Dr. Maya L. Kornberg, senior research fellow and manager at NYU Law’s Brennan Center for Justice, is the author of” Inside Congressional Committees: Function and Dysfunction in Lawmaking.” She has taught political science at NYU, Georgetown, and Oxford and worked at the UN and Inter-Parliamentary Union. Her most recent book is, “Stuck: How Money, Media and Violence Prevent Change in Congress.” Violence is dangerous as it constricts civic engagement; intimidates members to express their opinions; and causes a wave of early political retirements. A second problem preventing change in Congress is due to the vast sums of “dark” money in politics. Certain Supreme Court decisions, e.g. Citizens United, opened the floodgates to allow Members to “pay to play” with their contributors. Media helps inform the public of the importance of the legislative process. Many mainstream media tend to emphasize the most salacious aspects of Congress and euphemistically downplay some issues.

June 29, 2026

Dr. Kevin Riehle, a Lecturer in Intelligence and International Security at Brunel University in London, is an expert on Counterintelligence. His most recent book, “Security, Counterintelligence (CI) at Its Core: Assessing and Preventing Foreign Espionage.” One comprehensive approach is to incorporate all CI activities under a single definition. The basic question is how Counterintelligence does (CI) prevent an adversary to gain advantage over us. There are the four types of counterintelligence analysis: 1) help feed our CI activities by one who is knowledgeable; 2) foreign intelligence threat analysis means how much of a threat does an enemy possess; 3) Counter-counter intelligence (CCI) which is what our CI officers use to understand the CI of another country; 4) What are goals of the adversary. It is axiomatic that most countries are spying on each other. Considerable evidence shows that Russian engaged in swaying the 2016 and 2024 US elections overtly and covertly.

June 27, 2026

Sonali Kolhatkar is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, writer, and author. She is the founder, host, and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali” which airs as a radio program on KPFK, dozens of community radio stations around the U.S. and as a TV show on Free Speech TV. In addition to her journalistic and political work, Sonali is a prolific artist and has won several awards, as well as being a talented singer/songwriter. Her major subjects are racial justice, police divestment, economic justice and income inequality. The USA needs a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address many of the previous abuses such as racial injustice. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela did not seek retribution, but a discussion of previous problems, a forgiveness, and involvement of Apartheid supporters. When the current Trump administration is out of office, a reckoning with their nonfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance for America to recover.

June 6, 2026