About this episode

The episode discusses the polarization in American politics and explores the history and challenges of Congress with Dr. Maya Kornberg.

American politics feels like it is increasingly polarized with no end in sight - how exactly did we get here, and is there a way out? Joining me this week is Dr. Maya Kornberg, author of Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress. In this episode we explore the history, challenges, and reforms of Congress of the past 50 years and what lessons we can learn from prior freshman classes in pushing future changes. Our conversation also covers the rise in political violen...

People in this episode

Host: Alycia Asai

Guest: Dr. Maya Kornberg

Topics covered

• American politics
• Congress
• political polarization
• reforms
• history of Congress
• political violence

Keywords

• Congress
• politics
• polarization
• reforms
• political violence
• history
• Dr. Maya Kornberg

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress

More episodes of Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast

• Civil War Memory & Politics: Dr. Tim Galsworthy on The Republican House Divided · July 18, 2026 · 45 min
• Gilded Age Espionage: Alias Agnes with Dr. Elizabeth DeWolfe · July 11, 2026 · 30 min
• America at 250: Revolution & Memory with Ethan Healey Pt. 2 · July 7, 2026 · 44 min
• America at 250: Revolution & Memory with Ethan Healey Pt. 1 · July 4, 2026 · 48 min
• The Weary, Imperfect Warrior: Elizabeth Cady Stanton Part Two · June 27, 2026 · 18 min
• The Weary, Imperfect Warrior: Elizabeth Cady Stanton Part One · June 20, 2026 · 19 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast podcast page.