Podcast appearances and mentions of brennan center

On June 7, President Trump asserted control over California's National Guard. In this episode, Professor Michael Ramsey of the University of San Diego School of Law and Liza Goitein of the Brennan Center join Jeffrey Rosen to explore the meaning of 10 U.S.C. 12406 and unpack California Governor Gavin Newsom's lawsuit challenging the legality of President Trump's actions.    Resources Michael Ramsey, “John Yoo on Presidential Authority to Use the National Guard,” The Originalism Blog (June 13, 2025)  Elizabeth Goitein, “Unpacking Trump's Order Authorizing Domestic Deployment of the Military,” The Brennan Center (June 10, 2025)  Elizabeth Goitein, “Preventing Use of National Guard to Evade Posse Comitatus Act,” Center for a New American Security (May 20, 2025) Newsom v. Trump, Northern District of California (June 12, 2025) Martin v. Mott (1827) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠⁠⁠ Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. ⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠. Support our important work. ⁠⁠⁠Donate

On 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 UniversityMartha Jones, Professor of History, Johns Hopkins UniversityErika Lee, Bae Family Professor of History, Radcliffe Alumnae Professor, Harvard UniversityThomas Wolf, Director of Democracy Initiatives, Founder of Historians Council on the Constitution, Brennan CenterModerator: Kareem Crayton, Vice President for Washington, DC, Brennan CenterRecorded 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

As we post this episode, Trump has sent Marines and Army National Guard troops to the streets, to try to quash protests by fellow citizens - the vast majority of them peaceful. Our guest Elizabeth Gotein, of the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, has warned us before that any U.S. president could wield dozens of sweeping emergency powers to dismantle democracy, some so secret that members of Congress don't even know about them. We repeated Liz's episode last year and we're repeating it again: The crisis created by Trump and his allies is that serious.

A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump's deployment of troops in Los Angeles was illegal before an appeals court quickly overturned it. A legal battle is now underway. On this week's On the Media, how President Trump has exaggerated crises to expand his presidential powers. Plus, a new documentary investigates who killed a Palestinian-American journalist.[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone shares how to navigate the deluge of LA protest coverage – debunking fake footage, identifying distracting talking points, and more.[12:53] Brooke speaks with Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, about President Trump's shocking memorandum authorizing the preemptive deployment of federal troops against protesters. Plus, how Trump has invoked emergency powers more than any other president, and what it means for American democracy.[32:47] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Dion Nissenbaum, a former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, about the new documentary “Who Killed Shireen?” he produced for Zeteo, the media organization founded by former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan.  Further reading:“AI Chatbots Are Making LA Protest Disinformation Worse,” by David Gilbert“‘The Insurrection Act' by Any Other Name: Unpacking Trump's Memorandum Authorizing Domestic Deployment of the Military,” by Elizabeth Goitein“A Guide to Emergency Powers and Their Use,” by Elizabeth GoiteinWho Killed Shireen? by Dion Nissenbaum, Fatima AbdulKarim, Conor Powell at Zeteo'Who Killed Shireen?' Film Screening in Washington, DC on July 9 On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Over the past several days, the Trump administration has taken increasingly drastic steps in response to protest activity and unrest in Los Angeles — including federalizing 4,000 National Guard troops and sending hundreds of Marines, against the objections of California's state and local leadership. As events unfold on the ground in LA, and in the lead-up to further anticipated protests this weekend, Just Security and the Reiss Center on Law and Security hosted a YouTube Live event to examine the pressing legal and policy issues at stake. Notes: Watch the full June 12th, 2025 event on YouTube, here.Elizabeth Goitein: Senior Director, Liberty & National Security Program, Brennan Center for JusticeMary B. McCord: Visiting Professor of Law and Executive Director, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Georgetown Law; Member, Board of Directors, Just Security Steve Vladeck: Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Federal Courts, Georgetown Law; Executive Editor, Just Security   Ryan Goodman: Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director, Reiss Center on Law and Security, NYU School of Law; Founding Co-Editor-in-Chief, Just Security Just Security's Civilian-Military Relations coverage. Just Security's Domestic Deployment of the U.S. Military coverage.  Just Security's Law Enforcement archives. 

6.10.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Hegseth Grilled Over $134M Calif. Guard Deployment, FL Sheriff-AG Clash, TX Voting Law & Cologne Butter The military deployment to manage California's anti-ICE protests is expected to cost $134 million. We'll show you how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth got grilled during today's hearing on Capitol Hill. There's a showdown between a Black Florida sheriff and the state attorney general over the issue of prioritizing the arrest of immigrants. A new study by the Brennan Center for Justice reveals that Texas' 2021 voting law is making it significantly harder for Black and Brown communities to vote by mail. We'll speak with an expert about the implications as we head into the next election cycle. In North Carolina, a judge granted a $20 million default judgment against Saint Augustine's University, and we are hearing that layoffs are imminent as a result. In tonight's Marketplace segment, we'll spotlight Cologne Butter, a skincare line that offers body butters infused with cologne and perfume. #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

June 10, 2025 - In advance of the 2026 state elections, state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul made some changes to the state's system of public financing of election campaigns. We address the impact of the changes with Marina Pino, a counsel with the Brennan Center's elections and government program.

