Episode 24: They Are Small Colleges
June 23, 2021
The colleges of the Founding era were few in number but outsize in importance both then and now; Andy and Akhil discuss greats, familiar and otherwise, from Webster to Wood.
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Akhil and Andy continue their tour of the 9 established colleges at the Founding, 7 were in the Ivy League, so the Ancient Eight will inevitably stand out in our survey – but they are not alone, as we discuss. Still it is remarkable that such a tiny portion of the population yielded so many familiar names. Latter-day scholars from these institutions still loom large as well, from Daniel Webster and Charles Beard to Gordon Wood and Maggie Blackhawk – giants all. And learn about one of the greats that you may not know well – Douglas Adair.
Show Notes:
Excerpt from Good Will Hunting on Gordon Wood et al
Re-creation of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, with Neal Katyal presenting Daniel Webster’s argument
Episode 23: Princeton Palaver Present
June 16, 2021
Akhil and Andy move the discussion to today’s Princeton University and some of its greatest scholars; they find both coherence and controversy.
Akhil and Andy move from The College of New Jersey – Princeton in the period of America’s Founding – to the Princeton University of today, and discuss matters of agreement and disagreement between Akhil and some of the Orange and Black’s leading faculty lights. Topics range from the 1619 project to the Electoral College and some of Andrew Jackson’s most controversial and misunderstood statements. Finally, everything you never knew you wanted to know about property is revealed.
Show Notes:
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Episode 22: Princeton Palaver Past
June 9, 2021
The Ivy League and the Founders continues as we move on to Princeton for a look at those Founders it educated, and how the place continues to influence their legacy. First of a two-part look at Old Nassau.
Akhil and Andy continue their look around the Ivy League. Having dispensed with Harvard, Princeton enters their sights, particularly their great early product, James Madison. Was he truly “the father of the Constitution,” and why does it matter? Two of the most important early Supreme Court cases are implicated – one you probably have heard of, and one you most likely have not. And two big issues for the 21st century find their roots in these cases – and the Court will be heard soon enough on one or both. And why does Bobby Bonds find his way into this episode?
Show Notes:
Episode 21: Harvard Hooey
June 2, 2021
A couple of Yale men tell you about Harvard – central to America’s original story, and to our telling and mis-telling of that story now.
That little-known school in Cambridge, Massachusetts keeps popping up. Akhil and Andy, objective Yale men as always, look at how Harvard was in the room at the American Revolution’s first stirrings, how generations of Harvard men kept a version of that story alive, and how today’s Cantab Crowd stumble over their own stories in ways that profoundly influence our American dialog about our past and our present. Akhil scrutinizes Harvard’s best and finds them brilliant but at times wanting – and issues an invitation to hash it all out.
Show Notes:
Episode 20: Torture, Trump, and Tech – A Conversation with Alan Dershowitz
May 26, 2021
Alan Dershowitz joins Akhil and Andy for a discussion of a life spent in the law and the spotlight; President Trump; Israel and its Supreme Court; speech on campus; his new book, and much more.
For more than 50 years, any discussion of criminal defense attorneys, legal academics, and civil libertarians – as well as staunch advocates for Israel – included Professor Alan Dershowitz. Today he joins “Amarica’s Constitution” for a far-ranging conversation. Torture warrants, Trump’s misdeeds, the life of a principled advocate and his family, censorship in social media, campus speech, the Israeli Supreme Court – all fall under his gaze, and our scrutiny. We also discuss Prof. Dershowitz’s new book, “The Case Against The New Censorship.”
Show Notes:
Episode 19: Constitutionalists United – Special Guest Floyd Abrams
May 19, 2021
Amarica’s Constitution continues our parade of civil libertarian greats, and asks: What is the State of the First Amendment? as its champion, Floyd Abrams, appears as our special guest. The answers are sometimes surprising, indeed.
Our series on civil liberties, including especially the First Amendment and free speech, continues with perhaps its greatest advocate before the Supreme Court, Floyd Abrams. It’s natural to assume that Floyd would be an absolutist on such bedrocks as the case New York Times v. Sullivan – especially since he has represented The NY Times for years. But no, surprisingly, he expresses, to Akhil and Andy, certain abridgments of this case that he might consider if he were, say, on the bench. This and so much more, as a momentous career is celebrated and revealed, from one’s duty to one’s client to what it’s like to appear before the Supreme Court.