Brennan Center LIVE

What's at Stake on State Ballots Oct 31, 2024

Electing a president is not the only high-stakes choice voters will make in November. In Ohio, citizens will vote on a constitutional amendment that would end gerrymandering. Voters in 10 states have the opportunity to amend their state constitutions to affirm or expand protections for abortion care. Three states will decide whether to remove language against same-sex marriage from their state constitutions.

All states but Delaware require voters to approve proposed amendments to state constitutions. Half of all states have a constitutional right to direct democracy, allowing citizens to place statutory or constitutional proposals on the ballot and pass them by popular vote. But some lawmakers and other elected officials are making a concerted effort to reduce citizens’ power to enact policy through ballot initiatives.

Listen to a recording of our experts panel’s virtual discussion on state ballots issues in the 2024 election and trends to watch out for.

Speakers:

Amanda Becker, Washington Correspondent, The 19th; Author, You Must Stand Up: The Fight for Abortion Rights in Post-Dobbs America
Alice Clapman, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center Democracy Program
John Matsusaka, Charles F. Sexton Chair in American Enterprise, Professor of Finance and Business Economics, Executive Director of Initiative and Referendum Institute, USC Marshall School of Business
Moderator: Alicia Bannon, Director, Brennan Center Judiciary Program; Editor in Chief, State Court Report

Produced in partnership with State Court Report. Recorded on October 29, 2024.

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Promoting Justice and Public Safety Since the Pandemic Oct 23, 2024

Crime has long been a political wedge issue used to stoke anxiety and stir division, and this election cycle has been no different. Although the pandemic crime spike is receding, the politicians who fearmongered about crime in 2020 continue to call for harsher punishments and the repeal of reforms.

Law enforcement officials and other experts understand that public safety and fairness are not competing interests — they go hand in hand. Brennan Center research proves as much, and groups like Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime & Incarceration know it from experience. This group of current and former leaders of the law enforcement community, convened by the Brennan Center, draws on their expertise to advocate for a fairer criminal justice system and works to reduce incarceration while keeping communities safe.

Listen to a recording of our experts panel’s virtual discussion on the latest data on crime trends and the importance of focusing on facts rather than myths.

Speakers:

Rosemary Nidiry, Senior Counsel, Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration, Brennan Center Justice Program
Beth McCann, District Attorney, Denver, Colorado; Member, Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration
Shon F. Barnes, Chief of Police, Madison, Wisconsin; Member, Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration
Ames Grawert, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center Justice Program
Moderator: Natalie Tennant, Former West Virginia Secretary of State

Produced in partnership with Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime & Incarceration, a project of the Brennan Center. It was recorded on October 17, 2024.

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Latinos and the Far Right Oct 17, 2024

A white supremacist of color seems like a contradiction. Yet recent years have brought to light unsettling examples, including an Afro-Latino leader of the Proud Boys and a Latino mass shooter with neo-Nazi sympathies. These men are among a small but growing number of Latinos in the United States who gravitate toward the far right and adopt radical views on race, Christian nationalism, and immigration.

In an eye-opening new book, Defectors, Emmy Award–winning journalist Paola Ramos uses interviews, historical context, and expert analysis to shatter the longtime understanding of Latinos as a political monolith and uncover a diversity of opinion that makes room for white nationalists and avowed racists.

Listen to a recording of our expert panel’s virtual discussion of this alarming trend.

Speakers:

Paola Ramos, Author, Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America; MSNBC Contributor
Michael German, Former Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Fellow, Brennan Center Liberty & National Security Program
Eduardo Gamarra, Professor of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University
Moderator: Mireya Navarro, Editor in Chief, Brennan en español

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Recorded on October 10, 2024.

Check out Paola Ramos’s new book here: Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America (bookshop.org)

You can subscribe to Brennan en español’s Spanish-language newsletter here: https://go.brennancenter.org/suscribirse

Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

The Fight Against Originalism Continues Oct 10, 2024

In its last term, the Supreme Court undermined the federal government’s power to solve problems and the people’s ability to hold their political leaders accountable. The Court was flooded with false historical arguments, and the justices relied on profoundly flawed ideas about the deep American past to help justify their radical overhaul of the law. Additionally, the Court’s conservative supermajority was forced to confront the implications of one of its most damaging originalist rulings, Bruen, which undermined gun control nationwide. Meanwhile, in lower courts around the country, judges are dealing with a deluge of cases under the Court’s new history-based rules about abortion, guns, and affirmative action.

