Mercy Otis Warren: The Pen That Pressed for the Bill of Rights
We trace the life and ideas of Mercy Otis Warren, the writer who helped secure a culture of liberty—and a Bill of Rights—without a seat at the Convention. From a rare classical education to salons wit...
17 Marras 202515min
Martha Washington And Deborah Sampson: Two Paths Of Courage
We explore how Martha Washington and Deborah Sampson advanced the Revolution through very different forms of leadership. One shaped morale and public life; the other broke barriers to fight and spy un...
14 Marras 202513min
Incorporation: From Congress To The States
Start with a single word—Congress—and watch the ground shift beneath your feet. We pull back the curtain on how rights that began as limits on the federal government became limits on states, tracing t...
13 Marras 202516min
Abigail and John: How a Marriage Shaped American Politics
Power changes when it meets a clear-eyed partner. That’s the thread that runs through our conversation with Dr. Kirsten Birkhaug as we trace the political and personal partnership of John and Abigail ...
13 Marras 202514min
Federalism In Practice
Power doesn’t just shift in Washington; it moves along a carefully drawn map between the federal government and the states. We dive into that map by tracing the Tenth Amendment through two centuries o...
12 Marras 202520min
What The Tenth Amendment Really Does
Power flows from a simple premise: if the Constitution doesn’t grant it to Congress and it isn’t taken from the states, it stays with the states or the people. We dig into that promise, unpacking the ...
12 Marras 202511min
Why The Eighth Amendment Still Shapes Who We Are As A Society
Fairness is one of the first ideas we learn as kids, and it never stops shaping how we see justice. We sit down with Dr. Kerry Sautner, president and CEO of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, t...
11 Marras 202528min
Why The Ninth Amendment Protects Federal Limits, Not Hidden Rights
A single sentence in the Bill of Rights has fueled decades of confusion, debate, and hot takes—so we went back to the source to make sense of it. We trace the Ninth Amendment from the founding-era fig...
11 Marras 202512min
