
About this episode
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
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Recorded on September 30, 2025.
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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.
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