Where does the fight against originalism stand in 2024? And what might come next?

Listen to a recording of our virtual discussion with leading historians and Brennan Center experts exploring some of the Supreme Court’s most significant recent rulings, how they’ll shape upcoming legal debate, and how the Court’s disastrous originalist opinions are affecting hundreds of millions of lives.

Speakers:

Jonathan Gienapp, Associate Professor of Law, Associate Professor of History, Stanford University; Author, Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique
Gautham Rao, Associate Professor of History, American University
Rachel Shelden, Associate Professor of History, Director of George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center, Pennsylvania State University
Thomas Wolf, Director of Democracy Initiatives, Founder of Historians Council on the Constitution, Brennan Center
Moderator: Kareem Crayton, Vice President for Washington, DC, Brennan Center

Produced with support from the Kohlberg Center on the U.S. Supreme Court. Recorded on October 2, 2024.

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You can check out Jonathan Gienapp’s book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/against-constitutional-originalism-a-historical-critique-jonathan-gienapp/21320944?ean=9780300265859

Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

What to Expect From the Supreme Court Term Oct 04, 2024

On October 7, the Supreme Court begins its 2024–2025 term — the fourth in which it is dominated by a supermajority of conservative justices.

Just months after a disastrous presidential immunity decision, and in the face of continued controversy over the justices’ ethics and partisanship, the Court will reconvene to hear arguments on issues with profound consequences for American life.

Among the questions on the docket: whether so-called “ghost guns” are subject to regulation, whether prosecutorial misconduct invalidates a death sentence, the power of federal agencies to protect waterways, the applicability of criminal sentence reduction laws, and access to gender-affirming medical care.

This live panel featured Brennan Center President Michael Waldman, who served on the 2021 Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court, and Brennan Center Senior Fellow Caroline Fredrickson, former president of the American Constitution Society. They were interviewed by constitutional law scholar Wilfred Codrington III.

It was recorded on September 25, 2024.

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The Experts’ Guide to Free and Fair Elections Sep 27, 2024

Election workers are unsung heroes, ensuring behind the scenes that our elections run smoothly and securely. Yet many people don’t fully grasp what their job entails, leaving room for election deniers to spread misinformation. This lack of understanding has fueled a disturbing rise in threats, intimidation, and abuse against election officials since 2020.

This live panel was moderated by the Brennan Center’s Natalie Tennant, former secretary of state of West Virginia, and it featured Adrian Fontes, secretary of state of Arizona; Brenda Cabrera, former director of elections for Fairfax, Virginia; and Brianna Lennon, country clerk of Boone County, Missouri. They shared their day-to-day challenges and the vital role that they play in ensuring in free and fair elections in a time of increased misinformation. It was recorded on September 19, 2024.

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Solutions for a Threatened Democracy Sep 24, 2024

Efforts to undermine trust in elections, marked by disinformation campaigns and attempts to overturn results, have surged. A new book, Our Nation at Risk, exposes how these assaults on election integrity pose a serious threat to national security. Featuring perspectives from leading political scientists, historians, and legal experts, it explores the escalation of these threats and presents concrete solutions to address them.

Listen to a recording of our virtual discussion on how to fortify our election systems and rebuild confidence in the fairness of the democratic process from our expert panel:

Julian E. Zelizer, Editor, Our Nation at Risk: Election Integrity as a National Security Issue; Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs, Princeton University

Kareem Crayton, Vice President for Washington, DC, Brennan Center for Justice

Trevor W. Morrison, Eric M. and Laurie B. Roth Professor of Law, Dean Emeritus, NYU School of Law

Moderator: Karen J. Greenberg, Editor, Our Nation at Risk: Election Integrity as a National Security Issue; Director, Center on National Security at Fordham Law

It was recorded on September 17, 2024.

You can find the book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/our-nation-at-risk-election-integrity-as-a-national-security-issue-julian-e-zelizer/20620408?ean=9781479830916

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The Data Behind Bail Reform Aug 28, 2024

Cities, states, and counties across the nation have curbed the use of money bail. Reformers say that jailing criminal defendants who can’t afford to buy their pretrial freedom punishes poverty. Opponents, however, blamed the uptick in crime during the Covid-19 pandemic on bail reform and pushed to roll back the changes. So what’s the truth — did bail reform cause an increase in crime?

