Jesse Wegman
Journalist and writerWikipedia
18
MENTIONS
7
EPISODES
7
PODCASTS
Search complete. 18 mentions across 7 episodes found for "Jesse Wegman".
Oct 22, 2026
Garrett SnedekerHOST
I'm your host, Garrett Snedeker.
Garrett SnedekerHOST
As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, Jesse Wegman's new biography, The Lost Founder, has brought fresh attention to James Wilson, our namesake.
Garrett SnedekerHOST
Wilson, the Scottish-born signer of the Declaration and the Constitution, author of the first full draft of the Constitution that began with We the People, and George Washington's first appointment to the Supreme Court, was certainly due a new biography.
Garrett SnedekerHOST
Wegman, a former New York Times editorial board member and Brennan Center senior fellow though, presents Wilson a bit differently than we do at the James Wilson Institute.
Garrett SnedekerHOST
It is an absolute treat to have two of the finest authorities on our Institute's namesake, James Wilson, joining us today, Professor Roberta Bayer of Patrick Henry College and Dr. Candice Turman.
Garrett SnedekerHOST
We are delighted for the benefit of our listeners to be able to bring both Roberta and Candice together because just last month, we're recording this episode in mid-October, just last month, We had a symposium that took up a popular new biography of our namesake, James Wilson, and the symposium sought to critically address some of the concerning aspects of this new biography.
Garrett SnedekerHOST
And this new biography by Jesse Wegman, lawyer and author, really tells a nice story, meaning it moves well.
Garrett SnedekerHOST
The book casts Wilson as sort of the figure that is underappreciated in the pre-revolutionary and the revolutionary and then the post-revolutionary era of the United States.
Tom JosephGUEST
He, um...
Tom JosephGUEST
There's a book that came out on him this, uh, summer by Jesse Wegman, who's a New York Times writer and, uh, a fellow at the Brennan Center, called The Lost Founder, and he talks about the history of James Wilson.
Tom JosephGUEST
In fact, of all the founders, he was the one that really believed in popular sovereignty.
Tom JosephGUEST
All those words that Jefferson put in the Declaration of Independence, a lot of them were his words, and, um, he just kinda got buried in history.
David GellmanHOST
Welcome, podcast friends, to Revolutionary America, a podcast hosted by New Books Network in collaboration with the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, known fondly as SHEER.
David GellmanHOST
I'm David Gellman at Colgate University, and we're here to talk to Jesse Wegman, author of The Lost Founder, James Wilson, and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution.
David GellmanHOST
Welcome, Jesse.
David GellmanHOST
Thank you so much for having me.
53 MINS LATER
Jesse WegmanGUEST
And I think it's time to bring him back and to complicate the story of the American founding and broaden it, enrich it, so that we can all better understand where we come from and where we might be headed.
David GellmanHOST
Well, you've made a very strong case for what's revolutionary about your book.
David GellmanHOST
So I will skip to the very last question, which is simply, what is next, at least as a writer, for Jesse Wegman?
Jesse WegmanGUEST
Oh, I don't, you know, I'm, I'm sort of taking a break.
David N. GellmanHOST
Welcome, podcast friends, to Revolutionary America, a podcast hosted by New Books Network in collaboration with the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, known fondly as SHEAR.
David N. GellmanHOST
I'm David Gelman at Colgate University, and we're here to talk to Jesse Wegman, author of The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution.
David N. GellmanHOST
Welcome, Jesse.
Jesse WegmanGUEST
Thank you so much for having me.
54 MINS LATER
Jesse WegmanGUEST
Um, but who knows? I, I, I, I just think it's a great story, and I'm happy to be able to start to bring it back to the American public in a way that I think, you know, he deserves.
Jesse WegmanGUEST
He, he deserves to be a part of the story that we tell, and he has been gone from our national narrative for, for far too long, 250 years or so, and I think it's time to bring him back and to complicate the story of the American founding and, and, and, and broaden it, enrichen it, um, uh, enrich it, uh, so that we can all better understand where we come from and where we might be headed.
David N. GellmanHOST
Well, you've made a very strong case for what's revolutionary about your book, so I will skip to the very last question, which is simply, what is next, at least as a writer, for Jesse Wegman?
Jesse WegmanGUEST
Oh, I don't-- I-- You know, I'm, I'm sort of taking a break.
David WilkHOST
I'm your host, David Wilk.
David WilkHOST
Today, I'm talking to Jesse Wegman about his latest book, The Lost Founder, James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution.
David WilkHOST
Hi, Jesse.
David WilkHOST
How are you? Good.
32 MINS LATER
David WilkHOST
This has been Writer's Cast, a podcast about books and authors.
David WilkHOST
I'm David Wilk.
David WilkHOST
I've been talking to Jesse Wegman about his great book, The Lost Founder.
David WilkHOST
Thanks so much.
Julie SilverbrookHOST
Jane E. Calvert, author of Penman of the Founding, a biography of John Dickinson.
Julie SilverbrookHOST
Scott S. Greenberger, author of The Forsaken Founder, Gouverneur Morris, the unsung patriot who wrote the Constitution, stood up to slavery and survived the reign of terror, and Jesse Wegman, author of The Lost Founder, James Wilson, and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution.
Julie SilverbrookHOST
Good evening, everyone, and happy Constitution Day.
Julie SilverbrookHOST
We're so glad that you're with us this evening.
Jesse WegmanGUEST
Sure.
Jesse WegmanGUEST
Hi, everyone.
Jesse WegmanGUEST
I'm Jesse Wegman, and I just want to say...
Jesse WegmanGUEST
Thank you to the National Constitution Center for hosting this event and to Vince and to Julie and to Charles for making this all happen and making us all feel so welcome.
Stan NawalaniecHOST
Right.
Stan NawalaniecHOST
There's a new book out about him by historian Jesse Wegman called The Lost Founder, James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution.
Stan NawalaniecHOST
I got a little clip here from Wegman as he talks about the end of James Wilson, his life.
Stan NawalaniecHOST
He's in North Carolina and he's got another warrant for his arrest.
Stan NawalaniecHOST
A third time.
Stan NawalaniecHOST
And here is historian and author Jesse Wegman talking about the end of Wilson's life.
Stan NawalaniecHOST
And it's it's horrible.
Jesse WegmanSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
He runs to down to coastal North Carolina where his friend and fellow Supreme Court Justice James Iredell lives in a small town called Edenton.