When immigration raids began in the Los Angeles area last weekend, so did spontaneous protests. On Sunday, Trump federalized 2,000 California national guardsmen in response. While Trump stopped short of invoking the Insurrection Act, he claimed authority to send troops wherever ICE operations might be contested by mass demonstrations. Guest: Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When immigration raids began in the Los Angeles area last weekend, so did spontaneous protests. On Sunday, Trump federalized 2,000 California national guardsmen in response. While Trump stopped short of invoking the Insurrection Act, he claimed authority to send troops wherever ICE operations might be contested by mass demonstrations. Guest: Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When immigration raids began in the Los Angeles area last weekend, so did spontaneous protests. On Sunday, Trump federalized 2,000 California national guardsmen in response. While Trump stopped short of invoking the Insurrection Act, he claimed authority to send troops wherever ICE operations might be contested by mass demonstrations. Guest: Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump ordered the Pentagon to send around 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration raids in the city. Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, explains the legal implications. Trump ignored California Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections to deploying the National Guard. The last time a president called in the National Guard without the governor's approval was in 1965 during the Selma march. Historian Julian Zelizer explains more. Then, John Ruskey calls the Mississippi River "a creative force" that sculpts the landscape and rejuvenates the people who experience it up close. But climate change is making that force stronger and more destructive. Here & Now's Chris Bentley took a canoe ride with Ruskey and reports on the future of the river.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ali Velshi is joined by NBC News' Jacob Soboroff, Senior Director at Brennan Center for Justice Faiza Patel, Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones, Lead Plaintiff in Texas Abortion Ban lawsuit Amanda Zurawski, Professor of Law at NYU Melissa Murray

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 6, 2025Iowa Gov. Signs Bill Banning Ranked Choice Voting, and Allowing Poll Workers to Challenge Citizenship Status of VotersIowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed two election bills May 2nd, one of which  includes provisions for poll workers to challenge the citizenship of voters in the polling place, a ban on ranked choice voting, and a higher bar for third parties. Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To read our resources and see the whole script of today's report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgToday's LinksArticles & Resources:Iowa Secretary of State - Iowa Secretary of State's audit of voter registration lists finds 277 confirmed noncitizens registered to voteIowa Capital Dispatch - Iowa secretary of state says 277 noncitizens confirmed to be on Iowa's voter rolls Des Moines Register - After flagging 2,000+ ballots, Iowa secretary of state says 35 noncitizens voted in 2024Iowa Legislature - House File 954The Gazette - Iowa poll workers can question voters about their citizenship under new lawIowa Capital Dispatch - Gov. Kim Reynolds signs bills on election recounts, voter citizenship verification Brennan Center for Justice - Citizenship & VotingGroups Taking Action:ACLU Iowa, LULACRegister or Check Your Voter Registration:U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your StatePlease follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgWant ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network's Audioport and PRX#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NoncitizenVoting #Iowa #VoterSuppression #VoterChallenges 

The Alien Enemies Act is a war power granted to the president that has only been used four times in US history since its creation in 1798. It allows the president to order the detention and deportation of noncitizens from "enemy" nations during war, invasion, or predatory incursion. When it was created, the US had a very different understanding of Constitutional rights, including due process, than we do today. We talk about how the Alien Enemies Act has been used throughout history, and how Constitutional law has evolved since 1798. Helping us out is Liza Goitein. She is the senior director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program.  CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG!CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more!To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro.Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it!

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 3, 2025CO Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Threats Against Top CO and AZ Election Officials, Judges and Law EnforcementWe recently reported on county supervisors in Shasta County, CA still clinging to debunked 2020 election fraud claims by President Trump and his allies.  May 29th, a Colorado man was sentenced to three years in prison for threats he made to top Colorado and Arizona election officials, fueled by those same claims.  Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To read our resources and see the whole script of today's report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgToday's LinksArticles & Resources:U.S. Department of Justice - (2024) Cortez Man Pleads Guilty To Making Threats Against Election OfficialColorado Public Radio - Colorado man who threatened election officials asked for leniency in sentencing, got 3 years  Brennan Center for Justice - Poll of Election Officials Finds Concerns About Safety, Political InterferencePrinceton University Bridging Divides Initiative - Threat and Harassment Incidents Targeting Local Officials Surge During 2024 ElectionFederal Register - Executive Order:  Ending the Weaponization of the Federal GovernmentNBC News - Justice Department office that prosecutes public corruption slashed in size, sources say  Groups Taking Action:Protect Democracy, Issue One, Center for American ProgressRegister or Check Your Voter Registration:U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your StatePlease follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgWant ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network's Audioport and PRX#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers 

Today on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan caught up with  Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center's Elections and Government Program, to break down what this means for startups, innovation, and democracy. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril leveraged insider networks to win major defense deals. Changing ethics safeguards, and why that matters for founders entering government spaces. What this all means for fair competition and startups trying to break in. Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news round-up. Don't miss it! Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We'd also like to thank TechCrunch's audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for May 29, 2025Federal Appeals Court Weighs Whether the Georgia Legislature-Drawn Majority-Minority Districts in Metro Atlanta Met Judge's Order In a recent report from Georgia, we told you about voters contesting a mass voter eligibility challenge by election conspiracy group True the Vote.   In another 11th Circuit courtroom that same week, a group of Black voters challenged the voting districts for metro Atlanta. Some podcasting platforms strip out our links.  To read our resources and see the whole script of today's report, please go to our website at https://AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgToday's LinksArticles & Resources:Georgia Recorder - (2021)  State lawmakers ready to wrap congressional redistricting with a GOP bow Brennan Center for Justice - District Maps Show How Georgians of Color Are Underrepresented in Local GovernmentAmerican Redistrict Project - Georgia State Conf. of the NAACP v. GeorgiaGeorgia NAACP - (2023) Georgia NAACP calls for rejection of newly approved legislative maps in federal court.Georgia Recorder - Long simmering dispute over Georgia political maps drawn after 2020 Census returns to federal court Courthouse News Service - Battle over Black voter suppression in Georgia returns to federal courtGroups Taking Action:ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY,  NAACP Georgia, Brennan Center for JusticeRegister or Check Your Voter Registration:U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your StatePlease follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgWant ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network's Audioport and PRX#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Georgia #RacialGerrymandering #FairMaps #MajorityMinority #Atlanta

