The Story of the U.S. Constitution: Past and Present

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2026

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After more than 12 years of distinguished service as President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Rosen has transitioned to the role of CEO Emeritus, enabling him to devote his full time and energy to his scholarship and public dialogue. The Center’s Board of Trustees appointed Vince Stango to serve as Interim President and CEO. From all of us at the National Constitution Center, we express our gratitude to Jeff for his leadership and vision, including his role as the long-time host of the Center’s We the People podcast, where he brought constitutional debate to life for millions of listeners. For the full announcement, visit the website. While you’re there, check out the many exciting things, including the Interactive Declaration, and all of our resources for America’s 250th! As we work to bring you the next chapter of We the People, we will continue to share recent programs and episodes from the archive. In this episode, we're sharing an America's Town Hall program with historians, Akhil Reed Amar, David Blight, and Annette Gordon-Reed, who joined for a sweeping conversation about the Constitution and the debates that have shaped America—from the founding era to today. They examine transformative moments in American history and landmark Supreme Court decisions. This program is presented in partnership with the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute and the Organization of American Historians. Resources National Constitution Center Announces Leadership Transition Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org ⁠⁠ Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr Explore the ⁠⁠America at 250 Civic Toolkit⁠⁠ Explore ⁠⁠Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠live program⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Support our important work: ⁠⁠Donate

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, this is We the People.
0:08.1	I'm Bill Pollock, a producer on the show, here with an update. After more than 12 years of
0:14.4	distinguished service as president and chief executive officer, Jeffrey Rosen has transitioned to the
0:19.8	role of CEO Emeritus, enabling him
0:22.8	to devote his full-time and energy to his scholarship and public dialogue. The Center's board of
0:28.7	trustees appointed Vince Stango to serve as interim president and CEO. From all of us at the National
0:34.9	Constitution Center, we express our gratitude to Jeff for his leadership and vision,
0:40.4	including his role as the longtime host of this podcast, where he brought constitutional debate to life for millions of listeners.
0:48.4	To read the full announcement, visit the link in the show notes for this episode.
0:53.0	And while you're on the website, check out the
0:55.1	many exciting resources, including the interactive declaration and other materials to help bring
1:00.5	America's 250th to life. As we work to bring you the next chapter of We the People, we will
1:07.4	continue to share recent programs and episodes from the archive.
1:11.8	In this episode, we are sharing a recent America's Town Hall program
1:15.8	with historians Akeel Reed Amar, David Blight, and Annette Gordon-Reed,
1:22.0	who joined for a sweeping conversation about the Constitution
1:25.3	and the debates that have shaped America from the founding
1:28.7	era to today. Here's Jeff to get the conversation started. Hello, friends, and welcome
1:36.2	to the National Constitution Center. Please join me in welcoming three of America's greatest historians, Annette Gordon-Rid, David Blight, and Akila Mar.
1:57.0	I'm so excited to welcome them to the NCC. I couldn't wait to introduce them before asking you to recite the NCC's mission statement.
2:06.6	So we're now going to do that so we can further sanctify this important discussion we're about to have.
2:12.6	Here at the National Constitution Center, which is, come on, we can do this together,
	...

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