The Briefing with Michael Waldman – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY), ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, is leading efforts in the House to craft the Democrats’ agenda to fight corruption and strengthen democracy. Recently, he has spoken emphatically about the dangers of the SAVE Act, which would effectively bar millions of eligible Americans from voting.

Watch or listen as Morelle discusses what it will take to defend the right to vote, end political corruption, and renew our democratic values.  

Speakers:

• Rep. Joe Morelle, New York’s 25th Congressional District

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

Recorded on February 13, 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.

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 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.

From everyday instances of corruption to an administration intent on undermining the Constitution, it can feel as though American democracy is in decline. Yet amid the attacks on the rule of law and strains on our system of checks and balances, there are ways that we can engage, participate, and work together to defend and uphold our democratic institutions. Listen as legal expert and former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance discusses her new book, Giving Up is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy.

Speakers: 

• Joyce Vance, Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law at University of Alabama School of Law; Senior Fellow, Brennan Center 

• 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 3, 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.

Congress has the power of the purse, not the president. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to decide how much the federal government spends and for what purposes. While presidents and Congress have always engaged in a push-and-pull over funding, President Trump has taken unprecedented steps to ignore this constitutional framework and impose his own spending priorities. Experts break down these efforts, the lawsuits challenging them, and the impact of these actions on Americans’ daily lives.

 Speakers:

• Shalanda Young, Former Director, White House Office of Management and Budget; Distinguished Scholar in Residence, NYU School of Law; Doris Duke Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy

• Lauren Miller Karalunas, Counsel, Brennan Center Democracy Program

• Host, Michael Waldman, President and CEO, 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 October 28, 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.

President Trump has done away with the Justice Department’s historic independence, firing career prosecutors and using the department to pursue his political enemies. Former DOJ leaders under Republican and Democratic administrations break down what is happening inside the department and what can be done about its weaponization.

Speakers:

• Peter Keisler, Former Acting Attorney General 

• Vanita Gupta, Former Associate Attorney General 

• Host: Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center

Recorded on October 24, 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.

We are living in a new era of corruption, one that combines personal self-dealing and vast funds pouring into the political process. Whether it’s the crypto industry dominating Congress, the world’s wealthiest man bankrolling the winning presidential campaign, regulatory decisions used to pressure businesses, or the government quashing the bribery investigation of a top official, public power and private gain are fusing into one. Experts lay out a plan to end the culture of kleptocracy.

Speakers:

• Jane Mayer, Staff Writer, The New Yorker

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

• Host, 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 October 15, 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.

This year’s Supreme Court term will be a historic one for the future of presidential power and our system of checks and balances. 

The Court has steadily chipped away at protections designed to make American democracy fairer, more inclusive, and more representative. In the 2025–26 term, the justices will hear a set of cases that could accelerate that troublesome trend and produce landmark decisions. One case implicates how the Voting Rights Act ensures fair representation in state legislatures. Yet another takes up the controversy over the president’s asserted power to unilaterally impose tariffs. Learn about the major cases on the Court’s docket and what the outcomes could mean for the future of American democracy. Hosted in partnership with the Kohlberg Center on the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Speakers:

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

• Kareem Crayton, Vice President for Washington, DC, Brennan Center

• Gilda R. Daniels, Professor, University of Baltimore School of Law

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

• Leah Tulin, Senior Counsel and Litigation Manager, Brennan Center Democracy Program

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 30, 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.

The Constitution gives states and Congress the power to run elections, and the president has virtually no role in the process. Yet President Trump ignored this fact and issued an executive order in March that aims to overhaul the nation’s election systems. His administration is dismantling a federal agency responsible for protecting election security. And it has targeted and threatened election officials and others who keep elections free and fair, while supporting those who undermine elections, including the January 6 rioters.

A new report from the Brennan Center connects the dots between these unprecedented, and in some cases illegal, moves. 

Listen to host Michael Waldman, President and CEO of the Brennan Center discuss the report’s findings with Sean Morales-Doyle, Director, Voting Rights and Elections Program and Jasleen Singh, Counsel, Voting Rights and Elections Program.

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 18, 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.

Challenges to democracy intensified over the summer. The National Guard deployed in California. The Supreme Court ruled on presidential power using the shadow docket. In Texas, an egregious gerrymander has set off a partisan war nationally. Now the fall will mark the next phase of the fight for the Constitution. Will the rule of law hold? How will the 2026 election unfold?

Brennan Center experts discuss some of the biggest news stories of the past three months and explore what will come next in the struggle to uphold democratic values. 

Speakers:

• Kareem Crayton, 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.