We The People Podcasts

StoryCorps founder Dave Isay discusses the most ambitious oral history project in American history and his new book, "Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project," a tapestry of the stories Americans have been sharing from their lives, capturing for posterity the issues that define us as “We, the People.” A special introduction provided by NPR's Terry Gross, host of "Fresh Air." Program recorded on 12/04/2007. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Growing up in a home surrounded by his mother and six sisters, young Thomas Jefferson learned that homemaking was the sole realm for women. According to historian Jon Kukla, however, Jefferson’s vision of women changed little as he matured. Kukla joins the National Constitution Center for a timely examination of Jefferson’s attitudes toward women in his life as well as their place in American politics and society. Program recorded on 10/08/2007. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Growing up in a home surrounded by his mother and six sisters, young Thomas Jefferson learned that homemaking was the sole realm for women. According to historian Jon Kukla, however, Jefferson’s vision of women changed little as he matured. Kukla joins the National Constitution Center for a timely examination of Jefferson’s attitudes toward women in his life as well as their place in American politics and society. Program recorded on 10/08/2007. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Is the U.S. Constitution outdated? Has our nation outgrown our founding document or are we losing sight of the Framers’ intent? Do we need to regain our “constitutional conscience?” The National Constitution Center welcomes distinguished guests Larry J. Sabato, Michael Oreskes and Eric Lane to help answer these questions and to help determine whether our Constitution needs updating or greater fidelity to its guiding principles. Program recorded on 10/01/2007. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Alice Roosevelt Longworth, President Theodore Roosevelt’s eldest daughter, lived her entire life on the political stage and in the public eye, earning her the nickname “the other Washington monument.” Alice was literally a legend in her own time and is remembered today for her influence on public policy and her acerbic tongue. The National Constitution Center welcomes historian Stacy Cordery to discuss her intelligent new biography "Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker," and the uniquely American institution of the first family. Program recorded on 10/24/2007. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

The National Constitution Center and 1210 AM's Michael Smerconish's Book Club were joined by best-selling author Scott Turow for a conversation about his books, Limitations and Ordinary Heroes. Ordinary Heroes explores fundamental questions of law, justice and moral ambiguities through the story of Stewart Dubinsky, a 55-year-old crime reporter. Limitations is a compilation of the series commissioned by The New York Times Magazine in which the author returns to Kindle County, the home of Presumed Innocent, telling the story of George Mason. Program recorded on 12/6/2006. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Alice Roosevelt Longworth, President Theodore Roosevelt’s eldest daughter, lived her entire life on the political stage and in the public eye, earning her the nickname “the other Washington monument.” Alice was literally a legend in her own time and is remembered today for her influence on public policy and her acerbic tongue. The National Constitution Center welcomes historian Stacy Cordery to discuss her intelligent new biography "Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker," and the uniquely American institution of the first family. Program recorded on 10/24/2007. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

David Black and Richard Sweren, two writers from the “Law and Order” franchise of crime shows, explore how crime writers deal with Constitutional issues. Do they care if they get it right? Does the public—especially lawyers--get angry when the writers get it wrong? Do they consult with constitutional experts? Do many crime writers have a background in the criminal justice system? Program recorded on 10/8/2006. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

David Black and Richard Sweren, two writers from the “Law and Order” franchise of crime shows, explore how crime writers deal with Constitutional issues. Do they care if they get it right? Does the public—especially lawyers--get angry when the writers get it wrong? Do they consult with constitutional experts? Do many crime writers have a background in the criminal justice system? Program recorded on 10/8/2006. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

Clinton presidential adviser Sidney Blumenthal discusses his book, How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime. A former assistant and senior adviser to President Bill Clinton, Blumenthal has authored a number of other books, including The Clinton Wars. He is a regular columnist for the Guardian of London and for Salon, and has been a staff writer for the New Yorker, the Washington Post, and other major publications. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the New York University Center on Law and Security. Program recorded on 11/1/2006. Questions or comments? Write: programs@constitutioncenter.org

For Constitution Day, September 17, 2007, the National Constitution Center and the University of Pennsylvania Law School welcomed Aharon Barak, professor of law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and former President of the Supreme Court of Israel, to deliver the 50th Annual Owen J. Roberts Memorial Lecture on the judicial role in the battle against terror. Program recorded on 9/17/2007. Questions or comments? Write programs@constitutioncenter.org

In a special companion program to the award of the 2007 Liberty Medal to Bono, U2 lead singer and activist, and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), John Bridgeland, President & CEO of Civic Enterprises and Vice Chairman of the non-profit Malaria No More, Helen Epstein, author of The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight against AIDS, Kathleen Grealish, Director of Partnerships for PlayPumps International, and Modesta Nyirenda-Zabula, project manager at Godisa Technologies Trust and designer of low-cost hearing aids join the National Constitution Center for a discussion about fighting disease and poverty on the African continent. Program recorded on 9/10/2007. Questions or comments? Write programs@constitutioncenter.org

Article II of the Constitution states that executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. At various times in our history, the use of this power has set the three branches of our government on a collision course. From George Washington to George Bush, and in many instances in between, the extension of that power has presented a delicate balancing act among the branches to allow for both the privacy of internal deliberation in the White House and to make public what the President and his advisors say and do. To help clarify the concept of executive power, the National Constitution Center proudly welcomes visiting scholars Laurence Tribe, Theodore Olson and University of Pennsylvania Professor of Political Science Rogers M. Smith to place recent events in the Bush administration into legal and historical context. Program recorded on 9/5/2007. Questions or comments? Write programs@constitutioncenter.org

Marton has published five books since 1980, including New York Times bestselling Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped History (2001). Her most recent book, The Great Escape (2006), tells the story of the breathtaking journey of nine extraordinary Jewish men from Nazi-controlled Budapest to the New World—what they experienced along their dangerous route, and how they changed America and the world. Marton provides a rich narrative, telling the tale of their youth in Budapest’s Golden Age of the twentieth century, their flight from fascism and anti-Semitism, and their lives of extraordinary accomplishment, danger, glamour and poignancy. Program recorded on 10/18/2006. Questions or comments? Write programs@constitutioncenter.org

Marton has published five books since 1980, including New York Times bestselling Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped History (2001). Her most recent book, The Great Escape (2006), tells the story of the breathtaking journey of nine extraordinary Jewish men from Nazi-controlled Budapest to the New World—what they experienced along their dangerous route, and how they changed America and the world. Marton provides a rich narrative, telling the tale of their youth in Budapest’s Golden Age of the twentieth century, their flight from fascism and anti-Semitism, and their lives of extraordinary accomplishment, danger, glamour and poignancy. Program recorded on 10/18/2006. Questions or comments? Write programs@constitutioncenter.org