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for May 27, 2025Courts Use the ‘Gingles Test' to Determine Whether Redistricting Violates the Voting Rights ActFederal courts often use the “Gingles Test” when determining whether a gerrymandered redistricting map is a violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. How that test is interpreted can determine whether minority voters can elect the candidate of their choice, or their vote is diluted by an anti-voter state legislature.Today's LinksArticles & Resources:BallotPedia - Thornburg v. GinglesCharis Franklin, Fordham University Law - From Poll Tests To The Purcell Doctrine:  Merrill V. Milligan And The Precarious Preservation Of Voting RightsThe American Redistricting Project - Thornburg v. Gingles (1986)Brennan Center for Justice - Breaking Down the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act Decision Out of AlabamaLouisiana Illuminator – Federal court tosses Landry-backed Louisiana congressional mapGroups Taking Action:NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Campaign Legal Center, ACLU, Native American Rights FundCheck Your Voter Registration:U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State Please follow us on Facebook and BlueSky and SHARE!  Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgWant ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network's Audioport and PRX#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #RacialGerrymandering #VotingRightsAct #VRA

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 20, 2025Brennan Center Report Shows Gerrymandering's Impact on Control of Congress Gerrymandering, the manipulation of voting district boundaries to engineer an election outcome which benefits a particular party, had a significant impact on control of the new Congress, according to a Brennan Center Report. Today's LinksArticles & Resources:Brennan Center for Justice – How Gerrymandering and Fair Maps Affected the Battle for the HouseFactCheck.org – Speaker Johnson's Partisan Spin on Gerrymandering in the 2024 ElectionNational Conference of State Legislatures – Redistricting Commissions: State Legislative PlansCampaign Legal Center – Independent Redistricting CommissionsCampaign Legal Center – Movement to Establish Citizen-Led Redistricting Commissions in the StatesCalifornia Citizens Redistricting Commission – What is the Commission?Groups Taking Action:Common Cause, Represent.Us, League of Women Voters USRegister or Check Your Voter Registration:U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your StatePlease follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgWant ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network's Audioport and PRX#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #EndGerrymandering #FairMaps #RiggedDistricts

Says deputies punished for writing too few tickets The union representing Putnam County Sheriff's Office deputies said it has filed a complaint with the state labor board alleging that its members are penalized for failing to meet quotas for writing tickets. The Sheriff's Office PBA announced on May 10 that an action has been filed with the state Public Employees Relations Board (PERB) against Sheriff Kevin McConville, Putnam County and County Executive Kevin Byrne. Neither the union nor the sheriff or county executive's offices responded to emails about the allegation, but a Facebook post by the PBA said Capt. James Schepperly, who heads the Sheriff's Office's patrol division, has used quotas "as a gauge of a deputy's performance," in violation of department policy and state law. The Sheriff's Office only publicizes its use-of-force policy. But state labor law bars police agencies from penalizing officers - including "reassignment, a scheduling change, an adverse evaluation, a constructive dismissal, the denial of a promotion or the denial of overtime" - for failing to meet quotas for writing tickets or arresting or stopping people. Putnam deputies who did not write enough tickets "had their schedules changed and were subjected to a change of duty assignment or location as punishment," according to the PBA. "It's our expectation that once our case is heard by PERB they will side with the PBA and these unlawful, retaliatory actions, that create an increase in tax dollars, will stop." According to data provided by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, Putnam deputies wrote 5,422 tickets in 2024, 20 percent fewer than 2023. Most drivers were cited in Southeast, followed by Philipstown and Putnam Valley. The most common infraction was an expired or missing state safety inspection, followed by driving without a license, lack of registration, speeding and disobeying a traffic device. According to Jackie Fielding, a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice in New York City who co-authored a 2022 report on ticket quotas, they "can incentivize officers to prioritize enforcement activities that can be completed quickly and easily," rather than "investigating more complex or violent crimes that significantly impact public safety." "In the more extreme case, officers can resort to malfeasance to meet their quotas: fabricating a reason for a stop or arrest, assigning tickets to fictitious drivers or even recording tickets for dead people," she said. One case occurred in February 2023, when the Westchester County district attorney charged a state trooper, Edward Longo, with writing at least 32 tickets over 10 years on the Sprain and Taconic parkways for drivers he never stopped, including someone who had died before the ticket was issued. Longo was charged with 32 felony counts. The trooper who filed the paperwork charging Longo said his division "monitors its officers for performance-related goals in the issuance of traffic tickets," according to The Journal News, and may counsel those "who do not meet expectations or whose productivity falls below their peers."

In this episode, Dr. Vonda Wright sits down with writer, activist, and feminist Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, a leading voice in the fight for menstrual equity. Dubbed the “architect of the U.S. policy campaign to squash the tampon tax,” Jennifer is the author of Periods Gone Public and serves as VP at the Brennan Center for Justice. Her groundbreaking work has been featured in The New York Times, TIME, Cosmopolitan, MSNBC, and more. Together, they dive into how a local donation drive sparked Jennifer's national policy work, the cultural stigma surrounding menstruation, and the rise of the menstrual equity movement since 2015. They also unpack the critical need for accurate menopause education, public policy reform, and the long-lasting impact of the Women's Health Initiative's flawed messaging on hormone therapy. This conversation challenges outdated taboos and explores how both menstruation and menopause can serve as powerful starting points for advocating for women's health across every life stage.   ••• Connect with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf: Website: https://jenniferweisswolf.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferweisswolf/ ••• Make sure to follow Dr. Vonda Wright: Instagram: @drvondawright Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vondawright Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drvondawright LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vonda-wright-md-ms-2803374 Website: http://www.DrVondaWright.com ••• If you enjoyed this episode, Subscribe to “HOT For Your Health” for more inspiring episodes. Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hot-for-your-health/id1055206993 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Q2Al27D79jCLAyzp4hKBv?si=b62b374994884eed We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Share your comments or join the discussion on social media using #HotForYourHealthPodcast.

