Why The Eighth Amendment Still Shapes Who We Are As A Society
Civics In A Year11 Nov 2025

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, to unpack the Eighth Amendment’s compact promise: no excessive bail or fines, and no cruel and unusual punishment. From there, the conversation opens into the human questions that text demands we face—what counts as cruel, who decides, and how do standards change as society and science evolve. We...

Episoder(197)

Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Address And The Fight For Law

Abraham Lincoln’s Lyceum Address And The Fight For Law

A young lawyer in 1838 stood before the Young Men’s Lyceum and asked a chilling question: what happens to a republic when people start believing the law binds everyone but themselves? We welcome Dr. A...

10 Mar 19min

Andrew Jackson, Calhoun, And The Crisis That Nearly Split The Union

Andrew Jackson, Calhoun, And The Crisis That Nearly Split The Union

A tariff fight doesn’t usually threaten to crack a nation, but the Nullification Crisis came dangerously close. We open with a plain-English primer on nullification—what it is, where it came from, and...

9 Mar 13min

Field Trip Friday: How Gathering On The National Mall Shapes Memory And Democracy

Field Trip Friday: How Gathering On The National Mall Shapes Memory And Democracy

The National Mall isn’t just a backdrop for photos; it’s a working stage where free speech, public memory, and civic learning come alive. We sit down with Jeremy Goldstein of the Trust for the Nationa...

6 Mar 18min

Jackson’s Bank Veto Explained

Jackson’s Bank Veto Explained

Power, personality, and constitutional guardrails collide as we unpack Andrew Jackson’s two most consequential vetoes: the Maysville Road and the Second Bank of the United States. We trace how a singl...

5 Mar 12min

How Cherokee Law Challenged Georgia And Jackson

How Cherokee Law Challenged Georgia And Jackson

A constitution became a shield. That’s the unlikely turning point at the heart of this story, where the Cherokee Nation adopted a written charter in 1827—not to surrender identity, but to defend commu...

4 Mar 32min

Tocqueville On Reflective Patriotism

Tocqueville On Reflective Patriotism

Patriotism without thinking is brittle. Thinking without affection is cold. We bring those forces together through Tocqueville’s lens of reflective patriotism and ask how a nation can love itself hone...

3 Mar 24min

Tocqueville On Parties Today

Tocqueville On Parties Today

What if the very thing that makes politics feel unbearable is also what keeps a republic free? We dive into Tocqueville’s sharp take on political parties—why they inflame passions, tempt narrow thinki...

2 Mar 22min

Field Trip Friday: Inside America 250 On The National Mall

Field Trip Friday: Inside America 250 On The National Mall

Step onto the nation’s front yard as we unpack how the National Mall is preparing for America’s 250th—through bold infrastructure upgrades, inclusive programming, and a reimagined visitor experience t...

27 Feb 14min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
mikkels-paskenotter
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
foreldreradet
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
treningspodden
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-bisarr-historie
rss-kull
rss-sunn-okonomi
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
sinnsyn
rss-kunsten-a-leve
hagespiren-podcast
gravid-uke-for-uke
hverdagspsyken
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
fryktlos
rss-bak-luftfarten