The Engagement: A Conversation with Sasha Issenberg and Nia-Malika Henderson

June 29, 2021

A 2015 Supreme Court ruling made making same-sex unions legal across the United States — but the road to that momentous decision was much longer than many know. In his new book, The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage, Sasha Issenberg tells the riveting story of the conflict over same-sex marriage in the United States —the most significant civil rights breakthrough of the new millennium — providing a richly detailed narrative that follows the coast-to-coast conflict through courtrooms and war rooms, bedrooms and boardrooms. In conversation with CNN’s Nia-Malika Henderson, Issenberg will discuss same-sex marriage’s unexpected path from the unimaginable to the inevitable.

This event was produced in partnership with Brennan Center for Justice.

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Nia-Malika Henderson

Sasha Issenberg

Sasha Issenberg, Washington Correspondent, Monocle; Author, The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage

Sasha Issenberg is the author of three previous books, on topics ranging from the global sushi business to medical tourism and the science of political campaigns. He covered the 2008 election as a national political reporter in the Washington bureau of The Boston Globe, the 2012 election for Slate, the 2016 election for Bloomberg Politics and Businessweek, and 2020 for The Recount. He is the Washington correspondent for Monocle, and has also written for New York magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and George, where he served as a contributing editor. He teaches in the political science department at UCLA.

Nia-Malika Henderson, Senior Political Reporter, CNN

Nia-Malika Henderson is a senior political reporter for CNN, reporting on politics, policies, and people shaping Washington. Henderson reports for the network's digital and television platforms, and regularly appears as a panelist for CNN's Inside Politics, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and CNN Tonight with Don Lemon. She also often serves as fill-in anchor for Inside Politics.

Henderson joined the network in 2015 and most recently covered the 2016 election, the Presidential transition, President Donald Trump's administration and the Democratic party. During the 2016 election season, she reported on the Democratic and Republican candidates, covering Bernie Sanders' insurgent campaign, Ben Carson's unlikely bid and Donald Trump's realignment of the Republican party.

Prior to joining CNN, Henderson was a national political reporter for The Washington Post, where she covered the White House, the 2012 presidential campaign, the 2010 mid-term elections and anchored The Post's Election 2012 blog. She also covered the first two years of the Obama administration for Politico and was Newsday's lead reporter covering Obama's 2008 campaign, the Democratic primary race and the Democratic National Convention. In 2005, Henderson was part of the Newsday team named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting for a series on the history of hip hop. Before joining Newsday's national staff, she wrote for The Baltimore Sun.

Henderson graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree in literature and cultural anthropology, and earned master's degrees from Yale University in American studies and Columbia University in journalism.