In the United States (and many countries), money has long played a central role in politics, shaping who gets elected, which policies are prioritized, and whose voices are heard. From campaign contributions to corporate lobbying, financial influence impacts the political system, often determining outcomes before the public even has a chance to weigh in.
Join us on November 11 for a discussion on the impact of campaign finance, lobbying, and corporate contributions on politics. Experts Julian Heissler and Ray Madoff will examine the ways financial interests shape legislation, sway political decisions, and ultimately affect the everyday lives of citizens.
Julian Heissler is the International Correspondent of WirtschaftsWoche. Before returning to Berlin he reported from 2018 to 2025 from Washington, DC, as the magazine’s US Correspondent. Prior to this, he spent several years in Berlin writing about German federal politics for various media outlets. He studied Communication Studies, Political Science, and Philosophy at the Free University of Berlin and completed the Master’s program in Journalism at the Hamburg Media School. He also reported from countries such as China, Israel, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Finland. His book Dream and Nightmare: America and the Many Faces of Freedom was published in October 2023 and his most recent book Amerikas Oligarchen was published in October 2025.
Ray Madoff is a professor at Boston College Law School, where she teaches and writes in philanthropy policy, taxes, property, and estate planning. She is Co-founder and Director of the Boston College Law School Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good, a non-partisan think tank that convenes scholars and practitioners to explore questions regarding whether the rules governing the charitable sector best serve the public good. Her most recent book, The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy, was published in October 2025. Madoff is also the author of Immortality and the Law: The Rising Power of the American Dead (Yale University Press), which looks at how American law treats the interests of the dead and what this tells us about our values for the living. The Financial Times called it “a sparkling polemic.” She is also the lead author on one of the top treatises on estate planning entitled Practical Guide to Estate Planning (CCH). An experienced mediator, Ms. Madoff is a leading authority on the use of mediation to resolve will and trust disputes. Prior to teaching, she was a practicing attorney for nine years in New York and Boston.
