The Cost of Conflict: White House and Human Rights

In this episode of Civitas Conversations, Richard Reinsch speaks with Joseph Postell, an expert in Congress and administrative law, about the future of the filibuster and the deeper institutional challenges facing the U.S. Senate.

Drawing on Postell’s Civitas Outlook essay, “Why Can’t We Have a Filibuster?”, the conversation explores how the Senate moved from dramatic, “talking” filibusters—where senators held the floor for hours—to today’s low-cost, procedural obstruction that effectively imposes a 60-vote threshold on nearly all legislation.

Civitas Conversations features leading scholars, commentators, and thought leaders for in-depth discussions of the latest essays in Civitas Outlook—and the ideas behind them. A production of the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin.