Podcast
Brennan Center LIVE
Hosted by The Brennan Center for Justice · EN
A podcast from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
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The Next Phase of the Fight
Sep 900:47:14Tap to summarizeChallenges 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, Vice President for Washington, DC Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Senior Director, Justice Program Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director, Liberty and National Security Program Hernandez Stroud, Senior Fellow, Justice Program Wendy Weiser, Vice President, Democracy Program Daniel I. Weiner, Director, Elections and Government Program Moderator: 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.
Transcribe →The Past, Present, and Future of the Voting Rights Act
Aug 2600:33:40Tap to summarizeIn 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, Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy, Harvard Kennedy School Sean Morales-Doyle, Director, Brennan Center Voting Rights and Elections Program Lenny Powell, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund Nikema Williams, U.S. Representative (D-GA) Moderator: 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.
Transcribe →The Rise of the Imperial Presidency
Aug 1200:54:35Tap to summarizeThe 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, Counsel, Brennan Center Democracy Program Jane Manners, Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law Julian Davis Mortenson, James G. Phillipp Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School Cristina Rodríguez, Deputy Dean and Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law, Yale Law School Moderator: Wilfred U. 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. Keep up with the Brennan Center's work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing
Transcribe →The Trouble Between Trump and the States on Education Policy
Jul 2900:47:33Tap to summarizePresident 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., Former U.S. Secretary of Education; Chancellor of the State University of New York Aaron Saiger, Professor of Law, Fordham University Martha Dalton, Journalist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Moderator: 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
Transcribe →The Constitutional Obligation to Justice
Jul 2200:50:46Tap to summarizeThe end of the 20th century saw the rise of mass incarceration as well as originalism, the idea that judges must interpret the Constitution according to its supposed original intent. In a new book, Justice Abandoned: How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabled Mass Incarceration, legal scholar Rachel Barkow highlights the conflict between the two. Using six Supreme Court cases, she shows how mass incarceration is at odds with the Constitution's text and original meaning. In this event, Barkow and former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who spent eight years overseeing federal prosecutions in Manhattan, discuss what the cases in Justice Abandoned teach us about today's Supreme Court, including the long-term ramifications of sacrificing the liberty guaranteed by the Constitution in the name of public safety. 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. Speakers: Rachel Barkow, Charles Seligson Professor of Law, Faculty Director of Zimroth Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, NYU School of Law Preet Bharara, Former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York; Partner, WilmerHale Moderator: Hernandez Stroud, Senior Fellow, Brennan Center Justice Program Recorded on June 05, 2025. In Justice Abandoned, Rachel Barkow exposes how the Supreme Court's embrace of originalism helped erode constitutional protections and fuel mass incarceration — a must-read for anyone who cares about our Constitution and criminal justice reform. You can find the book here. Keep up with the Brennan Center's work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing
Transcribe →The Supreme Court Term In Review
Jul 1500:53:09Tap to summarizeThis term, the Supreme Court addressed some of the biggest challenges in its history, with a president determined to break through the constitutional limits of executive power and the Court's own public approval near all-time lows. Did the justices stand up for the Constitution on the biggest issue facing the country, the extraordinary executive power grab? Against this backdrop, the justices handed down rulings in key cases affecting millions of people's lives, including access to health care, education, and political representation and the power of federal courts to issue nationwide injunctions. Whether you follow the Court closely or are looking to understand its role in our system of checks and balances, this discussion will provide essential context for how the Court is working today. Speakers: Joyce Vance, Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, University of Alabama School of Law; Senior Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice Cecillia Wang, National Legal Director, ACLU Kim Wehle, Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law Moderator: Alicia Bannon, Director, Brennan Center Judiciary Program and Kohlberg Center on the U.S. Supreme Court 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 09, 2025. Keep up with the Brennan Center's work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing
Transcribe →The Guarantee of Birthright Citizenship
Jun 2300:53:49Tap to summarizeOn the first day of his second term, President Trump issued an executive order purporting to strip U.S. citizenship from the children of undocumented immigrants. The order directly conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment, which states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." And it defies more than a century of case law. The executive order was met with a wave of court rulings blocking its enforcement, and the Supreme Court has already heard arguments on the issue. What historical currents led to the ratification of the amendment's Citizenship Clause? How did courts interpret its guarantees in the decades following? And how do today's attacks on birthright citizenship relate to historical attempts to deny citizenship to people born and living in the United States? Speakers: Kate Masur, Professor of History, Northwestern University Martha Jones, Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University Erika Lee, Bae Family Professor of History, Radcliffe Alumnae Professor, Harvard 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 Recorded on June 11, 2025. Keep up with the Brennan Center's work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing
Transcribe →Presidential Power in the First 100 Days
May 5, 202500:48:32Tap to summarizeIn the first 100 days of his second term, President Trump issued more than 100 executive orders aimed at changing policy through executive authority alone. But has this flurry of orders led to meaningful change? Despite Trump's sweeping executive actions — ranging from imposing global tariffs and targeting major law firms to declaring an emergency at the southern border and attempting to end birthright citizenship — judges appointed from both parties are pushing back. Already, 46 challenges to executive orders are pending in court, with no clear victories for the administration in any of them. Listen to a recording of a conversation with our experts as they discuss what these three months have made clear about this administration's priorities, how the courts are responding, and what might lie ahead. Speakers: Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program Michael Waldman, President and CEO of the Brennan Center Max Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations Andrew Rudalevige, Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government at Bowdoin College And moderator Kareem Crayton, the Brennan Center's Vice President for Washington DC 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 us a 5-star rating. Recorded on April 30, 2025. Keep up with the Brennan Center's work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://brennancenter.org/briefing
Transcribe →The Risks of Government by AI
Apr 14, 202500:51:56Tap to summarizeOn the day President Trump took office, he revoked the Biden administration's executive order that imposed guardrails on the development and use of artificial intelligence technology. Since then, Vice President JD Vance and DOGE have pushed to integrate AI into critical government functions. But government use of AI raises important questions about data privacy and democratic integrity. Will the adoption of AI truly benefit Americans? How can we trust this process given the unprecedented role of tech billionaires in the new administration? And what might come next? Listen to the recording of a conversation with a leading technology journalist, former government AI leaders, and Brennan Center experts as they discuss the potential consequences and future of AI in the federal government. Speakers: Vittoria Elliott, Platforms and Power Reporter, Wired Faiza Patel, Senior Director, Brennan Center Liberty and National Security Program Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Professor of Data Science and Computer Science, Brown University Moderator: Kareem Crayton, Vice President of Washington, DC, Brennan Center 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 April 2, 2025. Keep up with the Brennan Center's work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing
Transcribe →Presidents Don't Control Our Elections
Apr 4, 202500:50:41Tap to summarizePresident Trump's new executive order could disenfranchise millions of American citizens, undermine data security, and decertify voting systems across the country. It would give DOGE access to voter records in every state and decertify every voting machine in the United States, costing states hundreds of millions of dollars. Coupled with the SAVE Act, a voter suppression bill that would require every American to provide a document like a passport or birth certificate to register or re-register to vote, these measures could block millions of eligible American citizens from voting and upend voter registration. Listen to a recording of a conversation with our experts as they break down the executive order, the SAVE Act, and what we all must do to protect our elections. Speakers: Lawrence Norden, Vice President, Brennan Center Elections and Government Program Sean Morales-Doyle, Director, Brennan Center Voting Rights and Elections Program Wendy Weiser, Vice President, Brennan Center Democracy Program Moderator: Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center 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 April 1, 2025.Keep up with the Brennan Center's work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://brennancenter.org/briefing
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