The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments enshrine some of our most important civil liberties. They tell us about the rights we have when the government knocks on our door, including protections from "unreasonable searches and seizures," self-incrimination, "cruel and unusual punishments," and the right to "a speedy and public trial" — among ot ... Show More
Oct 2018
The Eccentric Amendments with The Kominas
<p>The first eight amendments to the U.S. Constitution are literal, straightforward, and direct. But when we get to Amendments Nine, 10, and 11, things get hazy. These are some of the <em>least</em> literal amendments in the Constitution: they mean more than they say, and what th ... Show More
33m 44s
Oct 2018
The Reconstruction Amendments with Kash Doll
<p>Amendments 13, 14, and 15 are collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments: they were passed as instructions to rebuild the country after the Civil War. They addressed slavery, citizenship, equality, and voting rights for Black people. This week, the More Perfect<em> </ ... Show More
30m 5s
May 2025
The Third Amendment
The Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution holds some of the most treasured rights held by Americans. This includes the rights of free speech, religion, assembly, due process, and protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, and self incrimination. However, t ... Show More
14m 3s
Oct 2024
The World's First Constitution
The world's oldest oldest continuously surviving constitution, was adopted in the tiny country of San Marino on 8th October, 1600.
This was a good 187 years before the United States adopted its own constitution and, during his presidency, Abraham Lincoln frequently held San Mari ... Show More
11m 48s
Mar 2024
Spider-Man's Surreal Adventures on Broadway
<p><em>Very Special Episodes is a new podcast hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English. Follow us down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday.</em></p> <p>In 2011, after many delays, one of the most anticipated musicals in theater history finally opened on Broad ... Show More
1h 4m
Jun 2021
Juneteenth and the Constitution
On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free. President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had been issued over two years earlier, and the South had ... Show More
57m 15s
Sep 2024
Anthony Michael Kreis, "Rot and Revival: The History of Constitutional Law in American Political Development" (U California Press, 2024)
One of the great divides in American judicial scholarship is between legal scholars who take the justices at their word and assume that those words define the law and political scientists who dismiss all judicial arguments as smokescreens for partisan bias or wider political forc ... Show More
1h 3m