More Perfect has been dark for four years now. But next year, hosted by Julia Longoria, we'recoming back! The past few weeks have been historic, to say the least, in Supreme Court history. So in the meantime, we want to hear from you. What do you want to know right now about the Supreme Court? What are your questions, your worries, your fears? Record a voice memo or write us a note and send it to moreperfect@wnyc.org.
This season,More Perfectis taking its camera lens off the Supreme Court and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The People have made to our Constitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both in song and in story. This episode is best listened to alongside27: The Most Perfect Album, an entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experience of original music and art inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as the audio liner notes. InMore Perfect's final episode of the season, listen to liner notes for two amendments that contemplate the still-unfinishedstatus of our Constitution. "27" is an album that marks a particular point in our history: this moment when we have 27 Amendments to our Constitution. What will be the 28th? Maybe it will address our nation's capital. The capital has been a bit of a Constitutionalanomalyfor much of our nation's history — it's at the heart of the democracy, but because it's not a state, people in Washington D.C. ...
This season,More Perfectis taking its camera lens off the Supreme Court and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The People have made to our Constitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both in song and in story. This episode is best listened to alongside27: The Most Perfect Album, an entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experience of original music and art inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as the audio liner notes. This week,More Perfecttakes a look at three amendments on themore obscureend ofthe spectrum. The 12th, 17th, and 20th Amendments madefine-tune adjustmentsto the way we pick our leaders. More Perfectis here to prove thesethree are more interesting than you think they are. For starters, the 12th Amendment is the secret star of the hit musicalHamilton.The Election of 1800 and the kerfuffle between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson was one of the reasons we passed the 12thAmendment, which made it so thatpresidential and vic...
This season, More Perfect is taking its camera lens off the Supreme Court and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The People have made to our Constitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both in song and in story. This episode is best listened to alongside 27: The Most Perfect Album, an entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experience of original music and art inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as the audio liner notes. The 25th and 26th Amendments-- ratified in 1967 and 1971, respectively-- are some of the newest additions to our founding document. However, they tackle some pretty basic questions: who gets to rule, and who gets to vote? If a president dies or is incapacitated, who takes over? And how old do you have to be in order to participate in American democracy? In recent months, the 25th Amendment has swirled in and out of news cycles as Americans debate what it takes to declare a president unfit for office. But this episo...
This season,More Perfectis takingits camera lens off the Supreme Court and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The Peoplehave made toourConstitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both in song and in story.This episode is best listened to alongside27: The Most Perfect Album,an entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experienceof original music and art inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as theaudio liner notes. On first read the16th and 22nd Amendments are at best sleepers and at worst, stinkers. In a list of Constitutionalhits like the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, and birthright citizenship, the amendmentscoveringtaxes and term limitstend to fall by the wayside. But inEpisode 6 of More Perfect's third season wetake theseforgotten gemsand make them shine. The 16th Amendment sets up the income tax, sinking dread into the hearts of millions of Americans every April. But if the income tax is so hated, why did we vote t...
This season,More Perfectis taking its camera lens off the Supreme Court and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The People have made to our Constitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both in song and in story. This episode is best listened to alongside27: The Most Perfect Album, an entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experience of original music and art inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as the audio liner notes. Amendments 13, 14, and 15 are collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments: they were passed as instructions to rebuild the country after Civil War. They addressed slavery, citizenship, equality and voting rights forblack people. This week, theMore Perfectteam explores thelegacy of the amendments beyond the Civil War — the ways thepromises of these amendments changed the country and the ways they've fallen short. First, More PerfectExecutive Producer Suzie Lechtenberg and Legal Editor Elie Mystal explore the l...
This season, More Perfect is taking its camera lens off the Supreme Court and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The People have made to our Constitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both in song and in story. This episode is best listened to alongside 27: The Most Perfect Album, an entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experience of original music and art inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as the audio liner notes.Episode Four begins, as all episodes should: with Dolly Parton. Partonwrote a song for us (!) about the 19th Amendment and women (finally) getting the right to vote.Also in this episode: Our siblings at Radiolab share a story with us that they did about how the 19th Amendment almost died on a hot summer night in Tennessee. The 19th Amendment was obviously a huge milestone for women in the United States. But it was pretty well-understood that this wasn’t a victory for all women; it was a victory for white women. Peo...
This season,More Perfectis takingits camera lens off the Supreme Court and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The Peoplehave made toourConstitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both in song and in story.This episode is best listened to alongside27: The Most Perfect Album,an entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experienceof original music and art inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as theaudio liner notes. The first eight amendments to the U.S. Constitution are literal, straightforward, and direct. But when we get to Amendments nine, 10, and 11, things get… hazy. These are some of the least literal amendments in the Constitution: they mean more than they say, and what they say is often extremely confusing. So in the third episode of the new More Perfect season we take these three blurry amendments and bring them into focus, embarking on a metaphorical, metaphysical, and somewhat astronomical journey to find the perfect analogi...
This season,More Perfectis takingits camera lens off the Supreme Court and zooming in on the words of the people: the 27 amendments that We The Peoplehave made toourConstitution. We're taking on these 27 amendments both in song and in story.This episode is best listened to alongside27: The Most Perfect Album,an entire album (an ALBUM!) and digital experienceof original music and art inspired by the 27 Amendments. Think of these episodes as theaudio liner notes. The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments enshrine some of our most important civil liberties. They tell us about the rights we have when the government knocks on our door, including protections from "unreasonable searches and seizures," self-incrimination, "cruel and unusual punishments,"and the right to "a speedy and public trial"-- among others. Episode Two looks at these amendments through the story of one man, Christopher Scott, who finds himself face-to-face with Dallas police officers as they investigate ...
Last year in the wake of the attack in Las Vegas, reporterSean Rameswaram took a deep dive into America's twisty, thorny, seemingly irreconcilable relationship with guns. It's a story about the Second Amendment, the Black Panthers, the NRA, and a guy named Dick Heller, who in 2008 brought the Second Amendment to the Supreme Court for the very first time.