Talking Feds

In our latest Contrarian episode, Norm Eisen, Norm Ornstein, and Jen Rubin join Harry to assess new flashpoints in Trump's nonstop quest to escape accountability and his hasty efforts to claw free of his war in the Middle East. The group takes stock of Trump's stumbling attempts to find a deal with Iran, which seem likely to leave the U.S. weakened and isolated. The panel also weighs the bombshell state charges against an ICE agent and the odds that Trump could name two new Supreme Court justices before year's end.  Mentioned in this episode: The Contrarian:  https://contrarian.substack.com/ Norm Ornstein's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dsrs-words-matter/id1420216970 The Robert Kagan article about America's changing place in the world: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/03/trump-national-security-greenland-spheres-of-interest/685673/  The profile of Justice Alito: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/samuel-alito-supreme-court-conservative/686756/  Norm Ornstein's kakistocracy article: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/american-kakistocracy/542391/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, the principal force behind the massive and wildly successful No Kings protests. They fill Harry in on the politics and mechanics of building one of the biggest popular mobilizations in American history, and how to harness the popular forces in a concrete way to defeat Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Trump's two-week ceasefire hanging in the balance, Harry turns to Kristy Greenberg, Jason Kander, and Jasmine Wright to make sense of a week of reversals and u-turns for Donald Trump. What are the new revelations about how Trump decided to strike Iran? And if the status quo stands, will the U.S. have lost its war of choice? Can new Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche do any better than Pam Bondi at sating Trump's appetite for retribution? And what do another pair of Democratic overperformances in off-cycle elections augur for November?  Mentioned in this episode: Courtside with Kristy Greenberg: https://www.youtube.com/@CourtsidewithKG  Jason's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-54/id1309354521  Jasmine's reporting: https://www.notus.org/jasmine-wright New York Times reporting on Trump's decision to go to war with Iran: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/us/politics/trump-iran-war.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mimi Rocah, a veteran federal prosecutor and former colleague of Acting AG Todd Blanche, joins Harry to assess Pam Bondi's legacy at the Department of Justice and what lies ahead for the department now that she's gone. Rocah fills Harry in on Todd Blanche's total transformation into a pro-Trump ideologue—one as devoted, but more canny and probably more dangerous than his predecessor. And Mimi gives Harry some insights from her forthcoming book—Justice Under Siege—about Trump's complete takeover of the DOJ.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Attorney General Pam Bondi is out. Harry talks with all-star journalists Aaron Blake, Liz Landers, and Scott MacFarlane to break down why Trump rewarded Bondi's obsessive loyalty with an abrupt and humiliating firing. Next, the panel tries to make sense of Trump's primetime address about his increasingly opaque goals in the month-old war with Iran. Finally, the group analyzes the arguments in the birthright citizenship case and considers whether Trump has already notched a partial victory, regardless of the final verdict. Mentioned in this episode: Harry's Substack about Bondi's firing: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/out-of-touch-out-of-trust-out-of Harry's Substack about the birthright citizenship case: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-birthright-citizenship-order Aaron's analysis:  https://www.cnn.com/profiles/aaron-blake Liz's reporting: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/liz-landers Scott's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ScottMacFarlaneNews Scott's Substack: https://macfarlanenews.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry mines Marc Elias's unrivaled expertise in election law to dig into the alarming contents of the SAVE Act, the Supreme Court's possible lurch to ban mail-in voting, and the progress of the DOJ's efforts to seize personal information about as many voters as possible. Mentioned in this episode: Democracy Docket: democracydocket.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his latest effort to trace the Department of Justice’s downward spiral, Harry talks with DOJ veterans Paul Fishman and Stacey Young, along with reporter Evan Perez. The panel assesses the DOJ’s obstructive tactics on the Minnesota investigations, the retribution prosecutions that keep coming despite loss after humiliating loss, and the new revelations about Trump’s misuse of classified documents. Finally, the panel closes with some reflections on the life and work of former FBI Director Robert Mueller. Mentioned in this episode: Evan’s reporting: https://www.cnn.com/profiles/evan-perez-profile Justice Connection: https://www.thejusticeconnection.org/ Sara Bloom’s organization: https://massdeportationdefense.