From February 22, 2024: As a new report on the intimidation of state and local officeholders from the Brennan Center for Justice points out, “The January 6 insurrection at the Capitol seemed to mark a new peak in extremist intimidation targeting public officials. But it was hardly the only act of political violence to break the period of relative stability that followed the assassinations of the 1960s.” Citing the 2017 shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise, last year's hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, and many other cases, the report paints a troubling picture of today's climate of political violence in America. To talk through the report and its implications, Lawfare Senior Editor Quinta Jurecic and Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien sat down with Maya Kornberg, a Research Fellow at the Brennan Center's Elections and Government Program and one of the report's authors. They discussed how Maya and her team surveyed so many state and local officials across a number of jurisdictions, the pervasive risks and threats those officeholders face, and how these threats are distorting U.S. democracy as a whole.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 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 ProgramMichael Waldman, President and CEO of the Brennan CenterMax Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign RelationsAndrew Rudalevige, Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government at Bowdoin CollegeAnd moderator Kareem Crayton, the Brennan Center's Vice President for Washington DCIf 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

Lisa Femia, Staff Attorney on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's civil liberties team, is this week's guest on Adult Site Broker Talk. Her work focuses on surveillance, privacy, free speech, and the impact of technology on civil rights and civil liberties. She has done substantial work challenging age verification laws across the U.S. Lisa came to EFF from Hogan Lovells US LLP, where she maintained a robust pro bono practice centered on democracy reform, criminal justice, and civil rights. Before joining Hogan, Lisa worked on privacy and government surveillance issues as a clinic student and post-graduate intern at the Brennan Center for Justice. Lisa also served as an NYU International Law and Human Rights Fellow in law school. She advocated for press freedom and media rights in Kampala, Uganda, in that role. Before law school, Lisa worked as the government relations manager of a national nonprofit foundation in Washington, D.C. Lisa holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a bachelor's degree from Princeton University. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development. EFF's mission is to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people of the world. EFF is dedicated to protecting online users' free expression and privacy rights and has fought for both in courts and legislatures across the country. EFF has repeatedly challenged laws that burden all internet users' rights by requiring online services to verify their users' age. In 2024 alone, EFF filed briefs and submitted public comments and letters opposing age verification laws in California, New York, Texas, and Mississippi. They plan to continue their work in these states and others (including, for example, Florida) in 2025. EFF has also been active in the fight to oppose a federal online age verification bill, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Adult Site Broker is the most experienced company to broker adult sites. They've sold and helped people buy more xxx sites than any other broker. Adult Site Broker is the leading company to sell porn sites and buy porn sites. They help their clients work out equitable deals. Check out their at www.adultsitebroker.com, the leading destination to broker porn sites. Adult Site Broker also has an affiliate program, ASB Cash, at https://asbcash.com, where you can earn 20% by referring people to buy adult sites and sell adult sites to Adult Site Broker, the porn website broker. For more information, please visit us at www.adultsitebroker.com to help you broker adult sites. Listen to Lisa Femia of the Electronic Freedom Foundation on Adult Site Broker Talk, starting today at www.adultsitebrokertalk.com

On 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, WiredFaiza Patel, Senior Director, Brennan Center Liberty and National Security ProgramSuresh Venkatasubramanian, Professor of Data Science and Computer Science, Brown UniversityModerator: Kareem Crayton, Vice President of Washington, DC, Brennan CenterIf 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

House Republicans are moving forward with a controversial bill that critics say is a backdoor attempt at voter suppression. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require Americans to provide documentary proof of citizenship in person to register for federal elections. However, it's already illegal for noncitizens to vote, and data show voter fraud is exceedingly rare. Multiple audits, including those in Georgia and North Carolina, found only a few cases among millions of voters. So why introduce this bill? It aligns with a Trump-backed executive order and continues longstanding MAGA rhetoric on voter fraud. The Brennan Center estimates this bill could prevent up to 21 million eligible citizens from registering—primarily those lacking easy access to required documents. Women who've changed their names due to marriage would face additional bureaucratic hurdles proving their identities. Additionally, the legislation would eliminate online and mail-in voter registration, disproportionately affecting rural voters who may need to drive hours just to register. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President 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 ProgramSean Morales-Doyle, Director, Brennan Center Voting Rights and Elections ProgramWendy Weiser, Vice President, Brennan Center Democracy ProgramModerator: Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan CenterIf 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

Eigentlich ging es nur um einen Sitz am Obersten Gerichtshof von Wisconsin. Normalerweise interessiert eine solche Wahl nicht weiter ausserhalb des US-Bundesstaats im Rostgürtel. Doch dieses Mal handelte es sich um die erste grössere Wahl in den USA seit dem Amtsantritt Donald Trumps. So wurde der Urnengang in Wisconsin zum Stimmungstest mit Blick auf Trumps erste Monate im Weissen Haus und die Rolle von Techmilliardär Elon Musk in der Regierung. Die Wahl war das teuerste Gerichtsrennen in den USA, mit Ausgaben von fast 99 Millionen Dollar, wie das Brennan Center for Justice ermittelte. Allein Elon Musk soll 18 Millionen aufgeworfen haben. Am Schluss setzte sich die liberale Richterin Susan Crawford, die den Demokraten nahesteht, überraschend klar gegen ihren konservativen Kontrahenten Brad Schimel durch. Crawfords Sieg ist das erste Lebenszeichen der Demokraten seit langem.Ist das mehr als ein symbolischer Erfolg? Findet die notorisch zerstrittene Partei nun ein Rezept für den Umgang mit Trump? Und was bedeutet das Wahlergebnis für den US-Präsidenten, dessen Zustimmungswerte eher sinken?Darüber unterhält sich Christof Münger, Leiter des Ressorts International, mit Fabian Fellmann, dem USA-Korrespondenten des «Tages-Anzeigers», in einer neuen Folge des Podcasts «Alles klar, Amerika?». Produzent dieser Folge ist Noah Fend. Mehr USA-Berichterstattung finden Sie auf unserer Webseite und in den Apps. Den «Tages-Anzeiger» können Sie 3 Monate zum Preis von 1 Monat testen: tagiabo.ch.Feedback, Kritik und Fragen an: podcasts@tamedia.ch

