History As It Happens

Origins of the Imperial Presidency

Episode Summary

Episode guest: Jeremi Suri

Episode Notes

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The Constitution created what were supposed to be three coequal branches, and only Congress was given the authority to declare war. Yet we are living in the age of the imperial presidency — of endless war, executive orders, government secrecy, and a lack of accountability. These are all fit for a monarchy instead of a republic.

How did we get here? What structures led to the rise of the imperial presidency? What decisions led to this unintended consequence undermining the American democratic experiment?

Our guest is Jeremi Suri, who teaches history at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He’s the author of The Impossible Presidency and co-host of This is Democracy podcast.

Suri also writes the Democracy of Hope newsletter.