Who Gets To Rewrite History? (with Jill Lepore)

Stay Tuned with Preet

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, Politics, Government, News

4.8 • 32.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Is any historical decision in America truly settled? This week, historian, Harvard law professor, and The New Yorker staff writer, Jill Lepore, joins Preet Bharara to discuss the intersection between history and the law, how often laws should evolve, and why Lepore thinks the Constitution should be easier to amend. Then, Preet answers your questions on whether President Trump accidentally pardoned the January 6th pipe bomber, and what the recent grand jury decision means for the case against NY AG Letitia James. In the bonus for Insiders, Preet and Lepore chat about her reporting on the No Kings movement, whether rallies can still make a difference, and the lines she draws as a journalist in a political moment. Join the CAFE Insider community to stay informed without hysteria, fear-mongering, or rage-baiting. Head to cafe.com/insider to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work. Shop Stay Tuned merch and featured books by our guests in our Amazon storefront. Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website. You can now watch this episode! Head to CAFE’s Youtube channel and subscribe. Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at [email protected], or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	From Cafe and the Vox Media Podcast Network, welcome to stay tuned.
0:05.8	I'm Preet Bharara.
0:08.2	You know, their thinking was, hey, one way to protect our rights to live and have a family
0:14.3	and protect our children from violence would be to outlaw alcohol.
0:19.4	It's not a crazy idea, given there's nothing else they can do.
0:22.5	They can't vote.
0:23.8	They can't charge their husbands with crimes.
0:27.8	That's Jill Lepore.
0:29.4	She's a professor of American history at Harvard University,
0:32.6	a best-selling author, and a staff writer at The New Yorker,
0:35.7	where she's now been writing for two decades.
0:38.2	Her latest book is We the People, a history of the U.S. Constitution.
0:42.5	It recovers the forgotten history of constitutional change, the amendments that passed,
0:46.9	the causes that failed, and the reformers who fought for both.
0:50.6	Lepore joins me to discuss the intersection between history and the law,
0:54.1	why she believes the Constitution should be easier to amend,
0:57.1	and for those who were there, what your bicentennial celebration said about you.
1:01.6	Then I'll answer your questions about whether President Trump
1:03.9	accidentally pardoned the January 6th pipe bomber
1:06.3	and what the recent grand jury decision means for Letitia James.
1:10.2	That's coming up.
1:11.5	Stay tuned.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 16 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.