Terry-Ann Craigie, associate professor of economics at Smith College and economics fellow in the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, and Ames Grawert, senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, compared crime rates in cities that enacted bail reforms with those that did not. In the broadest and most comprehensive study of this issue to date, they found no evidence that efforts to limit bail and pretrial detention increased crime. Ultimately, there are more promising ways to lower crime than to attack and weaken bail reform.

Listen to this discussion from August 15, with Brennan Center experts exploring crime trends in cities that did and did not limit bail, the possible unintended consequences of some reforms, and more effective ways to bolster public safety.

Speakers:

Ames Grawert, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center Justice Program
Terry-Ann Craigie, Associate Professor of Economics, Smith College; Economics Fellow, Brennan Center Justice Program
Moderator: Mireya Navarro, Editor in Chief, Brennan en español

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You can read the report here: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/bail-reform-and-public-safety

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

A Historic Moment for Supreme Court Reform Aug 21, 2024

It’s time to reform the Supreme Court. The founders would not recognize the modern incarnation of what Alexander Hamilton called “the least dangerous” branch. The Court wields far more power on far more issues than it did in the 18th century. And it does so in the absence of adequate checks and balances. The individual justices hold this power longer than they ever have. For the first 180 years of U.S. history, justices served an average of approximately 15 years. In recent years, justices have served an average of 26 years.

Momentum for reform is growing. Numerous polls have shown overwhelming bipartisan support for term limits and an enforceable code of ethics. The president and vice president have both announced their support for real change.

Listen to this discussion from August 13th with Supreme Court experts to talk about what exactly these proposals entail and what they would mean for American democracy.

Speakers:

Cristina Rodríguez, Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law, Yale Law School; Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States
Diane Wood, Circuit Judge (ret.), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; Director, American Law Institute; Senior Lecturer, University of Chicago Law School
Alicia Bannon, Director, Judiciary Program, Brennan Center for Justice; Editor in Chief, State Court Report
Moderator: Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center; Member, Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States

Produced with support from the Kohlberg Center on the U.S. Supreme Court

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Fix The Insurrection Act Aug 01, 2024

The Insurrection Act gives presidents dangerous authority to use the U.S. military as a domestic police force It has virtually no limits on when and how this power can be used, making it ripe for abuse by any leader. Without urgent reforms, the law is a threat to civil liberties — and American democracy itself.

In a conversation moderated by the Brennan Center’s Elizabeth Goitein, lawyer and writer Hawa Allan, Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith, and Brennan Center counsel Joseph Nunn discuss how urgent reforms are needed to prevent the Insurrection Act’s misuse. They also explore how these proposed solutions can help protect our civil liberties.

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You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

A Supreme Fact Check Jul 10, 2024

The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has taken a hard originalist turn, citing history to justify rulings that have eliminated many long-standing American rights. What exactly does originalism mean? Should history be the sole source of rights? And what if the history that the Court has relied on is flat-out wrong?

Listen in on a discussion from October 12, 2023 moderated by Adam Serwer of the Atlantic with historians Laura Edwards, professor at Princeton University; Kate Masur, professor at Northwestern University; and Karen Tani, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Their conversation dissects how history has been used and abused in consequential recent cases and sketches out alternative views for how history can help us better understand the Constitution.

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Click here to read more from the Brennan Center’s Historians Council on the Constitution: https://www.brennancenter.org/historians-council-constitution

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Supreme Court: Ready for Reform? Jul 03, 2024

Public support for the Supreme Court has plummeted to an all-time low in the last year as the highest court has been ridden with controversy and ethics scandals. Hard-right rulings from a conservative supermajority have also raised concerns about the judicial independence of the institution. Is it time to reform the Court?

Listen in on a discussion between Kenji Yoshino, the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Brennan Center President Michael Waldman about ethics reform, term limits, and other ways the public, the media, and Congress can bring accountability back to the Supreme Court.

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You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

A Politicized Supreme Court Is Remaking America Jun 26, 2024

Presidential immunity, limits on gun control, governmental oversight for agencies — the fate of these issues is in the hands of the Supreme Court this summer. Not only is the current Court the most conservative we have ever seen, it is also plagued with ethics violations.

Brennan Center President Michael Waldman and Kareem Crayton, the Brennan Center’s senior director for voting and representation, discussed Waldman’s book The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America. Their conversation explores the threat of the current conservative Court, how this year’s decisions have built on or changed the Court’s previous rulings, and what can be done to shore up democracy.