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even before Trump started raining bombs down on Iran, harassing allies to clean up his mess, and yanking sanctions off Russia, the global order that kept Americans safe for generations was in shambles. Historian and foreign policy expert Robert Kagan discusses his landmark article explaining how Trump broke the “Grand Bargain” that promoted peace and prosperity after World War II. The crucial question now—according to Kagan—is not whether that order is coming back, but what will replace it. Mentioned in this episode: Kagan’s article: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/03/trump-national-security-greenland-spheres-of-interest/685673/ Kagan’s latest book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714679/rebellion-by-robert-kagan/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three superb journalists—Natasha Korecki, Ali Vitali, and Jacob Weisberg—join Harry to break down another grinding week of war with Iran. Ali explains why a major Trumpworld resignation offered another sign that MAGA will soon be an “utter mess.” Back in D.C., Democrats stormed out over Pam Bondi’s prevarications; Jacob lays out a strategy for them to hold Bondi to her subpoena. Finally, Natasha gives the panel a tour of the Illinois primaries and what the results signal for the shape of a resurgent Democratic party. Mentioned in this episode: Natasha’s reporting: https://www.nbcnews.com/author/natasha-korecki-ncpn1286792  Ali’s Way Too Early: https://www.ms.now/way-too-early  Juliana Stratton’s campaign ad: https://www.facebook.com/JulianaForIL/videos/they-said-it-were-all-thinking-it/967001489339870/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the latest Talking San Diego conversation, Harry sits down with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in front of a packed-house in San Diego.  They discuss the experiences that have shaped the governor, from his long-shot bid to rescue Soviet Jews, to his fight for abuse victims, to the arson attack on his family, and more telling stories from his new best-selling memoir “Where We Keep the Light.”But Governor Shapiro also speaks to this “dangerous moment" for a U.S. at war with Iran, facing a rising tide of division and hatred domestically, all worsened by what the governor calls President Trump’s “corrosive, cruel politics.” Against that grim backdrop, Governor Shapiro lays out his vision for repairing the country and makes his case that our challenges calls for a new brand of leadership.This Talking San Diego event was made possible by our venue partner Congregation Beth Israel and bookselling partner Warwicks. You can find a video version of this episode (and all 1-on-1 conversations) on the Talking Feds YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a second week of war slips by without Iran’s promised collapse, David French, David A. Graham, and Juliette Kayyem join Harry to assess the administration’s apparent unpreparedness and growing tally of grave mistakes. The group discusses the dangers that could come with a prolonged conflict and the cold comfort provided by Pete Hegseth’s rant-filled briefings. Finally, they turn to the vital news being overlooked amid the war: Trump’s relentless push to overhaul voter requirements and collect states’ voter data ahead of the midterms. Mentioned in this episode: David French’s analysis: https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-french#latest David A. Graham’s reporting: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-a-graham/ Juliette’s analysis: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/juliette-kayyem/ ProPublica’s report about the Pentagon’s moves around civil casualties: https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-defense-department-iran-hegseth-civilian-casualties The Atlantic’s report about a potential overhaul of the JAG Corps: https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/03/hegseth-comes-lawyers/686351/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Kim Lane Scheppele has watched democracies fail before. She tells Harry there's still time to stop Trump's autocratic revolution, but only if its opponents match their effort to the scale of the threat. Professor Scheppele talks through the democracies that have degraded into autocracies including which ones most nearly resemble America under Trump's onslaught. The two then take up how grassroots activism can help turn the tide and how huge the task will be for any future pro-democracy president who wants to rebuild from the rubble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Harry and guests Jonathan Alter, Conor Lamb, and Mara Liasson break down a fast-moving week with massive overtures in domestic and international news. The discussion starts with the escalating war with Iran — including new reporting on Russia reportedly providing intelligence to Tehran and the growing debate in Washington over war powers and the cost of the conflict. Then, they turn to the 2026 midterm landscape, where early primaries in places like Texas and North Carolina offered the first real clues about the fight for Senate control. And finally, they discuss the first cabinet sacking of Trump’s 2.0, as Kristi Noem was the first head to roll. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You won’t see Stacey Abrams’s name on a ballot this year, but you will see her impact. As Trump gears up to take desperate measures to avoid getting clobbered in the midterms, Abrams is mobilizing voters to counter the president. She and Harry talk through Trump’s plays thus far: seizing election records, pushing legislation that strips voting rights from millions, and sowing doubt. In response, Abrams lays out a program of ten things any American can do to help stop the country’s slide toward Trumpian tyranny. Mentioned in this episode: Abrams's newest book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697037/coded-justice-by-stacey-abrams/  Abrams's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/assembly-required-with-stacey-abrams/id1760004996  Abrams's piece in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/22/us-black-history-dei Abrams's 10 steps: https://10stepscampaign.