What was the Kerner Commission Report, and why is it one of the most fundamental Congressional Reports in US history? Walk back to 1968 with us in this audience-requested episode about the report that changed the course of one of the most influential elections in US history and told the American public that we were moving towards two societies: one White and one Black.

This week, we launch a new sub-series: Mother of Democracy that combines my work in women's health with my civics work. Trigger alert: we talk about rape, cults, and femicide, so this one is not family friendly.

In our season finale of the Civic Flame, we look at a truly load-bearing amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment includes birthright citizenship, due process, privileges and immunities, equal protection, and more!

We go through the five sections of this game-changer and talk about how the Fourteenth Amendment fundamentally altered US citizenship and why todays' legal civil war is trying to attack it. Let's go!

00:00:55 The Fourteenth Amendment is a big deal

00:01:35 Section 1 of the 14th Amendment and Birthright Citizenship

00:04:00 Birthright Citizenship and US v Wong Kim Ark

00:06:22 Privileges and Immunities were supposed to be a big deal

00:09:22 Due Process and Equal Protection are for persons not just citizens

00:12:00 The 14th Amendment and the Doctrine of Selective Incorporation

00:14:00 Right to an attorney and civil Gideon

00:14:12 Section 2 of the 14th Amendment and representation

00:16:40 Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and the Insurrection Clause

00:19:33 We’re in a legal civil war

00:21:00 Section 4 of the 14th Amendment and refusal to pay the confederate traitors

00:24:50 Section 5 of the 14th Amendment and reaffirming Legislative Supremacy

00:26:00 Season one finale!

00:23:00 Thank you!

In this episode, we take a look at the 9th and 10th Amendment and talk about why most people are not reading the Constitution as radically as they should. We get all of the rights, that's just the purpose of federalism. Want to be a Constitutional radical, too? Let's go!

00:00:30 I’m a Constitutional Radical

00:00:52 The Bill of Rights was not a complete list

00:02:00 The Anti-Federalists and Federalists both wanted a government of limited powers

00:02:47 What does the Ninth Amendment say?

00:03:41 The Ninth Amendment deserves its time to shine!

00:05:04 What does the Tenth Amendment say?

00:05:35 Texans and the US Flag Code and when Vermont was its own country

00:06:56 The Constitutional Revolution of 1937 alters federalism for the New Deal

00:08:01 Next time, we’ll start the 14th Amendment!

00:08:30 Thank you

This week, we talk about the vital role of lawyers in our criminal and civil justice systems through the Sixth and Seventh Amendments. We try not to make lawyer jokes (and fail). If you've ever wondered what is the difference between criminal and civil law: this one is for you.

00:00:30 The Bill of Rights and Lawyers: Amendment 6 and 7

00:01:05 I try not to make lawyer jokes

00:01: 39 Lawyers were “ambulance chasers” because they protected you from insurance companies

00:02:26 Clarence Darrow and the Cook County Jail Speech

00:03:00 What does the Sixth Amendment Say

00:03:30 How are criminal and civil law different?

00:04:30 The burden of proof is different, and that matters

00:05:01 The government can’t keep secrets from you about the allegations against you

00:05:42 Changes of venue tick people off see Enron and Rodney King Jury trials are a part of social justice through the criminal justice system. Messing with them undermines the system.

00:06:18 Most cases never go to trial

00:07:42 Public Defenders and Gideon v Wainwright

00:09:25 Gideon says lawyers are not a luxury, they are mandatory

00:10:27 What does the Seventh Amendment say?

00:11:40 What is Civil Gideon?

00:12:04 Next week the 9th and 10th Amendments!

00:12:30 Thank you!

This week, we take a look at the Fifth and Eighth Amendments to the US Constitution and ask: what is due process? What does double jeopardy mean? And when do your Fifth Amendment rights apply? Come and nerd out about due process: your biggest protections from the federal government!

00:00:30 What is the Bill of Rights

00:01:17 Civil Liberties and what is Due Process

00:01:41 The Fifth Amendment

00:02:46 What does due process require

00:03:00 What are grand juries?

00:04:00 What is double jeopardy?

00:05:30 What is the burden of proof?

00:05:51 What does it mean to “plead the Fifth”?

00:07:00 When does custodial interrogation start?

00:07:30 AI data centers and the future of eminent domain

00:08:30 What does the Eighth Amendment say?

00:09:41 To spot legal inequality look at how different groups are treated differently (see also: the Epstein Files)

00:12:00 Thank you!

In this episode we look at the long and winding history of the Fourth Amendment, why the Federalists were against a Bill of Rights, and how the Fourth Amendment has been interpreted differently over time. Ever wonder what the Patriot Act did to civil liberties or whether the Fourth Amendment covers you in your car (sort of!), then let's go.

00:00:33 Intro to the Bill of Rights and Due Process

00:01:24 What the Fourth Amendment Says

00:02:54 Why the Federalists Opposed a Bill of Rights

00:05:10 Check out UW Madison Center for the Study of the American Constitution

00:06:21 The Supreme Court and limits on the Fourth Amendment and the Castle Doctrine

00:06:59 Key Fourth Amendment Cases

00:07:22 Olmstead v US, wire tapping, Nardone v US, and fruit of the poison tree

00:0810 Katz v US and Carpenter: What/Who is Covered in Privacy?

00:10:07 What about warrants and public? Thornton v Caldor and land rights

00:11:37 Probably Cause, Warrants, Terry Stops (Terry v Ohio), and Mapp v Ohio

00:12:54 Details of Mapp v Ohio and Selective Incorporation

00:14:10 Terry Stops and the early “stop and frisk” questions

00:14:54 The Patriot Act and erosion of civil liberties

00:18:43 Conclusion

00:19:19 Thanks!

Today we get into the Second and Third Amendments. The Third Amendment is our non-controversial fave that says the government can't quarter (though I accidentally say quarantine!) soldiers in your home. The Second Amendment says something about the right to bear arms and maybe more? We get into questions of legal interpretation, mental health, and why it's so difficult to make national laws about something that is a deeply regional issue. Grab your thinking caps and come learn why I enjoy firing a bolt action rifle (it's the analog generation in me). Let's go!

00:01:00 The Bill of Rights says the government should stay out of our business

00:02:00 The Firearms Industry and politicians use fear to distort the narrative

00:03:00 What the Second Amendment actually says

00:03:08 The Second Amendment writers got a little crazy with the commas

00:03:39 Selective Incorporation and the history of gun regulations, especially for Black men

00:05:22 DC v Heller brings up some questions and changes with the 14th Amendment and incorporation

00:06:00 Originalism and the “the constitution made me do it” doctrine

00:08:00 Operative Clauses, the gun lobby, and questions of interpretation and the purpose of militia

00:08: 48 Guns as a mental health issues, for-profit mass radicalization, and the benefit to the gun lobby

00:10:35 A Majority of Americans favor gun safety laws but we need to remember regional culture

00:11:41 We have good gun safety laws on the books, but they’re not always enforced

00:13:15 Extremism, Misogynistic Violence, and public health complicate gun laws

00:15:05 The Second Amendment is not a second-class right

00:16:00 Guns won’t protect you from the government ask Philando Castile and Alex Pretti

00:17:43 The Third Amendment: the non-problematic fave of Amendments (where I say “quarantine” but should say “quarter” sorry! #CovidShellshock)

00:19:01 Coming Soon: Due Process and Privacy!