Consider the Constitution

The Supreme Court has no army, no budget, and no way to enforce its own rulings. Its power rests entirely on the credibility of its words. Attorney and author Peter Cohen joins Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey to explore what happens when you go straight to the source — reading the justices' opinions directly rather than relying on outside interpretation. Drawing on his book In the Supreme Court's Own Words, Cohen walks through two centuries of landmark decisions in which the court checked presidential power, explains why dissenting opinions like Justice Harlan's in Plessy v. Ferguson can become the law of the land decades later, and makes the case that Supreme Court decisions are far more accessible than most people assume. From Lincoln and habeas corpus to Truman and the steel mills to the constitutional questions playing out in real time today, this conversation is a reminder that the framers feared monarchy — and built a system designed to prevent it.

James Madison's participation in the American Revolution shaped not only his political philosophy but his entire approach to governance. In this episode, Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey sits down with Dr. Jay Cost to explore how Madison's revolutionary experiences—from his work on Virginia's Declaration of Rights at age 25 to his presidency during the War of 1812—reveal a leader committed to proving that self-government could work. Dr. Cost explains how Madison viewed the Revolution as an opportunity for fundamental reform based on liberal principles, and how his deep distrust of British authority influenced his diplomatic and military decisions decades later. The conversation illuminates Madison's unique talent for translating revolutionary ideals into practical political action, including his pragmatic leadership in creating the Bill of Rights and his determination to secure American sovereignty through what he saw as a "second war for independence."

When Congress can't pass laws, is the problem in the Constitution—or in the rules that govern how legislators actually do their work? In this episode, Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey welcomes back Dr. Lauren Bell to discuss her new book, Transatlantic Majoritarianism: How Murder, Migration and Modernity Transformed 19th Century Legislatures.
Dr. Bell reveals how 19th-century lawmakers in both the United States and Britain wrestled with a fundamental democratic dilemma: how to allow majority rule without descending into chaos or obstruction. From the "vanishing quorum" that paralyzed the House of Representatives to Irish members weaponizing parliamentary procedure in the House of Commons, Bell traces the parallel crises that forced both nations to rethink legislative power.

This episode is part of a special five-part miniseries examining James Madison's role in the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. As part of Montpelier's commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, this series is funded by a grant from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission, in partnership with Virginia Humanities.
Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey sits down with historian Dr. Jim Ambuske to explore the complicated landscape of Revolutionary Virginia. Rather than a simple Patriots-versus-British narrative, the American Revolution was fundamentally a civil war that divided neighbors, families, and communities. Discover how religion, economics, and geography shaped whether Virginians supported independence or remained loyal to the Crown. Learn how enslaved people, indigenous nations, and women navigated this period of upheaval, making strategic choices amid profound danger and opportunity. From Scottish merchants in Norfolk to Madison's concerns about slave conspiracies, from the calculations of the Haudenosaunee to women asserting new political rights, this episode reveals the messy, perilous reality behind the founding.

What can 500 pounds of slag reveal about the American Revolution? In this episode, Dr. Katie Crawford-Lackey talks with Dr. Matt Reeves, Montpelier's Director of Archaeology, about the blacksmith shop that powered James Madison Sr.'s plantation during the Revolutionary War. Through archaeological evidence and surviving ledger books, they uncover a regional network of production, the expertise of enslaved artisans like Moses, and how this industrial operation supplied the Continental Army—while transforming the economic and social landscape of Revolutionary Virginia.