Please give us a boost by liking, subscribing, and sharing with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a 5-star rating.

You can check out Michael Waldman’s latest book here: https://www.brennancenter.org/supermajority-how-supreme-court-divided-america

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://g o.brennancenter.org/briefing

What Originalism Means for Women Jun 20, 2024

The Supreme Court has turned back time in recent decisions by regressing to an interpretation of the Constitution according to its “original meaning.” What has this meant for women’s rights?

Listen in on a panel discussion with Madiba K. Dennie, author of the new book The Originalism Trap; Khiara M. Bridges of UC Berkeley School of Law; Emily Martin of the National Women’s Law Center; and Alicia Bannon of the Brennan Center and State Court Report. They delve into recent cases that have reversed decades of progress for women’s rights, such as the 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, and United States v. Rahimi, which is built entirely around the fact that domestic violence was not a crime in the 18th century.

Please give us a boost by liking, subscribing, and sharing with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a 5-star rating.

Check out Madiba K. Dennie’s new book The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back here: https://bookshop.org/a/20454/9780593729250

Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Resisting Minority Rule Jun 13, 2024

A governing majority in the United States has never required an actual majority of the voting population. And the tactics of achieving minoritarian control are always shifting. A minority of Americans are now set on thwarting the will of the people through voter suppression, gerrymandering, and even election subversion. In his new book, Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People — and the Fight to Resist It, voting rights reporter Ari Berman charts the rise of this antidemocracy movement in the face of the country’s significant demographic and political shifts.

Listen in on a discussion with Berman and former West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant about how reactionary conservatives have capitalized on structural inequalities in our institutions, like the Senate and the Supreme Court, to entrench their power, as well as the pro-democracy movement that’s fighting back.

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Check out Ari Berman’s new book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/minority-rule-ari-berman/19994801?ean=9780374600211

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

What Comes Next in the Trump Legal Saga? Jun 04, 2024

Donald Trump is now the first American president convicted of a crime. The smooth trial process shows that — independent of the outcome — the U.S. justice system can still work, even with a powerful defendant.

But full accountability seems far off. The federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have stalled Trump’s prosecution for trying to overthrow the 2020 election and for misuse of classified documents and obstruction of justice.

Listen to an expert discussion on how Trump’s defense in the New York business records falsification trial, including Trumps’ accusations of political motivations behind the charges, could serve as a blueprint in his other cases. This discussion shares insights from experts in the field including:

Paul Butler, Albert Brick Professor in Law, Georgetown University Law Center; Legal Analyst, MSNBC

Joyce Vance, Former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama; Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, University of Alabama School of Law; Legal Analyst, MSNBC; Senior Fellow, Brennan Center

Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center

Moderator: Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Senior Director, Brennan Center Justice Program

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You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

The High Cost of Public Service May 22, 2024

A new Brennan Center report reveals that intimidation aimed at state and local officials is distressingly common: For example, 43 percent of state legislators have experienced threats within the past three years.

These threats have serious repercussions for representative democracy. Officeholders report being less willing to work on contentious issues like reproductive rights and gun control and more reluctant to continue serving. Additionally, intimidation is often targeted at groups already underrepresented in government, such as women and people of color.

Listen to a recording of our virtual discussion of this alarming trend, as well as recommendations to stem the abuse from our expert panel:

Anna Eskamani, State Representative, Florida House of Representatives

Gowri Ramachandran, Deputy Director, Brennan Center Elections and Government Program

Tom Roberts, Former Assemblymember, Nevada State Assembly

Moderator: Deirdre Walsh, Congressional Correspondent, NPR

With remarks from Letitia James, Attorney General, New York State

If you enjoy this program, please give us a boost by liking, subscribing, and sharing with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a 5-star rating.

Check out Brennan Center’s new report here: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/intimidation-state-and-local-officeholders

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

The Failed Experiment of Mass Incarceration May 08, 2024

Most of the more than 1 million Americans in prison — disproportionately low-income people of color — will return to their communities after serving long sentences with few resources and little support. Recidivism rates remain stubbornly high. The criminal justice system, then, fails to produce public safety even as core values such as equality, fairness, and proportionality have fallen by the wayside.

