Why "Terminating" the Constitution Matters

Now & Then

Vox Media Podcast Network

History, Society & Culture, News Commentary, News

4.9 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 14 December 2022

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Former President Trump has called for the termination of the Constitution and the overturning of the 2020 election. What makes Trump’s comments so dangerous? When has the Constitution been under siege before? And how can we protect the document that undergirds our democracy? Heather and Joanne discuss early constitutional debates, the rocky passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the 1970s rise of “originalism” as a theory of constitutional interpretation. Vote for Now & Then in the Best History Podcast category of the Signal Awards: bit.ly/3WhbYWL Join CAFE Insider to listen to “Backstage,” where Heather and Joanne chat each week about the anecdotes and ideas that formed the episode. Head to: cafe.com/history For more historical analysis of current events, sign up for the free weekly CAFE Brief newsletter, featuring Time Machine, a weekly article that dives into an historical event inspired by each episode of Now & Then: cafe.com/brief For references & supplemental materials, head to: cafe.com/now-and-then/why-terminating-the-constitution-matters/ Now & Then is presented by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Download the New York Historical Society's podcast for the Ages with host David M. Rubenstein
0:06.6	to explore the rich and complex history of the United States and beyond through interviews
0:11.1	with renowned historians and luminaries like Annette Gordon Reed, Billie Jean King, Eric
0:16.3	Phoner, and Robert Gates.
0:18.7	For the Ages, covers a wide range of topics from presidential biographies to the people
0:23.0	who have shaped the American story.
0:25.3	Visit now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:29.6	Learn more at nyhistory.org.
0:35.9	From Cafe and the Box Media Podcast Network, this is now and then.
0:50.2	I'm Heather Cox Richardson, and I'm Joanne Freeman.
0:54.0	Today we're going to be talking about something that, I guess I say this almost every week.
0:58.1	It's really logical for us to be talking about because that's how we pick our topics.
1:01.4	But in this case, it's a big topic with extreme relevance and huge implications.
1:08.1	And the topic is the Constitution.
1:11.0	What is it?
1:12.4	How do we conceive of it?
1:14.7	What does our Constitution do besides structure the government?
1:18.4	And of course, this is coming about because of a post on the social media platform, Truth
1:25.0	Social, on Saturday, December 3rd, when former President Trump posted the following.
1:31.1	And I'm going to read a couple sentences because everyone is screaming about what he actually
1:35.0	said.
1:36.0	So this is the full quote.
	...

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