Eigentlich ging es nur um einen Sitz am Obersten Gerichtshof von Wisconsin. Doch dieses Mal handelte es sich um die erste grössere Wahl in den USA seit dem Amtsantritt Donald Trumps. Die Wahl war das teuerste Gerichtsrennen in den USA, mit Ausgaben von fast 99 Millionen Dollar, wie das Brennan Center for Justice ermittelte. Allein Elon Musk soll 18 Millionen aufgeworfen haben. Am Schluss setzte sich die liberale Richterin Susan Crawford, die den Demokraten nahesteht, überraschend klar gegen ihren konservativen Kontrahenten Brad Schimel durch. Crawfords Sieg ist das erste Lebenszeichen der Demokraten seit langem.Ist das mehr als ein symbolischer Erfolg? Findet die notorisch zerstrittene Partei nun ein Rezept für den Umgang mit Trump? Und was bedeutet das Wahlergebnis für den US-Präsidenten, dessen Zustimmungswerte eher sinken?Darüber unterhält sich Christof Münger, Leiter des Ressorts International, mit Fabian Fellmann, dem USA-Korrespondenten des «Tages-Anzeigers», in einer neuen Folge des Podcasts «Alles klar, Amerika?». Produzent dieser Folge ist Noah Fend. Unser Tagi-Spezialangebot für Podcast-Hörer:innen: tagiabo.chHabt ihr Feedback, Ideen oder Kritik zu «Apropos»? Schreibt uns an podcasts@tamedia.chPodcast, Live-Aufzeichnung «Apropos»: Wohnkrise: Woher sie kommt – und was sie mit uns macht

The Trumpian inversion of reality was threaded into so many areas of the law and active litigation this week. Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia Lithwick to discuss the apparent evaporation of judicial patience for Trump lawyers simultaneously claiming that a signal chat was not classified or subject to record preservation rules, AND the flights to El Salvador that were  filmed for posterity on arrival at a prison were in fact state secrets. Together, they also think through the likelihood of the Supreme Court stepping into the Alien Enemies Act case at this early stage by just taking the Trump administration at its word that those summary renditions were totally legal and constitutionally correct.  Next, Dahlia Lithwick talks to Wendy Weiser, vice president for democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School, about another Trumpian inversion of reality: his executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections”, which in fact is not about election integrity, but instead an extension of the Big Lie election theory that could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trumpian inversion of reality was threaded into so many areas of the law and active litigation this week. Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia Lithwick to discuss the apparent evaporation of judicial patience for Trump lawyers simultaneously claiming that a signal chat was not classified or subject to record preservation rules, AND the flights to El Salvador that were  filmed for posterity on arrival at a prison were in fact state secrets. Together, they also think through the likelihood of the Supreme Court stepping into the Alien Enemies Act case at this early stage by just taking the Trump administration at its word that those summary renditions were totally legal and constitutionally correct.  Next, Dahlia Lithwick talks to Wendy Weiser, vice president for democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School, about another Trumpian inversion of reality: his executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections”, which in fact is not about election integrity, but instead an extension of the Big Lie election theory that could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trumpian inversion of reality was threaded into so many areas of the law and active litigation this week. Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia Lithwick to discuss the apparent evaporation of judicial patience for Trump lawyers simultaneously claiming that a signal chat was not classified or subject to record preservation rules, AND the flights to El Salvador that were  filmed for posterity on arrival at a prison were in fact state secrets. Together, they also think through the likelihood of the Supreme Court stepping into the Alien Enemies Act case at this early stage by just taking the Trump administration at its word that those summary renditions were totally legal and constitutionally correct.  Next, Dahlia Lithwick talks to Wendy Weiser, vice president for democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School, about another Trumpian inversion of reality: his executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections”, which in fact is not about election integrity, but instead an extension of the Big Lie election theory that could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode three of NAWL's Bridging Divides series, host Kirsten Silwanowicz engages in a compelling conversation with Eliza Sweren-Becker, Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice's Voting Rights and Elections Program. They delve into the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act) and its profound effects on voter registration and participation. Tune in to learn more about the SAVE Act and its potential impact on the future of voting.Please note that this episode was recorded before the president's Executive Order on Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections was issued on March 25, 2025.For more info and updates on the SAVE Act, visit The Brennan Center's website.  

Harry talks with Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice, about the possibly imminent introduction by House of the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility” (SAVE) Act. The legislation, which passed the House last year but wasn't taken up in the Senate, would require every citizen registering or re-registering to vote to produce a birth certificate or passport in order to vote. It's defended as a way to ferret out voting by non-citizens, but that turns out to be a virtually non-existent problem, as does the casual charges by Trump and others of widespread voting fraud. The effect, and likely intent, of the legislation would be to disproportionately disenfranchise Democrats. Waldman explains the manifold problems the SAVE Act would engender, including huge headaches for state and local authorities.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Washington Roundtable speaks with with Michael Waldman, the president and C.E.O. of the Brennan Center for Justice, at N.Y.U. Law, to discuss the escalating attacks on the judiciary by  President Trump and his allies. If the Administration ignores a legitimate order from a federal judge, as it has come close to doing, what can the courts do in response? This week's reading: “Donald Trump, Producer-in-Chief,” by Susan B. Glasser “Why ‘Constitutional Crisis' Fails to Capture Trump's Attack on the Rule of Law,” by Isaac Chotiner “The Trump Administration Nears Open Defiance of the Courts,” by Ruth Marcus To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

