Part One
We have endured the Civil War, the Jim Crow era, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights movement, and so much more. Many think we are in another significant period of change and turmoil. How should history inform our understanding of today’s democracy? What lessons can we learn to help sustain our system, especially given the current threats? Joining Josh Douglas to discuss those issues is author, historian, and professor Heather Cox Richardson. Heather is a professor at Boston College, teaching several courses on American history. Her most recent book is Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, where she traces the history of our democracy to its roots, using the past as a lesson for our future. She also publishes the newsletter Letters from an American, where she examines current political developments

Part Two
We hear a lot about how the current Supreme Court focuses on originalism, or the idea that it must interpret the Constitution just how the Framers would have understood it. Under this theory, judges should not really consider how a constitutional principle might operate in today’s society. Instead, they must figure out the original public meaning of a word or clause and interpret the phrase consistently with that understanding. How did the Court fully embrace this idea? Is it the proper way to construe the Constitution? Joining Josh Douglas to discuss the reasons behind the Court’s current approach is Madiba Dennie. She’s the Deputy Editor and Senior Contributor at the critical legal commentary outlet Balls and Strikes. She’s also the author of a great new book, “The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back.”