"Exploring how faith and freedom of conscience can promote the common good. "

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, Melody Barnes, Executive Director of Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia, the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, and Rabbi David Saperstein, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, join to discuss the role of faith and freedom of conscience in advancing the common good and strengthening democratic society. Jeffrey Rosen, senior fellow at FIRE and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center, moderates. This program was originally recorded as part of the September 16th Dallin H. Oaks Evening Program at the Washington National Cathedral, a part of the Cathedral’s A Better Way initiative. You can hear the entire program at the Washington National Cathedral’s podcast, Crossroads.

Participants

Melody Barnes is executive director of the UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy and a professor of practice at the Miller Center. During the administration of President Barack Obama, Barnes was assistant to the president and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, the first woman elected to the position. She also serves as the chair of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which stewards the ministries of the Washington National Cathedral and Cathedral schools.

Rabbi David Saperstein is director emeritus of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, having served as its director and counsel for 40 years. He also served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom during the second term of the Obama administration.

Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

Additional Resources

• Dallin H. Oaks Evening Program
• Crossroads, the Washington National Cathedral’s podcast

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Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans—especially freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

"Exploring the career and contributions of the Penman of the Revolution"

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, historian Jane E. Calvert discusses the life and legacy of John Dickinson. The program also features readings from Calvert’s new Dickinson biography, a performance of Dickinson’s “The Liberty Song,” and original compositions with music and lyrics by Jeffrey Rosen. Rosen moderates. This episode was originally recorded as a Clarke Forum program at Dickinson College.

Participants

Jane E. Calvert is the founder, director, and chief editor of the John Dickinson Writings Project (JDP) and associate professor of History at the University of Kentucky (UK). She is the author of Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson, the first comprehensive biography of the key American founder John Dickinson

Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

Additional Resources

• Jane E. Calvert, Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson (2024)
• Jane E. Calvert, Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson (2012)
• John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania (1767-1768)
• Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How the Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024)
• Pursuit of Happiness: Two Song Cycles by Jeffrey Rosen
• The Golden Mean: Songs for the Pursuit of Happiness

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Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

"The American Idea with America’s patriotic philanthropist"

SHOW NOTES: In this special episode of The Blessings of Liberty, a celebration of Constitution Day, investor, philanthropist, and historian David Rubenstein walks through the nation’s semiquincentennial, the big ideas of the Declaration and the Constitution, and the importance of history and reading in today’s climate.

Participants

David Rubenstein is the Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private investment firms. He is principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Chairman of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees, and a leader in the area of Patriotic Philanthropy.

Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

Additional Resources

• David M. Rubenstein, The Highest Calling: Conversations on the American Presidency (2024)
• David M. Rubenstein, The American Experiment: Dialogues on a Dream (2021)
• Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America (2025)
• Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How the Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024)

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Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans—especially freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

"Exploring the inspirations, advocacy, and struggle behind the Thirteenth Amendment"

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, award-winning journalist Damon Root joins to discuss his most recent book, Emancipation War: The Fall of Slavery and the Coming of the Thirteenth Amendment. In Emancipation War, Root chronicles the wide-ranging movement against slavery― consisting of white and Black visionaries operating both inside and outside the halls of power, fighting both on and off the battlefield― that made the Constitution’s antislavery Thirteenth Amendment possible.

Participants

Damon Root is a senior editor of Reason magazine and the author of Reason’s semiweekly Injustice System newsletter. He is the author of three books, including the 2020 work, A Glorious Liberty: Frederick Douglass and the Fight for an Antislavery Constitution.

Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

Additional Resources

• Damon Root, Emancipation War: The Fall of Slavery and the Coming of the Thirteenth Amendment (2026)
• Damon Root, A Glorious Liberty: Frederick Douglass and the Fight for an Antislavery Constitution (2020)
• Damon Root, Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court (2014)

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• Explore Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness
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Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans—especially freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

"Exploring In Pursuit"

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, Colleen Shogan, the CEO of In Pursuit, joins to discuss a new national initiative. In Pursuit, a More Perfect project, features a set of essays on U.S. Presidents and select First Ladies. Contributors – including three former Presidents, three former First Ladies, Chief Justice John Roberts, and seven Pulitzer Prize winners– reflect on each figure to distill a key lesson about the American experiment. Jeffrey Rosen, senior fellow at FIRE and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Participants

Colleen Shogan is the CEO of In Pursuit and served as the 11th Archivist of the United States. Prior to becoming Archivist, Shogan served as Senior Vice President and Director of the David M. Rubenstein Center at the White House Historical Association, worked in the United States Senate, and served as a senior executive at the Library of Congress and its Congressional Research Service.

Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

Additional Resources

• In Pursuit
• George W. Bush, “For a Leader, Humility is the Ultimate Strength,” In Pursuit (2026)
• William J. Clinton, “An Even More Perfect Union Requires an Even Wider ‘We,’” In Pursuit (2026)
• Barack Obama, “Individual Liberty is Served by the Pursuit of the Common Good,” In Pursuit (2026)
• John Roberts, “Maintain Your Dignity and Principles Through Defeat,” In Pursuit (2026)

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• Explore Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness

Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans—especially freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

SHOW NOTES: Ted Widmer joins to discuss his recent book, The Living Declaration: A Biography of America’s Founding Text. Widmer traces the antecedents of the Declaration’s big ideas and finds in the words of succeeding generations of Americans, and people around the globe, the key to understanding the durability of America’s founding ideas.

Participants

Ted Widmer was Distinguished Lecturer at the Macaulay Honors College of the CUNY. A former director of the John Carter Brown Library and the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, he is the author of 10 books and recipient of the Lincoln Forum Book Prize.

Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

Additional Resources

• Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on the Supreme Court Decision on Marriage Equality” (2015)
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
• Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream” (1963)
• Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States” (1876)
• Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address” (1863)

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Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

"Exploring the big ideas at the heart of the American experiment"

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, law professor Robert P. George joins to discuss the philosophical underpinnings of the American Founding, the original meaning of “the pursuit of happiness,” the centrality of education to the formation of virtue, and the importance of structural safeguards for the protection of liberty. Jeffrey Rosen moderates. This episode was originally recorded as a program with the Chautauqua Institution.

Participants

Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. He also chairs the New Jersey Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. His most recent book is Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth: Law and Morality in Our Cultural Moment (2025).

Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

Additional Resources

• Robert P. George | Chautauqua Lecture Series
• Robert P. George, Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth: Law and Morality in Our Cultural Moment (2025)
• Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America (2025)
• James Madison, “Federalist No. 10” (1787)
• James Madison, “Federalist No. 51” (1788)

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Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans—especially freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.

"Recounting the ultimate road trip through the American past"

SHOW NOTES: In this episode of The Blessings of Liberty, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Beverly Gage joins to discuss her most recent book, This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History. In this book, Gage recounts her travels to the museums, historic sites, roadside attractions, reenactments, and souvenir shops where Americans learn and fight about our history. From the birth of the nation in Philadelphia to Disneyland and the California dream, This Land Is Your Land offers a guided tour of thirteen places and thirteen key moments that define America's greatest successes and challenges.

Participants

Beverly Gage is the John Lewis Gaddis Professor of History at Yale University. Her book G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, a biography of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy.

Jeffrey Rosen is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.

Additional Resources

• Beverly Gage, This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History (2026)
• Beverly Gage, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century (2023)

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• Explore Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness
• Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen

Thank you to our presenting sponsor, FIRE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans—especially freedom of speech and free thought. Learn more about FIRE’s work at FIRE.org/blessings.