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Historic Carpenters' Hall
(photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)
Justice Talking began as a one-on-one, hour long
debate, taped in front of an audience at
Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia.
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An inspiring public forum
Carpenters' Hall hosted the first Continental Congress
back in 1774. The main hall is like an echo chamber;
not the best location to tape a radio show, but
everyone—including our guests—waxed poetic
when they stood and spoke in this historic building.
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The Wistar Institute
(photo courtesy of Jeffrey M. Vinocur)
After nearly three years at historic Carpenters' Hall,
we took Justice Talking on to the University of Pennsylvania
campus. The Wistar Institute provided better sound and
better space. And, it was much nearer our offices.
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With a new neighborhood, a new audience
Being on campus meant losing some of our regular audience
members, but we were energized by students who came and
participated in our programs. And sometimes we were
surprised by who attended our tapings...
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The National Constitution Center
In 2003, Justice Talking moved again. This time to
the brand new National Constitution Center in
Independence National Park. For the next two years,
live shows would be taped in the Annenberg Center for
Education and Outreach's Kirby Auditorium.
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History you can reach out and touch
The National Constitution Center provided a fitting historical
context for the topics we discussed on Justice Talking. The
radio show about the intersection of Law and American Life found
a home at the crossroads of our Constitution's history and future.
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Audience development and outreach
It could be a challenge to get people out to a 90 minute taping (sometimes two of them back-to-back)
on a weeknight. Outreach coordinator Laura Sider and intern Lizy Velez
here make sure that every audience member receives a copy of Justice
Learning's Hip Pocket Guide to the Constitution and a parking discount.
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The most informed audiences in the business
Justice Talking audiences could frequently be just as informed
on the topic of the day as our panelists. They would come
armed with questions and sometimes ready for an argument.
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The production team
Production personnel changed through the years. Here, producers
Erin Mooney and Steve Menscher attend to what the panelists are
saying while engineer Michael Comstock gets the levels right.
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Our annual Supreme Court review
We began a new tradition: at the end of the Supreme Court term
in July, we invited practicing attorneys and legal scholars to
take a look back at the most important cases decided that year.
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Going where the Issues are
Most of the time, our shows were taped in Philadelphia. Occasionally,
however, we took the show on the road. The main reason: to have an
audience that was passionately involved with the legal or policy
ideas we were debating. So, for instance, we went to Albuquerque, NM,
on September 10, 2001 to debate Native American sovereignty and
America's war on drugs.
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Margot in the New Mexico desert
You'll have to listen to the program to hear the rest of Margot's
story. And tune in next week for some of the best moments from
Justice Talking's in-studio produced shows.
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