Try free for 30 days
-
The Year of Living Constitutionally
- One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning
- Narrated by: A.J. Jacobs
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Pre-order for $28.53
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also picked
-
The Know-It-All
- One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Cantor
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in his career, A.J. Jacobs put his Ivy League education to work at Entertainment Weekly. He emerged five years later knowing which stars have fake boobs, which stars have toupees, which have both, and not much else. This realization led Jacobs on a life-changing quest: to read the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 33,000 pages, all 44 million words.
-
Says Who?
- A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words
- By: Anne Curzan
- Narrated by: Anne Curzan
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our use of language naturally evolves and is a living breathing thing that reflects who we are. Says Who? offers clear, nuanced guidance that goes beyond “right” and “wrong” to empower us to make informed language choices. Never snooty or scoldy (yes, that’s a “real” word!), this book explains where the grammar rules we learned in school actually come from and reveals the forces that drive dictionary editors to label certain words as slang or unacceptable.
-
A Farewell to Arfs
- Chet and Bernie Mysteries, Book 15
- By: Spencer Quinn
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chet the dog, "the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction" (Boston Globe), and his human partner PI Bernie Little are back again, and this time they're entangled in a web of crime unlike anything they've ever seen before. Their next-door neighbor, Mr. Parsons, thought he was doing the right thing by loaning his ne'er do well son, Billy, some money to help get himself settled. But days later, Mr. Parsons has discovered that his entire life savings is gone. Valley PD is certain this is an impersonation scam, but Bernie isn't so sure.
-
The Exvangelicals
- Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church
- By: Sarah McCammon
- Narrated by: Sarah McCammon
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up in a deeply evangelical family in the Midwest in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sarah McCammon was strictly taught to fear God, obey him, and not question the faith. Persistently worried that her gay grandfather would go to hell unless she could reach him, or that her Muslim friend would need to be converted, and that she, too, would go to hell if she did not believe fervently enough, McCammon was a rule-follower. But through it all, she was plagued by fears and deep questions as the belief system she'd been carefully taught clashed with her expanding understanding of the outside world.
-
Life After Power
- Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House
- By: Jared Cohen
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former presidents have an unusual place in American life. King George III believed that George Washington’s departure after two terms made him “the greatest character of the age.” But Alexander Hamilton worried former presidents might “[wander] among the people like ghosts.” They were both right. Life After Power tells the stories of seven former presidents, from the Founding to today. Each changed history. Each offered lessons about how to decide what to do in the next chapter of life.
-
What This Comedian Said Will Shock You
- By: Bill Maher
- Narrated by: Bill Maher
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some of the smartest commentary about what’s happening in America is coming from a comedian—this comedian being Bill Maher. If you want to understand what’s wrong with this country, it turns out that one of the best informed and most thought-provoking analysts is this very funny pothead.
-
The Know-It-All
- One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
- By: A. J. Jacobs
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Cantor
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in his career, A.J. Jacobs put his Ivy League education to work at Entertainment Weekly. He emerged five years later knowing which stars have fake boobs, which stars have toupees, which have both, and not much else. This realization led Jacobs on a life-changing quest: to read the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 33,000 pages, all 44 million words.
-
Says Who?
- A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words
- By: Anne Curzan
- Narrated by: Anne Curzan
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our use of language naturally evolves and is a living breathing thing that reflects who we are. Says Who? offers clear, nuanced guidance that goes beyond “right” and “wrong” to empower us to make informed language choices. Never snooty or scoldy (yes, that’s a “real” word!), this book explains where the grammar rules we learned in school actually come from and reveals the forces that drive dictionary editors to label certain words as slang or unacceptable.
-
A Farewell to Arfs
- Chet and Bernie Mysteries, Book 15
- By: Spencer Quinn
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chet the dog, "the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction" (Boston Globe), and his human partner PI Bernie Little are back again, and this time they're entangled in a web of crime unlike anything they've ever seen before. Their next-door neighbor, Mr. Parsons, thought he was doing the right thing by loaning his ne'er do well son, Billy, some money to help get himself settled. But days later, Mr. Parsons has discovered that his entire life savings is gone. Valley PD is certain this is an impersonation scam, but Bernie isn't so sure.
