Is the United States a “nation of immigrants”? Depends whom you ask. But one thing is certain: who counts as worthy of being American has always been contingent and politicized. Amanda Frost takes Will, Siva and their class on a journey through immigration history.

The biggest roadblock to democratic progress in the United States may be the U.S. Constitution itself. We turn to a political theorist and a constitutional law professor — and ask them what the heck Americans can do about it.

Fraught as it is, democracy is still America’s best bet for a good society, says author and legal scholar Jed Purdy. But that means people need to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the messy business of politics: to become framers themselves.