with filmmaker Katrina Browne, director of "Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North," and her cousin Thomas DeWolf, author of the new memoir "Inheriting the Trade," who together share the story of their ancestors, the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Program recorded on 04/24/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

A special Earth Day program in the Red, White, Blue and Green speaker series, featuring leading international economic advisor Jeffrey D. Sachs, author of the New York Times bestseller, The End of Poverty, and the new book, Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. Considered one of the world’s greatest economists, Sachs provides an assessment of the environmental factors that threaten global prosperity, and a practical set of solutions based on a new economic paradigm for a crowded planet. Bill Blakemore of ABC News moderates. Program recorded on 04/22/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The National Constitution Center welcomes Valerie Plame Wilson to discuss her autobiography, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House. Plame Wilson provides her perspective on the public disclosure of her identity as a CIA officer and the federal investigation that led to the trial and conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby. Trudy Rubin of the Philadelphia Inquirer moderates. Program recorded on 02/05/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

To help us understand the many different challenges young people face on the battlefield and in periods of reconciliation, and to put the experiences of Sudanese "Lost Boy" Valentino Achak Deng and the words of author Dave Eggers into perspective, the National Constitution Center honors the One Book, One Philadelphia initiative with a conversation about the role of governments and their citizens to protect war's youngest victims. Program recorded on 03/19/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

To help us understand the many different challenges young people face on the battlefield and in periods of reconciliation, and to put the experiences of Sudanese "Lost Boy" Valentino Achak Deng and the words of author Dave Eggers into perspective, the National Constitution Center honors the One Book, One Philadelphia initiative with a conversation about the role of governments and their citizens to protect war's youngest victims. Program recorded on 03/19/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

This "Election 08: The Power of We" podcast goes to the heart of the primary process: Is it fair? Should it be changed? If so, how? A distinguished panel of political insiders, including Bay Buchanan, Pedro A. Cortés, Thomas "Tad" Devine, Chris Henick and Meredith White respond to citizen ideas on reform. Program recorded on 04/02/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

To help us understand how all citizens play a role in addressing the environmental challenges of the 21st century, the National Constitution Center and Philadelphia magazine proudly welcome Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia and Mayor John Janssen of Greensburg, KS for a special "Philadelphia Talks" program titled “Sustainable Cities,” the second event in the Center's Red, White, Blue & Green series. Program recorded on 04/09/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich joins several executives engaged in the business of "going green" to address the environmental challenges of the 21st century. This is the first in a new series of programs at the Constitution Center called Red, White, Blue & Green about unique constitutional issues pertaining to environmental policy and stewardship. Program recorded on 03/20/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

As part of the Cephalon Speaker Series for Science and the Constitution NPR's Ari Shaprio leads a discussion about the legal, moral and cultural consequences for a greater understanding of our own minds and bodies with Art Caplan, Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, Ruth Schwartz Cowan, author of the new book, Heredity and Hope: The Case for Genetic Screening, and Jeffrey Rosen, professor of law at The George Washington University and the legal affairs editor of The New Republic. Program recorded on 03/17/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

As part of the Cephalon Speaker Series for Science and the Constitution NPR's Ari Shaprio leads a discussion about the legal, moral and cultural consequences for a greater understanding of our own minds and bodies with Art Caplan, Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, Ruth Schwartz Cowan, author of the new book, Heredity and Hope: The Case for Genetic Screening, and Jeffrey Rosen, professor of law at The George Washington University and the legal affairs editor of The New Republic. Program recorded on 03/17/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

As part of the Peter Jennings Project, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sherrilyn Ifill, Elena Kagan, and Gene Pratter will discuss the successes, continued challenges and emerging issues, faced by women in the legal profession. In a conversation moderated by ABC News correspondent Lynn Sherr, these distinguished jurists and scholars will consider whether women read the Constitution differently than men, if there is such a thing as women's "justice,” what are the unintended consequences of women’s equality are shaped by the law, and why women have advanced more quickly than African Americans in the field. Program recorded on 03/08/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

On January 1, 1808, the United States Congress prohibited the importation of slaves to America as allowed by Article 1, Section 9 of the United States Constitution. To mark the 200th anniversary of this historic legislation, and to help us understand the political and cultural climate surrounding the issue of slavery in the early decades of the republic, the National Constitution Center proudly welcomes 2008 visiting scholar Martha S. Jones and Howard Ohline, a prestigious scholar of American history, to place the legacy of slavery into legal and historical context. Stephanie McCurry, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, moderates the conversation. Program recorded on 02/11/2008. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org