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Podcast: KQED's Forum
Episode: Historian Jill Lepore on Amending the Constitution And Rep. Peter Aguilar on the Shutdown
Description: Why is it so hard to change the U.S. Constitution? Harvard historian Jill Lepore says the Constitution was intended to be amended but that we’ve all but abandoned the practice. That’s had profound consequences, leaving us with vestigial antidemocratic provisions like the Electoral College, a malapportioned Senate and life tenure for Supreme Court justices. We talk to Lepore about why amendments are so rare and whether the Constitution can survive without them. Her new book is “We the People.” We also hear from Southern California congressman Pete Aguilar about President Trump’s threats to cut “democrat” programs as th...