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susan Glasser, Bill Kristol, and Jon Lemire join Harry to assess the prospects for military action against Iran, the ways DOJ incompetence and testimony from the Clintons are changing the Epstein story, and Trump's longest-ever State of the Union address. Why hasn't Trump tried to sell his operation against Iran to the American people, and what's his endgame for it? Is the DOJ's Epstein transparency becoming a blatant coverup? And is it time to retire the traditional State of the Union? Mentioned in this episode:Susan's columns: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/susan-b-glasser Bill's conversation series:  https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/ Jonathan's reporting: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/jonathan-lemire/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In their newest mashup, Harry and Molly Jong-Fast trade questions about the latest eyebrow-raising news in the Epstein scandal and the fallout from Trump's tariff defeat. Molly gets Harry to walk her through the intricacies of the so-called 302s—detailed victim statements taken by the FBI—some of which the DOJ failed to produce for a victim who told the FBI that Trump abused her. Harry has plenty of Epstein questions of his own for Molly, but also asks what happens with tariff refunds and the Democrats' strategy heading toward the midterms. Mentioned in this episode: Molly's book: ⁠ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738849/how-to-lose-your-mother-by-molly-jong-fast/ Molly's podcast: ⁠ https://fastpoliticspod.com/ Molly's Substack: ⁠ https://mollyjongfast.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the Supreme Court verdict striking down Trump's tariffs, Harry breaks down the decision with a trio of top-notch legal analysts: Kyle Cheney, Adam Klasfeld, and Mimi Rocah. The group digs into the court's rare rebuff of the president and the infighting among the conservative Justices. Next, the panel turns to the lower courts' angry rulings against Trump's deportation drive, even including—finally—a contempt finding. To finish, they examine the arrest of ex-Prince Andrew and weigh the chances for similar accountability in the U.S. Mentioned in this episode:  Kyle's reporting: https://www.politico.com/staff/kyle-cheney Adam's Substack:  https://www.allrisenews.com/⁠ 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling:  https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26884355/ca5detention.pdf Judge Provenzino's contempt order: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.231253/gov.uscourts.mnd.231253.23.0.pdf Judge Provenzino's follow-up order, noting the purged contempt: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.231253/gov.uscourts.mnd.231253.23.0.pdf SCOTUS tariffs ruling: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287_4gcj.pdf Roger Sollenberger's Epstein-Trump article: https://substack.com/home/post/p-188009135 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his first term as governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro has managed to sustain a 60% approval rating—including 30% of Trump voters—in a quintessential battleground state. How? Shapiro talks Harry through his bipartisan, pragmatic approach to governing, and how it can overcome Trump’s reckless, divisive style. He lays out a roadmap for countering the president's most abusive policies, even while respecting the "righteous frustration" that motivated his voters. And Governor Shapiro is coming to San Diego for a live, in-person conversation with Harry about his memoir. Get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-conversation-with-josh-shapiro-tickets-1983419713756 Mentioned in this episode: Evan Segal's essay about basketball star Connie Hawkins and Harry's parents:  https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/a-tribute-to-my-parents-and-a-pittsburgh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talking Feds stalwarts Norm Ornstein, Tara Setmayer, and Charlie Sykes join Harry to review Pam Bondi's flailing theatrics before Congress as well as a raft of other embarrassments for the Trump administration. After panning the DOJ's determination to avoid transparency on Epstein, the group turns to the sudden federal retreat in Minnesota and a searing courtroom humiliation for Pete Hegseth. To close, they break down the stirrings of mutiny within Trump's party and the president's effort to rewrite election rules. Mentioned in this episode:Norm’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dsrs-words-matter/id1420216970Tara’s Substack: https://tarasetmayer.substack.com/Charlie’s Substack: https://charliesykes.substack.com/Harry’s column about the administration’s Epstein strategy: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-administrations-long-con-with Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Superstar SCOTUS expert Kate Shaw joins Harry to talk in broad strokes about the Supreme Court's performance during the first year of Trump 2.0 and about the pivotal cases on the horizon. Kate considers the Court’s rejection of parts of Trump’s agenda, and why that’s cold comfort given their subservience when it counts most. They dig into the breakdown and fault lines of the nine justices. Finally, they consider recent radical critiques that the Court needs to be torn down and replaced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Contrarian stalwarts Norm Eisen, Asha Rangappa, and Jen Rubin join Harry for a special episode filmed in front of a live audience at Princeton University. They begin with the cataclysmic fall of the Washington Post and what it shows about Trump's power to demolish even the most powerful civic institutions. From there, they turn to the deportation effort, which seems to be running itself into the ground, and Trump's latest noises about election interference. They end with some measured but forceful optimism for American democracy in 2026. A video version of this episode is available on YouTube.  Mentioned in this episode: The Contrarian: ⁠https://contrarian.substack.com/ The Contrarian’s YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@ContrarianNews⁠ Democracy Defenders Fund: https://www.democracydefendersfund.org/⁠ Asha's Substack: https://asharangappa.substack.com/ Asha's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/its-complicated/id1434320092 The New York Times piece on lawsuits against the administration: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/us/trump-administration-lawsuits.html⁠ Image credit: Sameer Khan, Fotobuddy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Normally, after a controversial law enforcement shooting like that of Renee Good or Alex Pretti, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division would quickly announce an investigation. Under Trump, however, there's still no investigation into Good's killing, and the Department announced it would examine Pretti's shooting only after days of immense pressure. Bill Yeomans, a 24-year veteran and former acting head of the Division, walks Harry through the ways that Trump has stifled, undermined, and perverted this crucial wing of the DOJ. