The Briefing with Michael Waldman

Recently, we’ve seen an escalation in efforts to meddle with elections, from the dangerous SAVE Act, which is gaining momentum in Congress, to President Trump himself calling for “nationalizing” the counting of ballots.  

Less known is how the administration is leveraging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to subvert the vote. Over the last several months, the DOJ has been demanding access to voter rolls and suing states that don’t comply — a move that is not only unlawful but raises numerous alarms.  

In this episode, former DOJ officials and Brennan Center experts break down what’s happening inside the department, why it matters for the future of free and fair elections, and what can be done to stop the administration from undermining the rule of law.

Recorded on February 10, 2026.

Speakers:

• Eileen O’Connor, Senior Counsel and Manager, Democracy Program, Brennan Center 

• Chris Berger, Patricia Bauman Senior Fellow, Brennan Center

• Host: Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center

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

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.

Our government can often be defined by inefficiency and gridlock. We see big promises but inadequate action on many issues Americans care about, from health care to the environment.

Author and scholar Marc Dunkelman thinks he can explain why. In his new book Why Nothing Works, he makes the case that progressive efforts to constrain authority and make processes more democratic have, in fact, left many parts of our government unresponsive and unable to function, creating a cycle of distrust and disappointment.

This episode is part of a broader conversation seeking to answer this question: What will the next reform movement look like? Listen as Marc explains how we can break through the red tape and better ensure our democracy is able to serve everyone.

Speakers

• Marc Dunkelman: Fellow, Brown University's Watson School for International and Public Affairs; Senior Fellow, Searchlight Institute; and author of Why Nothing Works

• Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center

Recorded on January 26, 2026.

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

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.

Following the second killing of an American by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz linking the violence in Minnesota to a demand that the state give the Justice Department complete access to the state’s voter rolls, among other requests.

It’s an outrageous and unambiguous abuse of power. It’s also part of a broader strategy to undermine elections heading into the 2026 midterms. Listen as experts break down what has happened and discuss how we can both respond to ICE and protect our elections in this troubling moment.

Recorded on January 27, 2026.

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

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.

Americans are unhappy with their government. They’ve connected the dots: Corruption and self-dealing at the highest levels have led to voters feeling left out, left behind, and disconnected from government. What could solve the problem

The Brennan Center has begun publishing a series of policy solutions, starting with “Nine Solutions for Corruption in America.” It’s a new publication that addresses money in politics, government ethics, and more.

This is an episode not about restoring what was, but thinking anew. Join us as we speak to Celinda Lake, a top Democratic pollster, and Daniel Weiner, coauthor of our new paper, as we discuss what has happened, how Americans are responding, and what we can do to combat corruption.

Over the weekend, the Trump administration launched a military operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolas Maduro. Such an aggressive use of war powers without congressional consent is alarming and in many ways unprecedented. Trump is declaring victory. Critics are decrying a breach of checks and balances. What are the implications of this unilateral abuse of military force, and what could happen next?

Listen as leading experts from the Brennan Center discuss what happened, break down the legal issues at play, and reveal what Congress can do right now to respond.

Speakers:

• Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director, Liberty and National Security Program, Brennan Center

• Katherine Yon Ebright, Counsel, Liberty and National Security Program, Brennan Center

• Moderator: Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center

Recorded on January 6, 2026.

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

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.

This year we saw extraordinary threats to American democracy: an executive power grab, attacks on the freedom to vote, and more. Yet we also saw a growing response, from court rulings to citizen alarm. What happened? And what can we expect next?

Speakers:

• Sean Morales-Doyle,  Director, Voting Rights and Elections Program

• Wendy Weiser, Vice President, Democracy Program

• Daniel I. Weiner, Director, Elections and Government Program

• Katherine Yon Ebright, Counsel, Liberty and National Security Program

• Moderator: Michael Waldman, President and CEO

Recorded on December 16, 2025.

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

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.

For a generation, presidential races were blowouts. Every winner between 1980 and 1996 won by at least 37 Electoral College votes. These landslides relegated conspiracy theories about contested elections to the political fringes.

Then came 2000. The last polls showed a dead heat. On election night, the networks called it for Al Gore, then retracted their calls, then called it for George W. Bush, and retracted again.

Ultimately, five Supreme Court justices, all appointed by Republican presidents, put an end to the recount underway in Florida and effectively declared Bush the winner. The fractured opinions were a maze of disagreements, with the majority warning that the opinion should not be cited as precedent. Their reasoning flummoxed legal scholars — even those who agreed with the outcome. 

Listen as experts involved in the case discuss how it changed the relationship between Americans and elections and between elections and the courts.

Speakers:

• David Boies, Founding Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner

• Benjamin Ginsberg, Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution; National Counsel, Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign

• Barbara Pariente, Justice (retired), Florida Supreme Court

• Wendy Weiser, Vice President, Democracy, Brennan Center for Justice

• Moderator: Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center

Recorded on December 9, 2025.

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

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.

Over the past several months, the Trump administration has undertaken a congressionally unauthorized military campaign against supposed “narco-terrorists” in international waters. One of the administration’s attacks in particular has roiled Washington — according to recent reporting, military officials ordered a follow-up strike that killed survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat. Since the revelation, Trump officials have scrambled to explain the legal justification and who was ultimately responsible. 

Listen as Brennan Center expert Katherine Yon Ebright and Michael Waldman break down why these strikes are unlawful and discuss how Congress should respond.  

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 December 5, 2025. 

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

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office. 

U.S. politics today can be defined by extreme dysfunction and polarization. But the founders accounted for a fractured society, and designed our government specifically to handle moments like these. Listen as conservative scholar Yuval Levin discusses his book, American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again, which argues that the U.S. constitutional system is designed to compel us to find common ground and act together — and that the key is for Congress to play its leading role. 

Speakers: 

• Yuval Levin, Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute

• Host: Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center

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 November 21, 2025.

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

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.

Our military is trained to defeat enemies, not to police American citizens. President Trump’s troop deployments in Los Angeles, DC, Chicago, Portland, Memphis, and potentially other cities pose real threats to civil liberties and the rule of law.  During the Constitutional Convention, James Madison warned, “The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home.” Experts discuss the legality of Trump’s actions, the ongoing lawsuits to stop them, and ways to prevent future abuses of military force.  

Speakers:

• Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director, Brennan Center Liberty and National Security Program

• William L. Enyart, Major General (ret.), U.S. Army; former U.S. representative (D-IL); former committee member, House Armed Services Committee

• Host: Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center

Recorded on November 10, 2025.

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

The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.