Other

BBC World Service Online

The Documentary

Documentaries

Factual

The Documentary Podcast

Investigating global developments, issues and affairs.

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

The Documentary: A constitutional conversation

A constitutional conversation

23/03/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - The Documentary, A constitutional conversation

Is it time the US Constitution got a 21st Century makeover?

How do you solve a problem like America? A land where speech is free - but hate rules the airwaves. A land of opportunity - where 40 million people live in poverty. A land of democracy - where the majority of Americans are under-represented in national government.

On 6 January we saw the flaws of the constitution in full view, a constitution which – according to one leading academic “gets close to a failing grade in terms of 21st-Century notions on democratic theory".

Award winning journalist Brian Palmer asks if the near sacred text is fit for modern governance. Does the electoral college deliver adequate representation for everybody? Do check and balances place too great a strain on good governance? Is the Constitution key to solving America’s ills?

Producer: Glyn Tansley

(Photo: The US Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Credit: Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Documentary

A constitutional conversation

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service