Virtual events on America's “deep state,” fixing democracy, and Newt Gingrich’s partisan legacy

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Is the ‘Deep State’ Real?: David Rohde on Accountability in Intelligence Agencies

Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2020 Time: 6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. EDT

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American intelligence and law enforcement agencies face a legitimacy crisis. President Trump and his allies accuse an unelected “deep state” of undercutting his administration, while his opponents allege that those very officials have facilitated presidential abuses of power.

Similar concerns have roiled the United States ever since the Church Committee convened nearly half a century ago. Exposing abuses at the FBI and CIA, it pressed reforms to hold them to the rule of law and democratic oversight. In his new book, In Deep: The FBI, the CIA, and the Truth about America's “Deep State,”

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Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist David Rohde investigates whether, in the decades since, those agencies and the politicians charged with overseeing them have protected the public or abused their power, and asks whether democratic accountability and political neutrality are possible. He is joined by Brennan Center Fellow Michael German, a former FBI special agent and an advocate of intelligence reform.

SPEAKERS: David Rohde, Executive Editor, NewYorker.com; Michael German, Fellow, Liberty & National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice


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Why Fixing Democracy Is Easier Than You Think

Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2020 Time: 6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. EDT

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What explains the gap between what We, the People want and what our elected leaders do? How can we fix our politics before it's too late? And how can we truly understand the state of our democracy without wanting to crawl under a rock? That's what former Obama speechwriter David Litt set out to answer in his much-anticipated new book, Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think

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Poking into forgotten corners of history, translating political science into plain English, and traveling the country to meet experts and activists, Litt explains how the world’s greatest experiment in democracy went awry. Yet despite his clear-eyed assessment of the dangers we face, he remains “refreshingly optimistic” (Kirkus Reviews).

Litt will be joined by Valerie Jarrett, his former Obama White House boss, to discuss bold changes that are within our grasp and how to restore the balance of power in this country before it’s too late.

SPEAKERS: David Litt, former speechwriter to President Barack Obama, author of Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think

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; Valerie Jarrett, Senior Distinguished Fellow, University of Chicago Law School; former senior advisor to President Barack Obama

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Historian Julian Zelizer on Newt Gingrich’s Partisan Legacy


Date: Monday, July 13, 2020 Time: 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. EDT

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When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, President Obama observed that Trump “is not an outlier; he is a culmination, a logical conclusion of the rhetoric and tactics of the Republican party.” In his new book, Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, The Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party

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, Julian Zelizer pinpoints the moment when our country was set on a path toward an era of bitterly partisan and ruthless politics, ignited by Newt Gingrich and his allies. From the Contract with America to the rise of the Tea Party and the Trump presidential campaign, Gingrich’s fingerprints can be seen throughout some of the most divisive episodes in contemporary American politics.

SPEAKERS: Julian Zelizer, Professor of History and Public Affairs, Princeton University; CNN Political Analyst; author, Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party

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; Alisyn Camerota, co-host, CNN's New Day

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The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to reform, revitalize – and when necessary defend – our country’s systems of democracy and justice.


Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
120 Broadway, Suite 1750
New York, NY 10271
T 646 292 8310
F 212 463 7308

[email protected]

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