As peace talks drag on, the crisis in Gaza gets worse and worse. It's now two weeks since Israel shut off electricity, food, fuel and medical supplies, in a bid to pressure Hamas to accept an extension of the preliminary ceasefire. Gavin Kelleher is the humanitarian access manager in Gaza for the Norwegian Refugee Council. He joins the show from Gaza City.  Also on today's show: Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director, Liberty and National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice; Noubar Afeyan, Co-Founder & Chairman, Moderna; Mary McCord, Former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, DOJ  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nearly 300 Venezuelans are now in El Salvador after being deported from the U.S. without a hearing, despite a federal judge’s order blocking the move. The Trump administration says they are members of a notorious gang called Tren de Aragua and summarily deported them under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, joins John Yang to discuss. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Nearly 300 Venezuelans are now in El Salvador after being deported from the U.S. without a hearing, despite a federal judge’s order blocking the move. The Trump administration says they are members of a notorious gang called Tren de Aragua and summarily deported them under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, joins John Yang to discuss. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Nearly 300 Venezuelans are now in El Salvador after being deported from the U.S. without a hearing, despite a federal judge’s order blocking the move. The Trump administration says they are members of a notorious gang called Tren de Aragua and summarily deported them under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, joins John Yang to discuss. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

First up, Ralph welcomes former FBI agent Mike German to discuss his new book (co-written with Beth Zasloff), Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within. Then, Ralph speaks to Dr. Bandy Lee about her psychological analysis of the second Trump presidency. Finally, Ralph talks about Trump's latest Congressional address.Mike German is a fellow with the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. He has worked at the ACLU and served sixteen years as an FBI special agent. He left the FBI in 2004 after reporting continuing deficiencies in the bureau's counterterrorism operations to Congress. He is the author of Thinking Like a Terrorist, Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Our Democracy, and his latest book (co-authored with Beth Zasloff) is Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within.It's important to understand that the white supremacist movement is quite fractured and I refer to it in the book as the white supremacist and far right militant movement because it does have a number of different factions that have specific goals that in many cases differ from one another. But as a movement, essentially what they're looking for is a return to a legally-supported racial caste system where white people dominate without question and impunity to act violently towards anyone who would challenge that racial hierarchy.Mike GermanIt's fascinating because I think there's an assumption that many have that these white supremacists or far-right militant groups are Trump supporters, but I don't believe many of them are. They understand that right-wing populism, that those racist (I would have said “dog whistles” of previous administrations, but racist) rhetoric helps promote them and gives them media attention that allows them to recruit and expand their ranks. But they don't support Donald Trump. They don't support the Republican Party.Mike GermanYou have a situation now where these people that led the movement into a ditch on January 6th (and they had to scramble and all go underground and then slowly restore these groups) all of a sudden these people who led them into the ditch come out ofprison and want to be the leaders again.Mike GermanThere comes a time when the flattering of the citizens by rogue criminal politicians has got to be exposed for what it is. First, they flatter the citizenry, then they flummox the citizenry, then they fool the citizenry into supporting them. And the reaction to that has got to be: you'd better start doing your homework, voters, regardless who you vote for. You've got to spend more time on the records of these politicians, not their rhetoric.Ralph NaderDr. Bandy Lee is a medical doctor, a forensic psychiatrist, and a world expert on violence who taught at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law School for 17 years before joining the Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law. She is currently president of the World Mental Health Coalition, an educational organization that assembles mental health experts to collaborate with other disciplines for the betterment of public mental health and public safety. She is the editor of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President and Profile of a Nation: Trump's Mind, America's Soul.This is a problem of mental pathology. That is why [Trump] has to place mental health labels on his opponents, why he has to call himself a stable genius, and why he has to take on the most powerful position on the planet (the US presidency). It is to hide his unfitness and his mental pathology. That's what it comes down to.Dr. Bandy Lee[Trump's] been in the public arena and influential positions for a decade now, but we have to address it in mental health terms. His goal is to alter reality and through threats, intimidation and co-optation, he has not only taken over the press and is in the process of buying it out, but he has also subdued…corrupted the Supreme Court and the Congress, and he has figured out that with the speed with which he is wreaking his havoc, by the time courts can respond, the agencies that held our society together will be gutted, closed, and changed forever.Dr. Bandy Lee Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

In the first few weeks of his second term, Donald Trump has engaged in a display of unprecedented executive power, in most cases without legal authority. This lawbreaking spree has extended to his unelected patron, Elon Musk. Courts across the nation have responded, demanding that the new administration comply with federal statutes and proving that the Constitution still matters. Everyone has to follow the law — even presidents. While no one can be totally sure what will happen next during these extraordinary times, Brennan Center experts can tell you what should happen next, according to U.S. law. Listen to a recording of a conversation with our lawyers and policy advocates about what's happening to U.S. democracy and how you can play your part in defending the rule of law.  Speakers:  Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director, Brennan Center Liberty and National Security Program Sean Morales-Doyle, Director, Brennan Center Voting Rights Program Daniel Weiner, Director, Brennan Center Elections and Government Program Barton Gellman, Senior Adviser, Brennan Center 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 February 24, 2025. Keep up with the Brennan Center's work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

The Constitution is under attack—and not just by Trump and the executive branch. For a long time, the conservative justices on the Supreme Court have been inconsistently interpreting the Constitution. But our guest, Madiba Dennie, says focusing on their decision-making processes is a trap. She says there's a better way for concerned citizens to take action against the backsliding of social progress fueled by the Supreme Court. Madiba K. Dennie is an attorney, columnist, and professor whose work focuses on fostering an equitable multiracial democracy. She is the deputy editor and senior contributor at the critical legal commentary website Balls and Strikes and the author of The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back. Dennie previously served as counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, and her legal and political commentary has been featured in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, the BBC, and MSNBC. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735353/the-originalism-trap-by-madiba-k-dennie/