-
The Exvangelicals
- Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church
- By: Sarah McCammon
- Narrated by: Sarah McCammon
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up in a deeply evangelical family in the Midwest in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sarah McCammon was strictly taught to fear God, obey him, and not question the faith. Persistently worried that her gay grandfather would go to hell unless she could reach him, or that her Muslim friend would need to be converted, and that she, too, would go to hell if she did not believe fervently enough, McCammon was a rule-follower. But through it all, she was plagued by fears and deep questions as the belief system she'd been carefully taught clashed with her expanding understanding of the outside world.
-
Life After Power
- Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House
- By: Jared Cohen
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former presidents have an unusual place in American life. King George III believed that George Washington’s departure after two terms made him “the greatest character of the age.” But Alexander Hamilton worried former presidents might “[wander] among the people like ghosts.” They were both right. Life After Power tells the stories of seven former presidents, from the Founding to today. Each changed history. Each offered lessons about how to decide what to do in the next chapter of life.
-
What This Comedian Said Will Shock You
- By: Bill Maher
- Narrated by: Bill Maher
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some of the smartest commentary about what’s happening in America is coming from a comedian—this comedian being Bill Maher. If you want to understand what’s wrong with this country, it turns out that one of the best informed and most thought-provoking analysts is this very funny pothead.
Publisher's Summary
“I didn’t know how I learned so much while laughing so hard.”—Andy Borowitz
A.J. Jacobs learned the hard way that donning a tricorne hat and marching around Manhattan with a 1700s musket will earn you a lot of strange looks. In the wake of several controversial rulings by the Supreme Court and the on-going debate about how the Constitution should be interpreted, Jacobs set out to understand what it means to live by the Constitution.
In The Year of Living Constitutionally, A.J. Jacobs tries to get inside the minds of the Founding Fathers by living as closely as possible to the original meaning of the Constitution. He asserts his right to free speech by writing his opinions on parchment with a quill and handing them out to strangers in Times Square. He consents to quartering a soldier, as is his Third Amendment right. He turns his home into a traditional 1790s household by lighting candles instead of using electricity, boiling mutton, and—because women were not allowed to sign contracts— feebly attempting to take over his wife’s day job, which involves a lot of contract negotiations.
The book blends unforgettable adventures—delivering a handwritten petition to Congress, applying for a Letter of Marque to become a legal pirate for the government, and battling redcoats as part of a Revolutionary War reenactment group—with dozens of interviews from constitutional experts from both sides. Jacobs dives deep into originalism and living constitutionalism, the two rival ways of interpreting the document.
Much like he did with the Bible in The Year of Living Biblically, Jacobs provides a crash course on our Constitution as he experiences the benefits and perils of living like it’s the 1790s. He relishes, for instance, the slow thinking of the era, free from social media alerts. But also discovers the progress we’ve made since 1789 when married women couldn’t own property.
Now more than ever, Americans need to understand the meaning and value of the Constitution. As politicians and Supreme Court Justices wage a high-stakes battle over how literally we should interpret the Constitution, A.J. Jacobs provides an entertaining yet illuminating look into how this storied document fits into our democracy today.
Critic Reviews
“Since The Year of Living Constitutionally is by A.J Jacobs, I knew it would be hilarious, but I was unprepared for how thoughtful and erudite it turned out to be. I don’t know how I learned so much while laughing so hard. This book is more fun than a cruise on a super yacht with a Supreme Court justice, and considerably less expensive.”—Andy Borowitz
“This book, written with a light heart and a gentle touch but a very big brain and a deep soul, might be just what’s needed to help turn the fateful tide we confront. It’s a journey that’s at once hilarious and educational. Everyone should read it.”—Laurence Tribe, author of The Invisible Constitution, Harvard Constitutional Law professor emeritus
“I’ll be honest: This is a really funny book. A.J. sets out to be faithful to the Constitution in the most literal way possible, and hilarity ensues. But at the same time, it’s deeply insightful about the promise and problems of living under a political order framed almost a quarter of a millennium ago. And—dare I say it—the book actually offers better ideas about how to improve modern constitutional democracy than most legal scholarship.”—Kermit Roosevelt, University of Pennsylvania constitutional law professor and author