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a tumultuous week on the streets and in the courts, with panelists Kristen Holmes, Juliette Kayyem, and Josh Marshall joining Harry to break it all down. ICE's reign of terror in Minnesota continues, even as top Trump officials sing a softer tune after nationwide outrage over the death of Alex Pretti. The panel marches through the latest fallout from Pretti's killing, as well as the newest attempts by the DOJ to advance Trump's agenda elsewhere, from the arrest of Don Lemon to the shocking raid on a Georgia election office.  Mentioned in this episode: Kristen’s reporting:  https://www.cnn.com/profiles/kristen-holmes-bio Juliette’s writing in the Atlantic:  https://www.theatlantic.com/author/juliette-kayyem/ Josh’s analysis:  https://talkingpointsmemo.com/author/josh_m Also, check out some big changes coming to the Talking Feds Substack: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/big-changes-for-the-talking-feds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talking Feds stalwart Elliot Williams joins Harry to discuss his new book, Five Bullets. The pair turn to the blighted and crime-stricken New York of the 1980s to get at some of the unanswered questions from the case of Bernhard Goetz and why the five shots he fired at Black teenagers which made him—to so many Americans—a folk hero. What made it so hard for prosecutors to convict Goetz? What did his trial expose about the limits of what our justice system can offer? And why the lasting American fascination with the idea of a gunman taking the law into his own hands?Mentioned in this episode: Williams' book:  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768052/five-bullets-by-elliot-williams/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis roils the country, Harry breaks down the fallout with Susan Glasser. Then, turning to the week's main discussion, three stellar journalists—Susan, Emily Bazelon, and Ruth Marcus—join Harry to break down Trump's assaults on the rule of law that made Pretti's death possible. From the corruption of the FBI and the carnage in Minnesota to Trump's escape from the prosecutions brought by Jack Smith, the trio engage in a wide-ranging discussion anchored in their in-depth reporting. Can the FBI withstand another year of Kash Patel's leadership? Is Jack Smith next on Trump's list of targets for reprisal? Finally, are the tragic events in Minnesota, as Susan says, Trump's most Trumpian accomplishment? Mentioned in this episode:  Harry's Substack on the aftermath of Alex Pretti's death:  https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/congress-must-act-now Susan's piece on Trump's actions in Minnesota: ⁠ https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-minnesota-war-zone-is-trumps-most-trumpian-accomplishment Emily's report on the FBI:  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/01/22/magazine/trump-kash-patel-fbi-agents.html Ruth's piece on Jack Smith: ⁠ https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/jack-smiths-closing-argument Ruth's profile of Pam Bondi: ⁠ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/pam-bondi-profile Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Attorney General Keith Ellison of Minnesota speaks to Harry from the frontlines of the state's legal defense against what he calls a "federal invasion." AG Ellison gives a vivid picture of how the administration's mission is causing chaos on the ground and, in his view, aiming to provoke a violence response. Then, the two dive deep into the thorny questions around a state prosecution of Renee Good's killer—all made more complicated by the federal government's intransigence, if not outright interference.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our latest Contrarian episode, Norm Eisen, Katie Phang, and Jen Rubin join Harry for a deep dive on ICE's rampage through Minnesota. The panel reviews the legal and political prospects for stopping what local leaders call a "federal invasion." Can congressional Democrats restrain ICE? What about the broad-gauge lawsuit brought by Minnesota? Then the panel turns to whether the Administration has stepped on the third rail with its investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which Powell denounced as an obvious pretext for Trump's crusade to control interest rates. Mentioned in this episode:  The Contrarian: https://contrarian.substack.com/ Katie's YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@katiephangnews  Jen's piece about Democrats and ICE:  https://contrarian.substack.com/p/democrats-must-seize-the-opportunity  David Frum's piece about J.D. Vance:  https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/vance-defends-minneapolis-shooter-ice-maga-symbol/685584/  Katzenbach memo:  https://www.justice.gov/olc/file/477221/dl?inline#page=509 Minnesota's 10th Amendment lawsuit:  https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2026/docs/00190_DHS_Complaint.