Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congressional change and how to get to Reforms!
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
6:30 PM
NYU Washington, DC
1307 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
Register Here
The NYU John Brademas Center, in partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice, invites you to a public conversation marking the release of Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress by Maya Kornberg, published by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Drawing on fifty years of congressional reform efforts, Stuck examines why successive waves of reform-minded lawmakers, from the “Watergate babies” of 1974 to the historic class of 2018, have struggled to deliver lasting institutional change. Kornberg explores how rising political violence, relentless fundraising demands, shrinking staff capacity, centralized party leadership, and performative media incentives have increasingly constrained Congress’s ability to govern, while also identifying concrete reforms that could help restore its capacity and effectiveness.
The event will feature Kornberg in conversation with The Honorable Derek Kilmer offering reflections on congressional reform, democratic resilience, and the future of representative governance in the United States.
This event will be livestreamed on YouTube – Click Here to receive a reminder to watch live.