The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson examines Elon’s profoundly dumb email to federal workers. The Brennan Center’s Michael Waldman details how to counter Trump’s offenses against judges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congressional Republicans have fast-tracked the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act)—legislation that could disenfranchise tens of millions of American voters by imposing strict new citizenship verification requirements. Is this bill really about election integrity, or is it an unprecedented voter suppression effort? Host Jen Taylor-Skinner sits down with Eliza Sweren-Becker from the Brennan Center for Justice to break down the dangers of the SAVE Act, who it targets, and how it could reshape American democracy. From hidden costs to criminal penalties for election workers, this bill is more than just restrictive—it's a direct attack on voting rights. This episode of The Electorette explores what's at stake, why it's happening now, and how you can take action before it's too late. Learn more about the SAVE Act from The Brennan Center for Justice: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/house-bill-would-hurt-american-voters

Congress considered 158 bills that mention artificial intelligence over the past two years, according to a count by the Brennan Center for Justice. But zero comprehensive AI laws have been passed. There has been movement by states, however. In Tennessee, for example, the ELVIS Act, which protects voices and likenesses from unauthorized use by AI, became law in March. In Colorado, a law that takes effect in 2026 requires developers of high-risk AI systems to protect consumers from algorithm-based discrimination. But some who fund AI technology say a federal law is needed. That includes Matt Perault, head of AI policy at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Congress considered 158 bills that mention artificial intelligence over the past two years, according to a count by the Brennan Center for Justice. But zero comprehensive AI laws have been passed. There has been movement by states, however. In Tennessee, for example, the ELVIS Act, which protects voices and likenesses from unauthorized use by AI, became law in March. In Colorado, a law that takes effect in 2026 requires developers of high-risk AI systems to protect consumers from algorithm-based discrimination. But some who fund AI technology say a federal law is needed. That includes Matt Perault, head of AI policy at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

The first two weeks of the Trump administration have brought dramatic proposals and unprecedented changes to the government. Our new series, On Democracy, is taking a step back to look at big questions about the changing laws, institutions and norms. For our first interview, Amna Nawaz spoke with Barton Gellman, a longtime journalist and senior adviser at the Brennan Center for Justice. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