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chief Justice John Roberts famously told the country that, if confirmed to the Supreme Court, he would act like an umpire—just there to call balls and strikes. To help answer the question of how Umpire Roberts Court has fared, Harry spoke with Lisa Graves about her new book, Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights, in which Graves makes the case that Roberts has acted less as an umpire than a political loyalist. In the conversation, Harry and Lisa discuss Roberts’s background as a movement conservative at DOJ, his nomination and ascension as Chief Justice, and his tenure now entering its third decade. They also delve into the modern Federalist Society, unpacking how Roberts and his fellow conservative justices align—or don’t—with its ideology. With the Supreme Court wielding unprecedented influence over American policy, this discussion provides a clear look at how we arrived at the Court we have today. Read Lisa's book: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lisa-graves/without-precedent/9781645030676/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest host Jonathan Alter brings together former Senator Barbara Boxer, Norm Ornstein, and Stuart Stevens to break down the Trump administration's mounting aggression, at home and abroad. The four talk through the shocking killing of Renee Good in Minnesota and the fallout from the toppling of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Then, they dig into a deeper story: how congressional Republicans became the devoted, crucial enablers of Trump's worst impulses. Mentioned in this episode: Jonathan’s Substack:  https://oldgoats.substack.com/ Norm's podcast:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dsrs-words-matter/id1420216970  Stuart's Substack:  https://stuartstevens.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with Georgetown law professor Steve Vladeck to dissect the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. From the UN Charter and head-of-state immunity to the infamous 1989 Barr memo, they unpack the administration’s legal gymnastics, multiple legal illegalities, and tenuous positions.  In particular, they zero in on the interplay between U.S. criminal law and the international law that we appear to have knowingly violated. They then turn to the long-term practical moral consequences of the operation, including the possible severe damage to U.S. credibility and strategic interests going forward. Mentioned in this episode: Steve's Substack post about Maduro's arrest: https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/200-five-questions-about-the-maduro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the Talking Feds team is on holiday break, we are re-airing a roundtable conversation with Steve Adler, then-mayor of Austin; Jenny Durkan, then-mayor of Seattle; and Bill Peduto, the former long-time mayor of Pittsburgh. This special topical episode focuses on municipal government and the mayors who run it. The first year of Trump 2.0 has brought to the forefront the clash between federal and state authority. But it’s at the municipal level that the potholes and garbage pickups hit the road, and an American ideal of representative democracy is most in play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks to Anne Applebaum about the Trump administration's chaotic and slanted approach to ending the war in Ukraine. Applebaum exposes the perverse heavily pro-Russian underpinnings of the U.S. plan that kicked off the latest round of talks. After contrasting Ukraine's repudiation of corruption with Trump's embrace of it, the pair zoom out to discuss the global battle for democracy and what's still at stake on the frontlines in Eastern Europe. Plus, a bonus: a discussion with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, on the rise of authoritarians around the world, and their shared tactics. Mentioned in this episode: Applebaum's Substack: https://anneapplebaum.substack.com/ Applebaum's writing for the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/anne-applebaum/ Ruth Ben-Ghiat's Substack: https://lucid.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talking Feds closes out 2025 with a close look at the institutional damage and lawlessness Trump has imposed on an essential arm of the U.S. government: the Department of Defense. CNN's Natasha Bertrand, the Washington Post's Alex Horton, and retired Major General Steven J. Lepper take Harry inside a Pentagon transformed by cowboy-in-chief Pete Hegseth. Why is the U.S. blowing up boats near Latin America? Did Hegseth oversee a war crime in the Caribbean? And what are the potential domestic dangers of the legal reasoning powering Trump's new uses of the military?   Mentioned in this episode: Natasha's reporting:  https://www.cnn.com/profiles/natasha-bertrand-profile#about Alex's reporting:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/alex-horton/ General Lepper's analysis:  https://www.justsecurity.org/author/leppersteven/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks to veteran reporter Chris Whipple to get the inside scoop on his bombshell account of the Trump White House's inner workings. The two discuss why Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was so unguarded in her interviews with Whipple. They cover Wiles's sharp criticisms of administration officials and her admissions of serious wrongdoing by the president, including misleading the public on the Epstein files. The two dig deep into the details—several as yet overlooked—from one of most important stories written about Trump. Mentioned in this episode:  Whipple's reporting:  https://www.vanityfair.com/contributor/chris-whipple Harry's interview with Marty Lederman: https://youtu.be/JhN8PZNic9Y Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Department of Justice slow-walks an over-redacted release of its files on Jeffrey Epstein, Harry convenes CNN's Aaron Blake, former Senator Heidi Heitkamp, and NOTUS White House correspondent Jasmine Wright to analyze the administration's ham-handed noncompliance. The trio also dig into Vanity Fair's explosive revelations about the White House and Trump's top aide Susie Wiles. They close by considering the administration's escalations in the Caribbean and the real motives behind them. And, late in the episode, Harry offers a reflection on Rob Reiner's passing. Mentioned in this episode: Aaron’s reporting: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cnn.com/profiles/aaron-blake Jasmine's reporting: https://www.notus.org/jasmine-wright The Vanity Fair story on the Trump White House: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trump-susie-wiles-interview-exclusive-part-1 The New York Times story on Trump