Adam Jentleson on the US Senate & the Crippling of Democracy

Senate insider Adam Jentleson takes us into Capitol Hill backrooms for a behind-closed-doors look at how the Senate, once known as “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” has become one of the greatest threats to American democracy. In “Kill Switch,” Jentleson uncovers the means by which a minority of senators maintain their power, citing the filibuster (historically used to block civil rights legislation) as their principal weapon. At Chicago Humanities Festival, Jentleson explains how the Senate became so gridlocked and why so many of our current political challenges converge within this body. He is joined in conversation by Russ Feingold, President of the American Constitution Society and former Senator from Wisconsin.