What Does the Constitution Actually Say? Civics, Trump, and the Crisis of American Democracy with Ben Sheehan (PBS's Civics Made Easy)

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Donny Deutsch Podcast Admin

Entertainment News, News, Arts, News Commentary

4.6 • 896 Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Do you know all five rights in the First Amendment? Most Americans don't — and that's exactly the problem. In this eye-opening episode, Donny sits down with Ben Sheehan, host of Civics Made Easy on PBS, bestselling author of What Does the Constitution Actually Say?, and Substack writer at Politics Made Easy, for an urgent, accessible civics lesson every American needs right now. Ben breaks down the Bill of Rights amendment by amendment, explains the difference between originalism and textualism on the Supreme Court, and reveals exactly how the Trump administration may be violating the Constitution — from the Emoluments Clause to executive overreach on voting rights and mail-in ballots. In this episode, you'll learn: The five rights in the First Amendment (and why most Americans can't name them) What each of the 10 Bill of Rights amendments actually protects How originalism vs. textualism shapes Supreme Court rulings today Which constitutional clauses Trump may be violating — and why Congress isn't stopping it How ICE, executive orders, and election interference could impact the 2026 midterms Why the Constitution has no explicit right to vote — and why that matters How No Child Left Behind gutted civics education in American schools Why a more informed public in the 1960s led to the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, and four constitutional amendments in one decade What Ben would add to the Constitution today Whether you're a political junkie, a first-time voter, a student, or just a concerned citizen trying to understand American democracy, constitutional law, and the future of free elections — this conversation will educate, inform, and maybe even inspire you to get more civically engaged. 📚 Get the book: What Does the Constitution Actually Say? A Nonpartisan Guide to How Our Democracy Is Supposed to Work — available now wherever books are sold. 📺 Watch: Civics Made Easy on PBS.org and PBS YouTube 📰 Read: Ben Sheehan on Substack at Politics Made Easy Be sure to check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On Brand with Donny Deutsch YouTube page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:08.6	I got a really fun guest today, Ben Sheehan.
1:29.1	He's the host of Civics Made Easy on PBS.org and PBS's YouTube channel. You can read him on Substack. His Politics Made Easy and he's author of the bestselling book. We'll talk a lot about today. What does the Constitution actually say a non-born guide to how our democracy is supposed to work? Welcome, sir. Thank you so much for having me, Donnie. So we're going to give our listeners a good civics lesson today because, first of all, in your travels, how ignorant are most people in this
1:36.0	country about the Constitution? What do people, obviously is a very general question, but like,
1:40.6	can Pete the average person name any amendments other than maybe the first or the second
1:44.7	amendment kind of so there have been studies in the last couple years from the university of
1:52.2	pennsylvania there was one my alma mater my alma mater well they found some pretty depressing
1:57.5	information one is that most people knew that the right to free speech
2:01.9	was at the First Amendment, but only 7% of Americans could name all five rights. We have five
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