and Epstein's relationship: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/us/jeffrey-epstein-donald-trump.html The New York Times story on how Epstein built his wealth and power: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/magazine/jeffrey-epstein-money-scams-investigation.html The Talking Feds episode with Rob Reiner: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-witness-has-left-the-room/id1456045551?i=1000445365427 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a new mashup episode, Harry and Molly Jong-Fast swap questions about the White House's latest political embarrassments and legal embroilments. Molly wants to know: when—and how—will some of Trump's inner circle face criminal charges? Harry is curious: why did this press-hating White House let their guard down so spectacularly for Vanity Fair? Together, the pair make sense of the noisy headlines and lay out the real consequences behind the week's serving of scandals.  Molly's book:  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738849/how-to-lose-your-mother-by-molly-jong-fast/Molly's podcast:  https://fastpoliticspod.com/Molly's Substack:  https://mollyjongfast.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks to Alisyn Camerota, David French, and Jonathan Lemire about whether President Donald Trump is finally losing his grip on the Republican Party. Why couldn’t Trump convince Indiana Republicans to back his gerrymander scheme for the state? Have his famed rallies have lost their political magic? And can the president overcome deepening scrutiny of his aggressive military moves in the Caribbean and far-fetched legal maneuvers in the courts? Mentioned in this episode: Alisyn's Substack: https://alisyncamerota.substack.com/ David's columns: https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-french Jonathan's reporting: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/jonathan-lemire/ Harry's interview with Senator Mark Kelly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV3PdqjknhM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why did an ad urging U.S. troops not to break the law make President Donald Trump so angry that he practically called for Senator Mark Kelly's head? The retired Navy captain can't answer that. Instead, the senator is focused on investigating the controversies that have gripped the military in the past month. Harry and the senator dig into what makes Pete Hegseth such an unfit Defense Secretary, the dangers the potentially illegal U.S. strikes in the Caribbean pose for American service members, and why the fallout looks like it might bring some genuine accountability for the administration. Mentioned in this episode: Harry's latest Substack on the boat strikes: ⁠ https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-investigation-not-the-dems-video⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry turns to Mimi Rocah, Tara Setmayer, and Jacob Weisberg to delve into the DoJ’s latest humiliations, the furor over strikes in the Caribbean, and Trump’s racist outbursts. What will it take for Attorney General Pam Bondi to give up the case against Letitia James? Did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth oversee a criminal missile attack, in addition to risking troops with his Signal messages? And why are Trump’s immigration crackdown and hate-filled outbursts prompting so little pushback? Mentioned in this episode:  Harry's latest column on the boat strikes: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-investigation-not-the-dems-video  Tara's Tedx Talk:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DUzqIrpHR8 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with journalist Jerusalem Demsas about her case for a robust, combative liberalism capable of taking the fight to the current political power structure. Demsas has just launched a new publication—The Argument—dedicated to renewing and improving the kind of politics that helped fostered many of the country's best achievements. Harry asks Demsas about the shape of that revived liberalism, how she plans to persuade MAGA and other skeptics, and why she feels so optimistic in such a difficult time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with a prophet of our moment of democratic decline: Steven Levitsky. The Harvard scholar explains why Trump’s grip on power is both unequaled in a century of American history and, at the same time, deeply fragile. The pair think through why Trump has targeted universities, how the president’s own incompetence has undermined his drive for power, and what role the American people can still play in defending their democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For his latest periodic deep dive on the Department of Justice, Harry talks to DOJ veterans Paul Fishman and Amy Jeffress as well as reporter Anna Bower to assess an institution that looks to be coming apart at the seams. The panel digs into the political and legal flashpoints facing the Department, including its response to the embarrassing dismissals of the prosecutions against James Comey and Letitia James, the revival of possible contempt sanctions against the department, and the prospect that Pam Bondi may act as Trump’s firewall for the Epstein files.  Mentioned in this episode:  Anna's reporting:  https://www.lawfaremedia.org/contributors/abower  Judge Currie's ruling:  https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vaed.583342/gov.uscourts.vaed.583342.140.0_2.pdf  Harry's Substack on the ruling: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/after-the-shipwreck Harry's conversation with Emily Bazelon about her reporting on the department:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PDKeMe1mXU&pp=0gcJCRUKAYcqIYzv Harry's conversation with Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis about their book on the department:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klVToztR8u0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three of the most insightful observers of American politics—Jason Kander, Mara Liasson, and Josh Marshall—join Harry to analyze a week in which President Donald Trump was knocked on his heels, and lashed out viciously in response. The panelists talk through the big questions: Will Republicans keep up the pressure for transparency about Jeffrey Epstein? Why have Trump's recent outbursts been so vile even by his standards? Were Democrats aiming to further provoke him when they warned troops against following illegal orders? And, is the weakened president already entering a lame duck period? Mentioned in this episode:  Jason’s podcast Majority 54: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-54/id1309354521  Mara’s reporting: https://www.npr.org/people/1930401/mara-liasson   Josh’s writing: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/author/josh_m Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and Talking Feds regular Emily Bazelon joins Harry to share her reporting on the stories of the rank-and-file Department of Justice staff who’ve weathered Trump’s takeover. Emily spoke with 60 different attorneys who served in the department, and she tells Harry their stories of a department in ruin. What have the key moments looked like from the inside? How have career attorneys handled the wrenching choice of whether to stay on, or quit and risk replacement by a Trump loyalist? And how hard will it be for any new future to pick up the pieces? Mentioned in this episode: Emily's article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/16/magazine/trump-justice-department-staff-attorneys.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Talking Feds’ latest Contrarian episode, Harry speaks with Norm Eisen, Jen Rubin, and Neera Tanden about the reopening, revelations, and reprisals that dominated the week’s news. They break down where the Democrats went wrong in the shutdown fight and whether the cases against James Comey and Letitia James are collapsing. But, of course, with newly released documents exposing some of Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to Donald Trump, the panel takes a hard look at what can be surmised from the cryptic messages. The question on everyone’s minds: what in the world did Epstein mean when he called Trump the dog that hasn’t barked?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks to Marty Lederman, the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General who authored an amicus brief with a legal discovery that has shaken the Administration's attempt to deploy the National Guard to Chicago and other Democrat-led cities. Marty and Harry explain the critical oversight in the administration's reasoning, and they think through what a bruising legal defeat would mean for the effort to put boots on the ground in American cities. It's a possible game changer in a case Harry has called a "moment of truth for the High Court." Mentioned in this episode:  Harry's Substack about the stakes of this case: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/moment-of-truth-for-the-high-court The Supreme Court's request for briefs on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/102925zr_hgci.pdf Marty Lederman's expanded brief on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A443/384148/20251110232925983_25A443.Lederman.Supplemental.Amicus.Brief.1110.pdf Illinois and Chicago's expanded brief on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A443/384145/20251110210604383_Illinois%20Supplemental%20Letter%20Brief%20Master%20Final%20To%20File%20PDFA.pdf  The administration's expanded brief on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A443/384115/20251110170907870_25a443%20Trump%20v.%20Illinois%20-%20Supp.%20Letter%20Br.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s sweeping nationwide Democratic wins, Harry calls in a trio of some of the country’s sharpest political thinkers—Emily Bazelon, Dave Weigel, and Rick Wilson—to unpack the meaning of the results. Was the increasingly painful government shutdown a decisive factor? Why are the voters who swung to Trump last year deserting him? And, crucially, how might Democrats keep their momentum going?  Mentioned in this episode:  David’s reporting:  https://www.semafor.com/author/david-weigelEmily’s reporting:  https://www.nytimes.com/by/emily-bazelon#latestThis week’s episode of Slate’s Political Gabfest:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spectacular-night-for-democrats/id158004641?i=1000735632723Rick’s Substack:  https://therickwilson.substack.com/Rick’s Talking San Diego appearance:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFN88EW3Znw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After releasing Harry’s conversation with Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis two days early to sync up with the publication of their new book—Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department—Talking Feds is hosting a special preview of another podcast that’s exploring the consequential issues that impact, and define, American culture: The Alabama Murders, a new series by bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast. Entangled in an affair with a parishioner, a Northwest Alabama minister makes a devastating choice. Rather than face the shame of divorce, he arranges for three men to kill his wife. One of the men convicted in her murder, Kenny Smith, spent decades on death row, only for his execution to go horribly wrong. Eventually, the consequences lead to the center of a hot national debate on who should be allowed to live, who should die, and how the state should kill them. On The Alabama Murders, Malcolm asks: why, in our efforts to alleviate suffering, do we so often make it worse? If you want to hear the full story, find Revisionist History wherever you get podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Justice has been at the epicenter of both Trump's efforts to subvert the rule of law and the attempts to hold him accountable during his years out of the White House. Now two of the country's most prominent investigative journalists—Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis—have authored an authoritative account of these