Your Weekly Constitutional

Ever heard of the Privilege and Immunities Clauses? Yep, there are two of them, and if they seem obscure to you, well you're not alone. The Supreme Court has interpreted them very narrowly - some would say "almost out of existence." Akram Faiser, a professor at Lincoln Memorial University's Duncan School of Law, who holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, wants to change that. He wants to interpret the Privilege and Immunities Clauses as broadly protecting American democracy by limiting wealth inequality and its political consequences. Hmm, does that remind you of somewhere? Perhaps Canada? Eh?

Our new President has called for jail time, and perhaps a loss of citizenship, for Americans who burn the American flag. Would such punishments be constitutional? Or would that pesky First Amendment get in the way? We’ll talk to our First Amendment Guy, Doug McKechnie, about this (ahem) fiery constitutional issue.

Would you like to talk to a former President? How about a former First Lady or Secretary of State? Think you might learn something? This week we're talking about a place called the Miller Center of the University of Virginia, which has a very important mission: recording oral histories of each American presidency since Jimmy Carter’s. We’ll speak with the Miller Center’s Russell Riley, who has recorded dozens of interviews with influential people in several different presidential administrations, and who will share some of the fascinating stuff he's learned with us.

In 2016, for the second time in sixteen years, a presidential candidate prevailed in the Electoral College while losing the popular vote – this time by a margin of roughly three million votes. Is it time to change our method of electing presidents? Constitutional lawyer and historian David O. Stewart thinks so, and he’s decided to devote himself to a constitutional reform movement called the National Popular Vote Initiative. Can we reform our electoral system without amending our Constitution? Should we?

We’ve talked about women’s suffrage many times before (check the rest of our podcast site if you don’t believe us). But this is the first episode in which we discuss a play about the 19th Amendment – a musical play, no less. Our guest is Catherine Bush, the playwright-in-residence at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, who tells us all about her acclaimed and historically-accurate production of “Winter Wheat.”

We all learned in grade school that Abraham Lincoln “saved the Union.” But, in saving our nation, did he destroy our Constitution? He did some pretty extreme things, after all, from suspending habeas corpus to signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Were his actions constitutionally justified, or not? Join us for a fascinating discussion with Daniel Farber, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, and who presented this year’s R. Gerald McMurtry Lecture at Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law.

If you’ve ever been in far western Kentucky, near Hopkinsville, you may have noticed something strange rising from the cornfields: it looks like the Washington Monument, but it’s not. It is, in fact, a monument, but not to George Washington. This particular edifice memorializes a man whom we might consider the anti-Washington: Jefferson Davis, the first President of the Confederate States of America. Stewart recently visited the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site and spoke with Ron Sydnor, its manager. Another surprise: Mr. Sydnor is African-American.

Ever heard of Roger B. Taney? He was the Chief Justice of the United States for almost 30 years, from 1836 to 1864. Today, he is remembered largely for one opinion he wrote, an opinion often considered the worst in U.S. Supreme Court history: Dred Scott v. Sandford. Recently, Taney's bust, displayed in his home town of Frederick, Maryland, was vandalized, and a number of people have called for its removal. Stewart talks with law professor Josh Blackman about this constitutional debate between present and past.

Stewart's college classmate, Bernice Kiyo Glenn, finishes the fascinating tale of her Japanese-American-Hawaiian family and its many dangerous journeys across the wide Pacific Ocean.

What Does it Mean to be an American? Well, it means lots of different things, depending upon whom you talk to and whom you’re talking about. This week we bring you the first part of a compelling, two-part story of a Japanese-American family that spent decades crossing and re-crossing the Pacific Ocean between Japan and Hawaii. Bernice Kiyo Glenn, a college classmate of Stewart’s, tells the tale.

We like to think that we live in a "democracy," even though we know that it's actually something called a "republic." But what's the difference? Is our particular republic something less than democratic? Well, Michael Klarman of Harvard Law School suggests that perhaps the Framers of our Constitution pulled a fast one on the rest of us, enshrining the power of "elites" rather than the common folk. Sound familiar? Join Stewart for a fascinating conversation about the nature of American "democracy."

We hope that you voted this past week. But we really hope that you cast an informed vote – a vote based upon real understanding of the facts and issues. Is such a hope realistic? Do most people cast informed votes? Or not? Join us as we sit down with Political Science Professor Anderson Starling of the University of Tennessee at Martin to talk about his research into political knowledge: how much of it do Americans have, and how do they get it? And, even more fundamentally, does it matter?

It’s been many months since Associate Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, yet still his chair on the Supreme Court bench is empty. Is the Senate’s refusal to consider a successor constitutional? What are the implications for the Court? For the Constitution? Stewart speaks with Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice about this important but oft-overlooked constitutional standoff, and what it means for all of us.

Have you ever read the Declaration of Independence? Not just the "all men are created equal" part, but the whole thing? If you have, then you've noticed that most of the Declaration is simply a list of complaints against King George III. And some of those complaints seem odd to modern ears. Especially the last one, about "domestic insurrections." What insurrections? By whom? Rob Parkinson of Binghamton University tells us all about it.

The Constitution gives the President wide powers over foreign affairs, powers which the President typically exercises through his Secretary of State. Recently our current Secretary, John Kerry, made a momentous announcement with far-ranging legal and political implications: ISIS is committing genocide. And it is committing genocide not only against Muslims, but against Christians and other groups, such as the Yazidi people, who practice a faith that incorporates elements of both Christianity and other religious traditions. Attorney Ian Speir, who specializes in representing religious organizations, was one of the authors of a detailed report that prompted Kerry to make his declaration. Ian tells us the story and discusses the legal and political implications of genocide.

You’ve seen the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Perhaps you’ve visited. But did you know that there is an entire university that was built in memory of Abraham Lincoln? It’s called, appropriately enough, Lincoln Memorial University, and the story of how it came about is fascinating. We talk with Jim Dawson, LMU’s President, and Gary Wade, the Dean of the Duncan School of Law at LMU, all about the university’s history, it’s mission, and where it’s going in the future. And we also note that LMU's law school has recently added a new faculty member -- someone you might know.

If there are any limits to the First Amendment's protection of political speech, well, Donald Trump seems determined to find them. He’s called for libel laws to be “opened up.” Can a President do that? He has said things at his rallies that, arguably, have incited his followers to violence. Are such statements constitutionally protected? Join us for an enlightening discussion with our First Amendment Guy, Doug McKechnie, who teaches constitutional law at the United States Air Force Academy.

Constitutional Tunes! Or, as most people might call them, patriotic music. Why music? Well, let’s remind ourselves that a written constitution is just a piece of paper unless government leaders and, ultimately, the people themselves, respect it. How do we generate such respect? Lots of ways: by following the law, by voting, by engaging in reasoned political debate (yes, such a thing does exist) by displaying flags and other symbols, and by experiencing patriotic music. Recently, the Symphony of the Mountains, directed by Cornelia Laemmli Orth, gave a concert of patriotic pieces. Cornelia invited Stewart to narrate one piece. She joins us this week and shares her musical – and constitutional - insights.

We revisit the European Union (or what’s left of it) with Part II of “Brexit! OMG!” Join us for a conversation with British law professor William Walton all about what's in store for Britain (and Europe, and the rest of the world) now that Brexit has happened. OMG!

Well, it’s happened. We didn’t think it would happen, but it has. No, we’re not talking about the nomination of Donald Trump. We’re talking about Brexit, which represents, in the United Kingdom, a constitutional change of historic proportions and uncertain consequences. Fortunately, we have William Walton of Northumbria University to explain it all to us.