Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2020 Time: 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: NYU School of Law

Nearly 50 people are murdered every day in the United States. Thomas Abt argues that a handful of targeted, cost-effective strategies can halve that number. In his new book, Bleeding Out: The Devastating Consequences of Urban Violence — and a Bold New Plan for Peace in the Streets, the Council on Criminal Justice senior fellow and former Obama administration official says that the focus on drugs, gangs, and guns has been misplaced. He proposes instead an alternative vision for urban policing.

Speakers: Thomas Abt, Senior Fellow, Council on Criminal Justice; author of Bleeding Out: The Devastating Consequences of Urban Violence — and a Bold New Plan for Peace in the Streets; James E. Johnson, Corporation Counsel, City of New York; former Chairman of the Board, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law; Risco Mention-Lewis, Deputy Police Commissioner, Suffolk County, New York; Carlos Jennings, Violence Interrupter, MrPEPR (Positive Energy Positive Results); Taryn A. Merkl, Senior Counsel, Law Enforcement Leaders & Justice Program, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law; Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of New York

Date: Tuesday, February 4, 2020 Time: 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: D’Agostino Hall, NYU School of Law

Americans are increasingly questioning the fairness and accuracy of U.S. elections. Law professor Richard L. Hasen examines four sources of voters’ distrust: voter suppression, poor election administration, dirty political tricks, and inflammatory claims of “stolen” elections. Hasen’s new book, Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy, proposes steps to restore voters’ confidence ahead of the 2020 election.

Speaker: Richard L. Hasen, Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science, University of California, Irvine; author of Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy; Victoria Bassetti, Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2020 Time: 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: NYU School of Law

How did George Washington view the presidency? What might he think of U.S. politics today? And what lessons does he offer for the challenges ahead? Historian Alexis Coe examines America’s first president in a freshly humanizing light. Her new book, You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington, documents the Revolutionary War hero’s reluctant acceptance of the presidency and his heartbreak over fierce partisanship and infighting in the cabinet.

Speaker: Alexis Coe, historian; host of No Man’s Land; author of You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington; Julian Zelizer, Professor of History and Public Affairs, Princeton University; CNN Political Analyst

Date: Thursday, February 27, 2020 Time: 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: D’Agostino Hall, NYU School of Law

In recent years, the Supreme Court has empowered moneyed interests to wield disproportionate influence in elections, gutted the Voting Rights Act, and upheld President Trump’s Muslim ban. These decisions fit a troubling, decades-long pattern, argues journalist Adam Cohen. His new survey of high court rulings, Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court’s Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America, finds that since the Nixon era, the Court has done little to protect the rights of the poor and disadvantaged.

Speaker: Adam Cohen, former member of the New York Times editorial board; former senior writer, Time magazine; author of Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court’s Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2020 Time: 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Location: D’Agostino Hall, NYU School of Law

His courtroom skills earned him a reputation as a legendary trial lawyer, and in his new book, Martin Garbus zeroes in on one of his most high-profile cases: defending five Cuban men charged in connection with the 1996 downing of two planes over Havana. What lessons can we draw from this case about the U.S. justice system, American politics, and the complicated relationship between the U.S. and Cuba? Garbus examines these questions in North of Havana: The Untold Story of Dirty Politics, Secret Diplomacy, and the Trial of the Cuban Five.

Speaker: Martin Garbus, trial lawyer; Special Counsel, Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law, author, North of Havana: The Untold Story of Dirty Politics, Secret Diplomacy, and the Trial of the Cuban Five; Victoria Bassetti, Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law