Covering the FBI and DOJ in 2026 with Ken Dilanian

Building Towards Certainty Rather Than Severity With Greg Newburn

For decades, the response to rising crime has been fairly predictable: increase penalties, increase sentences, and hope it works. My guest today says that framework misses the point. Greg Newburn is the Director of Criminal Justice at the Niskanen Center, where his work focuses on reducing both crime and punishment at the same time through evidence-based policy . In this episode, we talk about why the criminal justice system may have been built around the wrong theory of deterrence, why certainty matters more than severity, and what it would look like to design a system focused less on increasing punishment and more on increasing the likelihood that crimes are actually solved. Greg Newburn is director of criminal justice at the Niskanen Center. His previous positions include state policy director and Florida director for FAMM and chair of the Florida-based 'Yes on 11' political committee. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Why Accountability and Prevention Don't Have to Be in Conflict with Neera Tanden

Most debates about crime policy are framed as a choice. You’re either tough on crime or you’re not. You focus on enforcement or prevention. And the answers tend to sound simple. But once you move from talking about crime to actually trying to reduce it, things get more complicated, requiring nuanced solutions to complex problems. My guest today is Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and a longtime policy advisor who has worked across multiple administrations, including serving as domestic policy advisor in the Biden White House. In this episode, we talk about what crime policy looks like from inside that system, what we’ve learned from the last few years, and why approaches focused on accountability and prevention don’t have to be in conflict. Neera Tanden is the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Before leading American Progress, Tanden was the Domestic Policy Advisor to President Joe Biden and director of the Domestic Policy Council, overseeing some of the administration’s signature achievements, including its efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs and expand health insurance coverage. Previously, she was Senior Advisor and Staff Secretary in the White House. Tanden helped found American Progress, first working as senior vice president for domestic policy and later as chief operating officer. She ran the organization from 2011 to 2021, adding 10 policy teams and growing the budget by two-thirds. Previously, she has served as senior adviser for health reform at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, policy director for Hillary Clinton’s first presidential campaign, legislative director in then-Sen. Clinton’s (D-NY) office, and a senior policy adviser to the first lady in President Bill Clinton’s White House. Tanden received her Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her law degree from Yale Law School.

The Past, Present, and Future of Gun Violence Reduction with Senator Chris Murphy

What actually drives change on an issue like gun violence? Is it policy? Culture? Policing? Or something harder to measure? To help answer that question I’m turning to Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Senator Murphy has been one of Washington’s leading voices on gun violence reduction, a passion that was shaped by his experience in the aftermath of Sandy Hook, where he spent time with families and saw firsthand the impact of that tragedy . In this episode, we talk about the recent decline in gun violence nationally, what role federal legislation and local interventions may have played, and how the broader movement around this issue has evolved over time. Chris Murphy, the junior United States senator for Connecticut, has dedicated his career to public service as an advocate for Connecticut families. Murphy has been a leading voice in the Senate, fighting for affordable health care, sensible gun laws, a forward-looking foreign policy, and a democracy and economy that serves working people. In 2022, he led the negotiations and helped pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first federal anti-gun violence bill in 30 years.  Prior to his election to the US Senate, Murphy served Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District for three terms in the US House of Representatives. During his time in the House, he worked to foster job creation, advocate for affordable health care for all Americans, and improve homeless veterans’ access to housing. Before being elected to Congress, Murphy served for eight years in the Connecticut General Assembly.  Senator Murphy grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and attended Williams College in Massachusetts before earning a law degree from the University of Connecticut.

Crime, Policy, and What Has Changed with Charles Fain Lehman

Answering the why of crime trends is frequently much harder than answering the what. The same data inevitably leads to very different explanations depending on how you interpret them and what you think is driving them, and there are rarely “right” answers. The numbers are fairly clear, the reasons behind that are not. To get at some of the reasons why crime has trended as it as I’m turning to Charles Fain Lehman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute who focuses on crime, disorder, and what he describes as the public policy of antisocial behavior. In this episode, we talk through the differences in how we can explain what’s happening now, the role of policing and social factors, and how concepts like disorder shape how people experience safety in ways that don’t always show up in traditional metrics. Charles Fain Lehman is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and senior editor of City Journal. He focuses primarily on the public policy of antisocial behavior, including issues of crime, drugs, and public disorder. His work has appeared in outlets including the New York Times, Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, and National Review, and he has discussed policy issues before the Senate, House of Representatives, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Investigating Crimes That Were Never Meant to be Reopened with Jill Collen Jefferson

Sometimes the hardest part about a crime isn't figuring out what happened — it's revisiting what's already been decided. Once a case is closed and a conclusion settles in, changing that can be just as difficult as investigating it was in the first place. My guest today is Jill Collin Jefferson, a civil and human rights attorney and the founder of JULIAN, an organization focused on investigating modern-day lynchings. JULIAN works with families and communities seeking answers in cases that have often gone unresolved or unquestioned. In this episode, we talk about how Jill approaches this work, how cases reach her in the first place, and what it takes to reexamine investigations that others have already moved on from. Jill walks us through the Willie Andrew Jones Jr. case in Mississippi, her arrest in Lexington while monitoring police, and the contentious relationships that come with exposing gaps in law enforcement investigations. Jill Collen Jefferson, JULIAN’s founder and Executive Director, is a civil and human rights attorney who grew up in the racism and de facto segregation of rural Mississippi and was trained by the leaders of the civil rights movement. She was mentored by the great civil rights leader Julian Bond, the organization’s namesake, who taught her civil rights history and strategy. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she is now faculty in its Trial Advocacy Workshop. She hails from a farm in southeastern Mississippi.