logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2012
31m 25s

PREMIUM-Episode 65: The Federalist Paper...

Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey
About this episode

On Alexander Hamilton/James Madison's Federalist Papers (1, 10-12, 14-17, 39, 47-51), published as newspaper editorials 1787-8, plus Letters III and IV from Brutus, an Anti-Federalist. What constitutes good government? These founding fathers argued that the proposed Constitution, with its newly centralized (yet also separated-by-branch) powers would be a significant improvement on the Articles of Confederation, which had left states as the ultimate sovereigns. Get the full discussion at partiallyexaminedlife.com.

Up next
Aug 25
Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part One)
What's the crisis of liberal democracy? Dylan, Wes and Seth are joined by St. John's College President J. Walter Sterling to discuss Abraham Lincoln's "On the Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions" (1838) plus the beginnings of Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now (2018), Patri ... Show More
46m 38s
Aug 24
PEL Presents Closereads: Peter Railton's "Moral Realism" (Wrap Up)
We are concluding our treatment of Peter Railton's "Moral Realism" (1984), and given that you likely haven't listened to the seven preceding parts, this discussion can serve as a standalone summary of not only Railton's view, but of the best efforts of Mark and Wes to actually fi ... Show More
58m 5s
Aug 21
Announcement: Mark's "Foundational Political Philosophy Texts" Fall 2025 Class
I bet you’d like to have an excuse to read some Aristotle, and Locke, Rousseau, Simone Weil, and other fun texts. Well, go read about this opportunity at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class, and then follow the link to enroll. Not sure? Watch a sample (a full seminar from last semest ... Show More
4m 44s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
The Federalist Papers
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay's essays written in 1787/8 in support of the new US Constitution. They published these anonymously in New York as 'Publius' but, when it became known that Hamilton and Madison were the main authors, th ... Show More
50m 41s
Jun 2021
Why Constitutions Matter
David talks to historian Linda Colley about her new global history of written constitutions: the paper documents that made and remade the modern world. From Corsica to Pitcairn, from Mexico to Japan, it's an amazing story of war and peace, violence, imagination and fear. Recorded ... Show More
44m 47s
Jan 2024
What is Federalist 10?
Federalist 10 was one of the Federalist Papers, a collection of 85 essays that were published in New York to encourage ratification of the newly drafted Constitution. This essay is taught in classrooms across the country and often referred to as the most important. So what's it a ... Show More
22m 9s
Mar 2018
15: “We the People:” Constitution Making in Philly
“What even is the Virginia Plan but democracy checked by democracy, or pork with a little change of the sauce?” This is the story of 55 men from 12 of the 13 sovereign states gathered at the Pennsylvania State House during the miserably hot Philadelphian summer of 1787. They are ... Show More
1h 2m
Jul 2017
Framed
In the premier episode of “Constitutional,” we go back in time to that hot Philadelphia summer in 1787 when a group of revolutionary Americans debated, drank and together drafted the U.S. Constitution. 
1h 3m
Oct 2011
HoP 048 - Constitutional Conventions - Aristotle's Political Philosophy
Aristotle's Politics responds to Plato's Republic and sets out its own ideas about the ideal state, the types of political constitution, and the role of women and slaves 
21m 19s
Nov 2018
Political Parties - A Tale of Two Parties | 1
In the earliest days of the United States, there was no such thing as an organized political party. George Washington, elected twice to the presidency unanimously in the Electoral College, warned the new nation against political factions, writing that organized parties would beco ... Show More
45m 13s
Jul 2022
How the Supreme Court is reshaping the US
Abortion, environmental protections and gun ownership rights are among the controversial topics the US Supreme Court has ruled on over recent weeks. The highest court in the land has the final say on interpreting laws and deciding what’s constitutional and what isn’t. Now - with ... Show More
49m 10s