Brennan Center LIVE

Challenges to democracy intensified over the summer. The National Guard deployed in California. The Supreme Court ruled on presidential power using the shadow docket. In Texas, an egregious gerrymander has set off a partisan war nationally. Now the fall will mark the next phase of the fight for the Constitution. Will the rule of law hold? How will the 2026 election unfold? Brennan Center experts discuss some of the biggest news stories of the past three months and explore what will come next in the struggle to uphold democratic values.  Speakers: * Kareem Crayton [https://www.brennancenter.org/about/leadership/kareem-crayton], Vice President for Washington, DC * Lauren-Brooke Eisen [https://www.brennancenter.org/about/leadership/lauren-brooke-eisen], Senior Director, Justice Program * Elizabeth Goitein [https://www.brennancenter.org/about/leadership/elizabeth-goitein], Senior Director, Liberty and National Security Program * Hernandez Stroud [https://www.brennancenter.org/experts/hernandez-d-stroud], Senior Fellow, Justice Program * Wendy Weiser [https://www.brennancenter.org/about/leadership/wendy-r-weiser], Vice President, Democracy Program * Daniel I. Weiner [https://www.brennancenter.org/about/leadership/daniel-i-weiner], Director, Elections and Government Program * Moderator: Michael Waldman [https://www.brennancenter.org/about/leadership/michael-waldman], President and CEO If you enjoy this program, please give us a boost by liking it, subscribing, and sharing it with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a five-star rating.  Recorded on September 4, 2025. Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing, at https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing [https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing].

In 1965, a nonviolent voting rights march in Alabama culminated in a brutal televised brutal attack by state police. The public outrage that followed prompted Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act, a law meant to dismantle racially discriminatory barriers to voting. Since then, this landmark civil rights law has faced continued attacks. The Supreme Court has weakened its protections, most notably in the 2013 case Shelby County v. Holder. And just this summer, a lower court ruling in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe blocked voters in seven states from using the Voting Rights Act to challenge racially discriminatory voting practices.  The Supreme Court has put that decision on hold for the moment while it considers whether to take up the case. But the very fact that we're celebrating a pause on the near destruction of the Voting Rights Act’s last remaining protection illustrates how bad things have gotten in the courts. Thankfully, courts don’t have the only say. The 15th Amendment gives Congress the power to safeguard the right to vote through legislation. This conversation explores the history of the Voting Rights Act, its impact on voters today, and what it will take to ensure fair representation for all. Speakers: * Alexander Keyssar [https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/alex-keyssar], Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy, Harvard Kennedy School * Sean Morales-Doyle [https://www.brennancenter.org/about/leadership/sean-morales-doyle], Director, Brennan Center Voting Rights and Elections Program * Lenny Powell [https://narf.org/profiles/lenny-powell/], Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund * Nikema Williams [https://nikemawilliams.house.gov/], U.S. Representative (D-GA) * Moderator: Natalie Tennant [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Tennant], Kanawha County Commissioner; Former West Virginia Secretary of State If you enjoy this program, please give us a boost by liking it, subscribing, and sharing it with your friends. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, please give it a five-star rating.  Recorded on August 19, 2025.  Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing, at https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing [https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing].

In his new book Outbreak Behind Bars: Spider Bites, Human Rights, and the Unseen Danger to Public Health [https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12714/outbreak-behind-bars?srsltid=AfmBOooEV-g8FgymS0yhC3bJM_IOKeHfA_wR5z7M0ReBZT_-U3Q-2SUe#book__authors], physician and epidemiologist Dr. Homer Venters reveals the grave reality of how infections and diseases spread in correctional facilities, which are often overcrowded and unsanitary. Detailing first-hand accounts of the spread of tuberculosis, MRSA, and other infections, he shines a light on the critical need to improve health care behind bars.     Venters was the chief medical officer of the New York City jail system and is currently a federal monitor of health services in jails and prisons.      Listen to him in conversation with Dr. Josy Hahn [https://www.brennancenter.org/bio/josephine-wonsun-hahn], senior research fellow, manager, and social epidemiologist in the Brennan Center’s Justice Program.    Recorded on July 28, 2025.    Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing, at https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing [https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing].

The executive branch has amassed tremendous power, challenging the constitutional balance among branches of government. This year alone, the president has ignored the laws passed by Congress to fire leaders of independent agencies without cause, freeze the spending of appropriated funds, and deploy the military as a domestic police force. Supporters of vast presidential power have a name for this: the unitary executive. It’s the idea that the Constitution gives the president full personal control over the executive branch and wide latitude to act unilaterally. While legal scholars debate its scope, the theory in its most expansive form envisions a king-like president largely unconstrained by Congress or the courts. An embrace of this theory by the executive branch and Supreme Court could carry far-reaching consequences for American democracy. This conversation among experts examines the modern presidency, the origins of the unitary executive theory, and its implications for the future of checks and balances. Speakers: * Samuel Breidbart [https://www.brennancenter.org/experts/samuel-breidbart], Counsel, Brennan Center Democracy Program * Jane Manners [https://www.fordham.edu/school-of-law/faculty/directory/full-time/jane-manners/], Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law * Julian Davis Mortenson [https://michigan.law.umich.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/our-faculty/julian-davis-mortenson], James G. Phillipp Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School * Cristina Rodríguez [https://law.yale.edu/cristina-rodriguez], Deputy Dean and Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law, Yale Law School * Moderator: Wilfred U. Codrington III [https://cardozo.yu.edu/directory/wilfred-codrington-iii], Walter Floersheimer Professor of Constitutional Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law 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.  Recorded on August 5, 2025, and produced in partnership with State Court Report. [https://statecourtreport.org/] Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing [https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing]

President Trump has ordered cuts to the Department of Education and federal education funding. The brunt of these cuts will likely fall on low-income communities. The president is also demanding changes to school services and curricula, including the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.  State courts and constitutions stand in the president’s way. States are required by their constitutions to provide a  public education, and many must meet certain standards, teach certain curricula, and provide student services. In cases where these state obligations conflict with the administration’s orders, both state and federal judges may be called on to decide whether state law provides a bulwark against harmful federal policies. This conversation among experts explores how the Trump administration’s actions have affected schools, how schools are responding, and how court fights over education policy may play out.  Speakers: * John B. King Jr. [https://www.suny.edu/about/leadership/chancellor/], Former U.S. Secretary of Education; Chancellor of the State University of New York * Aaron Saiger [https://www.fordham.edu/school-of-law/faculty/directory/full-time/aaron-saiger/], Professor of Law, Fordham University * Martha Dalton [https://www.ajc.com/staff/martha-dalton/], Journalist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution * Moderator: Alicia Bannon [https://www.brennancenter.org/about/leadership/alicia-bannon], Director, Brennan Center Judiciary Program; Editor in Chief, State Court Report 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.  Recorded on July 15, 2025, and produced in partnership with State Court Report. Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing [https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing]