Date: Tuesday, September 14 Time: 12–1:15 p.m. ET
RSVP for this virtual event

Over the last year, peaceful demonstrators across the United States have been met by armed individuals and self-proclaimed “militias.” Between January 2020 and June 2021, at least 560 protests included the presence of armed individuals other than law enforcement. One out of six of those demonstrations reported violent or destructive activity, according to research from Everytown for Gun Safety.

Can speech be free when armed counter-protesters mix with unarmed protesters? What does this tension between the freedoms protected by the First and Second Amendments bode for democracy? And should state laws regarding the presence of guns at polling places be strengthened?

Speakers: Dr. Mary Anne Franks, Professor of Law and Michael R. Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair, University of Miami School of Law; Author, The Cult of the Constitution: Our Deadly Devotion to Guns and Free Speech; Darrell A.H. Miller, Melvin G. Shimm Professor of Law, Duke University Law School, Author, The Positive Second Amendment: Rights, Regulation, and the Future of Heller with Joseph Blocher; Eugene Volokh, Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA Law, Founder and Coauthor, The Volokh Conspiracy; Tim Zick, John Marshall Professor of Government and Citizenship and William H. Cabell Research Professor of Law, William & Mary Law School; Moderator: Eric Ruben, Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice, Assistant Professor, SMU Dedman School of Law

Date: Tuesday, September 21 Time: 5:30–6:30 p.m. ET
RSVP for this virtual event

Who wrote the Constitution? That's obvious, we think: 55 men in Philadelphia in 1787. But much of the Constitution was actually written later, in a series of 27 amendments enacted over the course of two centuries. Join the Brennan Center’s Wilfred Codrington and John Kowal as they discuss their new book, The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union.

Speakers: Wilfred Codrington, Fellow, Brennan Center; Co-author, The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union; John Kowal, Vice President of Programs, Brennan Center; Co-author, The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union; Moderator: Ari Berman, Senior Reporter, Mother Jones, Author, Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America

Date: Thursday, September 23 Time: 12–1 p.m. ET
RSVP for this virtual event

Twenty years after the attack, learn about what’s lost, what’s won, and what threatens us now. How have the events of 9/11 permanently altered the political landscape, the military landscape, and our rights to privacy?

Speakers: Spencer Ackerman, Contributing Editor, Daily Beast, Publisher, Forever Wars newsletter on Substack; Author, Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump; Faiza Patel, Co-director, Brennan Center Liberty & National Security Program; Moderator: John Avlon, Senior Political Analyst, CNN

Date: Wednesday, October 6 Time: 7–8 p.m. ET, 6–7 p.m. CT
RSVP for this virtual event

Join Keisha N. Blain in conversation with Donna Brazile for the launch of Blain’s new book, Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America.

Hamer, who came to political activism in mid-life after a forced sterilization, was a relentless advocate for voting rights for Black Americans and against white supremacy. Award-winning historian and New York Times bestselling author Blain shines a light on Hamer’s life, ideas, and political strategies, situating her as a key political thinker of the civil rights movement, alongside Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John Lewis, and Rosa Parks.

Speakers: Keisha N. Blain, Associate Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh, Author, Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America; Donna Brazile, Veteran Political Strategist, Former Interim Chair, Democratic National Committee

Date: Wednesday, November 10 Time: 6–7 p.m. ET
RSVP for this virtual event

The congressman who led the first impeachment of Donald Trump offers an inside account of American democracy in its darkest hour — and a warning that the forces of autocracy released by Trump remain as potent as ever. In his new book, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) argues that the Trump presidency has so weakened our institutions and compromised the Republican Party that the peril will last for years.

Speakers: Rep. Adam Schiff, D-CA 28th District; Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Author, Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could; Moderator: Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center