Constitution Breakdown #8: Jill Lepore

This is the eighth episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution. This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article V, which lays out the process to amend the Constitution, alongside historian and author Jill Lepore.

Jill Lepore is an American History professor at Harvard, a staff writer for The New Yorker, and author of These Truths: A History of the United States. Her newest book is We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution. She tells this history through amendments — the 27 that succeeded, and the thousands that have failed.

In the conversation, Lepore lays out her thesis that the Constitution is truly meant to be amended, explains why Article V amendments have become functionally impossible, and tells some fascinating stories about the people who have championed amendments.