The new book Excessive Punishment: How the Justice System Creates Mass Incarceration, edited by the Brennan Center’s Lauren-Brooke Eisen, features essays from scholars, practitioners, activists, writers who experienced incarceration, and others. The contributors explore the social costs of excessive punishment and how to ensure public safety without perpetuating the harms of mass incarceration.

Listen to the recording of our virtual panel from earlier this month with contributors to the book:

Jeremy Travis, Senior Fellow at Columbia Justice Lab

Nkechi Taifa, President of the Taifa Group

Khalil Cumberbatch, Senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice and co-CEO of Edovo

If you enjoy this program, please give us a boost by liking, subscribing, and sharing with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a 5-star rating.

Find out more about the book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/excessive-punishment-how-the-justice-system-creates-mass-incarceration-lauren-brooke-eisen/20877826?ean=9780231212168

Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Misdemeanors by the Numbers Apr 24, 2024

Misdemeanors, not violent offenses, dominate criminal justice. A decade of reforms has shrunk the sprawling misdemeanor system, but the prosecution of shoplifting, traffic violations, and other lesser offenses remains a burden on vulnerable communities and law enforcement resources even as public concern over physical and social disorder in public spaces spurs calls for renewed enforcement.

A new Brennan Center report zooms in on New York City as a case study for how misdemeanor enforcement has changed in recent years, offering insights into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and reform initiatives like the decriminalization of low-level drug possession. But even as overall caseloads have declined, stark racial disparities persist.

Listen to the recording of our virtual panel from earlier this month, “Misdemeanors by the Numbers.” Bria Gillum, senior program officer at the MacArthur Foundation Criminal Justice Program, and Michigan County Sheriff Jerry Clayton join Brennan Center Senior Research Fellow Josephine Hahn in a discussion moderated by the Brennan Center’s Rosemary Nidiry.

If you enjoy this program, please give us a boost by liking, subscribing, and sharing with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give a 5 star rating.

You can check out the Brennan Center’s report Misdemeanor Enforcement Trends in New York City, 2016–2022 here: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/misdemeanor-enforcement-trends-new-york-city-2016-2022

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Decoding the Trump Indictments Apr 09, 2024

Listen to the recording of our in-person event from last month, Decoding the Trump Indictments. Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann, coauthors of the new book The Trump Indictments, discuss the historic charges against the former president in a discussion moderated by Brennan Center President Michael Waldman. Murray is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law Faculty and director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU Law. Weissmann, a professor of practice at NYU Law and a legal analyst for MSNBC, previously served as general counsel to the FBI and one of the senior prosecutors on Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation.

If you enjoy this program, please give us a boost by liking, subscribing and sharing with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give a 5 star rating.

You can find Melissa and Andrew’s bestselling new book, “Decoding the Trump Indictments,” at your favorite local bookseller or online: https://wwnorton.com/books/the-trump-indictments

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to Michael Waldman’s weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Martin Garbus and the Cuban Five Jul 08, 2020

In his most recent book, North of Havana, legendary trial lawyer Martin Garbus recounts one of his most high-profile cases: the Cuban Five. In this episode of Brennan Center Live, Garbus talks to Victoria Bassetti about what this case can teach us about the U.S. justice system, American politics, and U.S.-Cuba relations.

Van Jones in Conversation with Darren Walker May 14, 2018

Mass incarceration is among the nation’s greatest moral and racial injustices. We have five percent of the world’s population, but nearly a quarter of its prisoners. In recent years, a dynamic movement for change has swept across the country. How will it survive the current political climate?

CNN host Van Jones, the author of the new book Beyond the Messy Truth, will discuss his drive to cut prison populations in half – and the challenge of fighting for change in a polarized America. He will be in dialogue with Darren Walker, the President and CEO of the Ford Foundation.

Van Jones, President and Founder, DreamCorps; host, The Van Jones Show on CNN; author, Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together

Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation

Scott Horton Book Talk: Lords of Secrecy Feb 18, 2015

In the last decade, national security issues have increasingly faded from the political agenda, due in part to the growth of government secrecy. In his new book, Lords of Secrecy: The National Security Elite and America's Stealth Warfare, journalist and lawyer Scott Horton explains how secrecy has fundamentally changed the way America functions. Never before have the American people had so little information concerning the wars waged in their name, nor has Congress exercised so little oversight over the war effort. Horton reminds us that publicly addressing the country’s national security concerns is the right and responsibility of a free citizenry, and ultimately, the heart of any democracy.

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