First up, Ralph welcomes back constitutional law expert Bruce Fein to talk about his reaction to Donald Trump's inaugural address. Then Ralph is joined by Public Citizen Co-President Robert Weissman to discuss Public Citizen's lawsuit against Trump regarding Elon Musk's D.O.G.E task force. Finally, Ralph speaks with Public Citizen's Government Affairs lobbyist Craig Holman about the flood of donations from corporations and billionaires to Trump's inaugural fund.Bruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.Sitting on that platform at the inauguration was probably trillions of dollars held by individuals—not by companies, just individuals—fabulous wealth. And you have to ask, if these are business people, why are you at the political event? Why aren't you building a better mousetrap? Why aren't you like Thomas Edison, looking to find new ways of doing business? It's because all of their profits come from manipulating government in their favor. It's the opposite of so-called capitalism.Bruce FeinRemember that this lust for power transcends all reason, and that we're endowed with that lust.Bruce FeinRobert Weissman is a staunch public interest advocate and activist, as well as an expert on a wide variety of issues ranging from corporate accountability and government transparency, to trade and globalization, to economic and regulatory policy. As the President of Public Citizen, he has spearheaded the effort to loosen the chokehold corporations and the wealthy have over our democracy.The alleged purpose [of D.O.G.E.] is to advance efficiency of the government. But what it's really about is rolling back regulations—the things that give us clean air, clean water, safe food, fair workplace, economic justice, protections against discrimination, and more—to benefit corporate bottom lines, on the one hand, and on the other, to pursue a right-wing libertarian extremist agenda with slashing government spending, especially to protect the most poor and vulnerable.Robert WeissmanMusk said at first he wanted to try to cut $2 trillion from the budget every year. That's an impossibility, since the entire budget of discretionary spending is less than $2 trillion. Apparently, if you're the richest person in the history of the world, you don't actually have to know anything that you're talking about to be taken seriously.Robert WeissmanCraig Holman serves as Public Citizen's Capitol Hill lobbyist on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance rules. He is also working with European nongovernmental organizations and members of the European Commission and Parliament in developing a lobbyist registration system for the European Union. Previously, he was senior policy analyst at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, and he has assisted in drafting campaign finance reform legislation (including pay-to-play legislation), and has conducted numerous research projects on the initiative process and the impact of money in politics. What's interesting is that some previous inaugural committees…didn't want to make it look like their administration's on the auction block by taking million-dollar donations from special interests and corporations. And so Bush had limited contributions to $100,000, Obama limited to $50,000 as well—they just didn't want it to look like they're putting their whole administration on the auction block. Trump doesn't seem to care about that.Craig HolmanNews 1/22/25* On January 20th, Joe Biden handed over the presidency to Donald Trump. In one of his last acts before leaving office, former President Biden commuted the sentence of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, NPR reports. Peltier has been imprisoned for nearly 50 years following his conviction for the murder of two FBI agents at the Pine Ridge reservation; he has never wavered in maintaining his innocence. Despite Peltier being 80 years old and in increasingly poor health, NPR reports FBI Director Christopher Wray urged Biden not to “pardon Leonard Peltier or cut his sentence short.” Biden ultimately did not pardon Peltier, instead merely allowing him to complete his sentence under house arrest. In a statement, Peltier himself said “It's finally over — I'm going home…I want to show the world I'm a good person with a good heart.” Friend of the show Tom Morello, a longtime advocate for Peltier's release, wrote “Leonard has become a friend over the years and I am so glad…he will be able to spend his remaining years with family and friends.” Peltier's daughter Kathy, shocked by Biden's last-minute commutation after decades of being rebuffed by successive presidents of both parties, said “I'm just thankful that he had the balls and the guts to do it.”* Donald Trump was inaugurated on Monday, making him the first president in the modern era to serve non-consecutive terms. Immediately following his formal assumption of power, he issued a flurry of executive orders, including an exhaustive list of “rescissions” of Biden's executive actions. Among these, POLITICO reports that Trump immediately put Cuba back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, signifying a return to the bad old days of hostility towards our island neighbor. This is only expected to worsen with American foreign policy being directed by Marco Rubio. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called Trump's reversal “an act of arrogance and disregard for truth,” adding “the legitimate and noble cause of our people will prevail and we will once again succeed.”* Another Trump executive order issued Monday formally created the Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE. However, it seems that instead of creating a new agency, this action mainly just renamed the U.S. Digital Service – an existing executive branch office – the U.S. DOGE service. Moreover, this newly redubbed USDS does not appear to have a mandate to cut the federal workforce. Instead, it seems to be primarily concerned with updating federal information technology systems. Reading between the lines, it seems likely that Trump is putting Elon Musk in charge of this federal IT agency as a means to dole out public money to the tech oligarch and his cronies, rather than streamline the functions of the federal government.* In more Big Tech news, CBS reports President Trump is “set to announce billions of dollars in private sector investment to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.” According to this report, OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle are planning a joint venture called “Stargate,” to begin with a massive data center in Texas. These corporations are planning to pour $500 billion into this project over the next four years. This will almost certainly be augmented by public funds provided by the Trump administration.* Turning to Gaza, Democracy Now! reported Saturday that both Biden and Trump gave Israel the “green light” to resume the assault on Gaza if Netanyahu felt it necessary. This piece quotes Netanyahu, saying that both presidents “gave full backing to Israel's right to return to fighting if Israel reaches the conclusion that negotiations of the second stage is fruitless.” As this piece notes, Israel killed approximately 200 Palestinians after the ceasefire was agreed upon last Wednesday. We can only hope the ceasefire holds and that President Trump sticks to his commitment to enforce the deal.* At the same time, friend of the show Norman Solomon is out with a piece in the Hill on the class action lawsuit filed by 800 Northern California residents, including Solomon himself, against their Democratic representatives in Congress, alleging that they are “illegally helping to provide weapons to Israel for use in committing genocide in Gaza.” As Solomon admits, the suit, directed against Congressmen Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson is unlikely to get far. However, he does believe both that the funding of the genocidal war is illegal under the humanitarian Leahy Laws and that these lawsuits can apply much needed scrutiny to these members and force them to register the opposition of their constituents to their positions – something with which many Democrats have refused to reckon. Solomon hopes to make Gaza a defining issue in the 2026 California Democratic Congressional primaries.* Two weeks ago, we discussed the American Historical Association's vote to condemn the “scholasticide” occurring in Gaza. Since then however, the AHA has tried to backpedal and delegitimize that vote. On January 17th, the AHA Council released a statement in which they write that while they deplore “any intentional destruction of Palestinian educational institutions, libraries, universities, and archives in Gaza,” the council considers the scholasticide resolution “outside the scope of the Association's mission and purpose.” The AHA Council therefore decided to disregard the vote of its membership and unilaterally veto the resolution. This cowardly and disgraceful decision to nullify the voice of America's historians will ironically be a stain on the history of the organization itself.* In more foreign affairs news, the crisis in South Korea continues to deepen. Last week, President Yoon was formally incarcerated pending his trial before the country's Constitutional Court after he attempted to seize power in a coup. Upon his detention, South Korean political newsletter Blue Roof reported that “Pro-Yoon supporters are rioting… storming the courthouse and attacking the marshals.” Security forces however were able to subdue the rioters, per Reuters. The Constitutional Court will now decide whether or not to remove Yoon from the presidency. Yoon could also face a trial on insurrection charges which would carry penalties up to and including life in prison and even capital punishment.* Turning back to domestic news, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, representing the cops of Philadelphia, is currently engaging in contract negotiations with the city – and making outrageous new demands. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that beyond pay raises and better vacation policy, “the police union is seeking to roll back transparency and accountability measures that predate the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest of 2020.” Indeed, the FOP is seeking to terminate the department's decade-long policy of releasing the names of most officers involved in shootings, prevent the Citizens Police Oversight Commission from investigating police misconduct, and “restrict outside access to currently available records ― such as those detailing how fired officers return to the force through the once-secretive grievance arbitration process.” Beyond these measures to make the police more secretive and less accountable to the public, the FOP is also demanding outrageous new perks for police officers, including interest free home loans and provisions allowing cops to live outside the state. We can only hope the city remains firm in these negotiations and preserves the public's right to know* Finally, CNN is out with a new poll showing the Democratic Party registering its worst ratings in decades. According to this poll, “a 58% majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say that the…Party needs major changes, or to be completely reformed, up from just 34% who said the same after…2022.” This comes on the heels of a January 15th YouGov poll showing that a plurality of Biden 2020 voters who didn't vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 said “ending Israel's violence in Gaza was the top issue affecting their vote choice.” The CNN poll also showed that “Only 49% of Democratic-aligned adults say they expect their party's congressional representatives to be even somewhat effective at resisting GOP policies.” Yet, perhaps the starkest number from this poll is “just 33% of all Americans express a favorable view of the Democratic Party, an all-time low in CNN's polling dating back to 1992.” These abysmal results should be a wakeup call to the moribund leadership of the party as the country drives of a cliff. If history is any indication though, the Democrats will remain asleep at the wheel.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Democracy Docket’s Marc Elias examines the legal battles of the Trump 2.0 era. The Brennan Center’s Michael Waldman details the Unified Executive Theory and how it might unfold under Trump 2.0.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the drones over New Jersey, to the surveillance cameras that captured Luigi Mangione, to even TikTok - our movements, our likeness, even our shopping habits can be tracked. But how did we get to this point? Host Brittany Luse sits down with NPR Cybersecurity Correspondent Jenna McLaughlin and the Brennan Center for Justice's Faiza Patel to get into just how much of our daily lives are up for grabs. Then, Brittany turns the page to the best books of 2024. She is joined by NPR Arts Desk reporter Andrew Limbong and Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks podcast to rank the good, the bad, and the "I just can't put it down."Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content by joining NPR+ today: https://plus.npr.org/Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy