Podcast
Amarica's Constitution
Hosted by Akhil Reed Amar · EN
Professor Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and one of the nation's leading authorities on the Constitution, offers weekly in-depth discussions on the most urgent and fascinating constitutional issues of our day. He is joined by co-host Andy Lipka and guests drawn from other top experts including Bob Woodward, Nina Totenberg, Neal Katyal, Lawrence Lessig, Michael Gerhardt, and many more.
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
JFK's Wall
3d ago01:13:41Tap to summarizeOur journey through the centuries of religious practice, attitudes, and constitutionalism has reached the 20th century, when several presidential elections set mileposts for the American religious debate. The first major party Catholic candidate, Al Smith, met the worst sort of vitriol and prejudice, and was destroyed by it. This cast a shadow over the later campaign of John F. Kennedy, and he answered it in a speech that we analyze and place in context, even as we thrill to the great man’s voice one more time. We then trace a line from that speech, through several Supreme Court memberships, to the American cultural and constitutional religious landscape as the 21st century dawns. Fittingly, perhaps, one of the jurists who has been prominent on this issue, Justice Thomas, celebrates a milestone on the Court. CLE is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.
Transcribe →Fourteen Colonies, Ten Commandments
1w ago01:35:20Tap to summarizeAs the 10 commandments case makes its way towards the Supreme Court, we add another chapter to our study of the historical events and factors that went into the American constitutional tradition when it comes to religious freedom, religious establishment, and the relationship of government and religion as a whole. We begin this episode where The Words That Made Us began - in 1760. We take it forward through the revolutionary period, into the Articles and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and then wind up with the Civil War and Reconstruction, leaving us poised at last to take a serious look at what the Fifth Circuit thought it was doing, and what it actually was doing, when it allowed a law to stand that mandates posting of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.
Transcribe →Remember the Alamo Heights
2w ago01:40:28Tap to summarizeWe continue to trace the historical origins of the constitution’s approach to religion in American government and American life. We take you on a tour around Europe at the time of the Reformation and for centuries beyond, all the way to American migration. All this is remarkably relevant to recent events, as the Alamo Heights/Ten Commandments case comes to a head. Meanwhile, Sarah Isgur returns for a third helping - or is it grilling? - as we continue to discuss her recent book and it finds its way onto the best-seller list. Individual justices are discussed along with much more. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.
Transcribe →Popes and Presidents
3w ago01:35:25Tap to summarizeThe President has picked a fight with the Bishop of Rome, Pope Leo X. Putting aside some of the distasteful elements of language and hubris, we ask where this fits in with notions of church and state in a democracy. What is the constitutional doctrine - is it “separation?” Where does it come from, historically and legally? A general theory of such things can help us make sense - well, maybe not of everything that is said these days, but perhaps of the numerous cases that are percolating to and arriving at the Supreme Court. And in a special treat, we continue our conversation with Sarah Isgur on her new book, Last Branch Standing, and look more deeply at the patterns of judicial behavior that have emerged from several of the justices, among other things.
Transcribe →Last Branch Stands, The Barbara Court Sits - Special Guest Sarah Isgur
Apr 1501:42:57Tap to summarizeThis week it’s Attorney Cecilia Wang’s turn, as she appears before the Supreme Court to defend birthright citizenship in the Trump v. Barbara case, and we continue to analyze clips of the oral argument. Meanwhile, we are joined by the host of the popular Advisory Opinions podcast: Sarah Isgur, who has written a new book that will be published, well, today. Last Branch Standing takes us inside the Supreme Court from the life of a clerk to a tour of the Court’s history to a statistical analysis of voting patterns on the Court - which are far more complex than is commonly thought. You can’t help but know more after this episode than you did coming in! CLE credit available from podcast.njsba.com.
Transcribe →New World, Same Constitution
Apr 802:06:28Tap to summarizeTrump v. Barbara - the birthright citizenship case - reaches the Supreme Court, and we are there. Akhil and Andy are at the oral argument, and immediately afterwards we stand outside the courthouse and you hear (and see, from the linked video) the emotions that affected not only your hosts, but no doubt the justices themselves as the case unfolded. Then it’s off to the audiotape, as we play the clips of the Justices and the advocates, and Akhil does his Howard Cosell imitation, analyzing the arguments as you hear them. Given the Professor’s status as the author of an amicus brief in the case, a brief the Solicitor General chose to take on in his own reply brief, the perspective this episode offers our audience - you - is unique. So with the arguments of the advocates; the questions of the justices; and the knowledge of the amicus, you will know as much as anyone and be in the best position to assess the case as a whole - after listening to this special episode and those to follow. And as always, CLE credit is available from podcast.njsba.com.
Transcribe →Crib Sheets for Barbara
Apr 101:07:18Tap to summarizeOn the eve of the oral argument in Trump v. Barbara, we offer you a listener’s guide to the spectacle. What is the essence of the argument? What are the hard questions for Solicitor General Sauer, representing Trump? What should Attorney Wang, ACLU attorney for petitioners, be prepared to answer? What should the audience be listening for - clues to how the argument is going? We provide all this and more, so you can put yourself in the seat of a Supreme Court law clerk, listening to the argument, preparing to offer your thoughts to your justice. Professor Amar, as an amicus who has submitted a brief to the Court, is your guide. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.
Transcribe →Created to Born to Barbara
Mar 2500:58:47Tap to summarizeAkhil and Andy visit a high school in Garden City, NY, to speak with outstanding high school students about Born Equal. In the process, we trace one of America’s great credos - “All Men Are Created Equal” - from the Founding, all the way to Lincoln - and beyond, to the fourteenth amendment; and finally to birthright citizenship and next week’s momentous Supreme Court case, Trump v. Barbara. The students’ great questions help show the way. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.
Transcribe →A Brief Ecosystem
Mar 1801:15:44Tap to summarizeWe’ve been mentioning the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara, and Professor Amar’s amicus brief in the case. Now we begin to analyze it in depth. We begin with the structure of the brief; why is it so different from most such briefs? Why is it uniquely wide-ranging? How can it cover many aspects of the case with a strict word limit - what is it about the way it is done that allows this when other briefs - well-executed briefs - cannot cover as much ground? And then, what is the outline of the argument? We also show where you can go from here; where you can find expansion and discussion beyond the brief. Or you can come back here in subsequent weeks when we will expand on the outline of the argument presented here.
Transcribe →Substantive Expansion - with Advisory Opinions and Divided Argument
Mar 1101:20:39Tap to summarizeAmarica’s Constitution has joined with two other great podcasts! We’re still ourselves, but today we bring all three podcasts together to look at a recent case, Mirabelli v. Bonta, which brings substantive due process back to center stage. And because we are who we are, we take a look ourselves at some more aspects of - what else? - the birthright citizenship case. Learn what the future holds for our listeners, as we bring you what we always have, and more. Attorneys and judges can gain CLE credit from podcast.njsba.com.
Transcribe →