tumultuous years at DOJ. Their book is Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department. Leonnig and Davis join Harry for an in-depth discussion: their first interview about their tour-de-force new volume, which is full of revelations about the existential battles within the Department, built on interviews with more than 250 people who witnessed them first hand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with David A. Graham, Katie Phang, and Maya Wiley to discuss federal agents' on-the-ground escalations and the courts' efforts to rein them in. They then move to the early warnings that Trump may interfere in next year’s midterms before ending with a quick look at some of tomorrow's critical elections. The overlapping question that criss-crosses all 3 topics: how can Americans band together to protect the democracy, and especially to blunt the threat of a far more systematic attempt by Trump than the last time around to interfere in the elections. Mentioned in this episode: Amie Barrodale’s Supreme Court satire:  https://www.theparisreview.org/fiction/8383/crystal-palace-amie-barrodale David’s piece in the Atlantic:  https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/12/2026-midterms-trump-threat/684615/ Maya’s MSNBC piece:   https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-election-monitors-california-new-jersey-legal-rcna240313 Katie’s YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@katiephangnews Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are living through what feels like unprecedentedly dark days, which can cause us to lose sight of context, history, and all the hard moments that the nation has faced before. This week, Harry turns to legendary Congressman Barney Frank for his perspective of the Trump era through a more long-term lens. Rep. Frank, who won landmark achievements on issues from banking reform to civil rights, speaks to Harry about what Democrats need to do now, his forthcoming book, and whether Donald Trump's outrages have any parallel in American history. The two spoke by phone, so this conversation will sound slightly different from most Talking Feds episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A trio of superb economic analysts—Paul Krugman, Stephanie Ruhle, and Justin Wolfers—join Harry to break down how Trump is reshaping the U.S. economy. They weigh in on how long the shutdown can go on without major economic consequences, where tariffs are beginning to bite, and the future shape of the AI spike.  Then, the whole panel joins in a big picture analysis of how Trump’s trademark chaotic, self-serving approach—combined with his attacks on institutions, immigration, and the rule of law—risks tearing up the foundations of American prosperity. Mentioned in this episode: Paul’s Substack: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/ Stephanie’s show: https://www.msnbc.com/11th-hour Justin’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JustinWolfers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry speaks with Congressman Eric Swalwell about the surge of popular resistance to Trump shown in the “No Kings” rallies and what it means for the president’s attempts to remake the country in his image. They tackle Democrats’ progress in the shutdown fight, some hopeful signs from the courts, and Trump’s latest efforts to weaponize the DOJ. Plus, Rep. Swalwell pitches Harry on a new, creative legal strategy Democratic AGs could use to hold federal officials and agents to account. And this episode has got a special baseball bonus: after his conversation with Swalwell, Harry calls up baseball reporter Ben Walker for a debrief on Shohei Ohtani’s mind-boggling night for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with a great set of Talking Feds stalwarts—Charlie Sykes, Ali Vitali, and Jacob Weisberg—to get a handle on the fast-changing politics of the shutdown, the worthiness of the case against John Bolton, and the new group chat scandal roiling the GOP. Why is Vice President J.D. Vance calling criticism of leaked racist messages by rising Republicans "pearl-clutching"? Is the indictment against John Bolton just another political prosecution? And are top Republicans gearing up to give into Democrats on healthcare to get the government reopened? Mentioned in this episode: Charlie’s Substack: https://charliesykes.substack.com/ Ali’s interview with Senate Leader John Thune: https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/thune-msnbc-offered-democrats-vote-obamacare-subsidies-rcna237914 Politico’s story revealing a Young Republicans groupchat: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/14/private-chat-among-young-gop-club-members-00592146 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Eisgruber, the long-time president of Princeton University, joins Harry to talk about his new book, Terms of Respect. Eisgruber argues that robust free speech is alive and well on college campuses, and that instances of actual defeat of free speech are far more rare than critics charge. The key to navigating internal strife and external pressure—Eisgruber tells Harry—lies not in an abstract appeal to free speech or equality principles but rather in civil norms of respect that seek to further a model of deliberative community. Mentioned in this episode: Eisgruber's book: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/christopher-l-eisgruber/terms-of-respect/9781541607453/ Eisgruber's recent articles in the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/christopher-l-eisgruber/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three top-notch journalists—Emily Bazelon, Susan Glasser, and Kristen Holmes—join Harry to analyze the stunning news of a ceasefire in Gaza, the indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Trump’s latest attempts to put troops on city streets. Will Trump have the attention span to ensure his deal endures, and why did he lash out at Kristen for asking about it? Are judges finally starting to wake up to the administration’s far-fetched declarations of emergencies? And what revelation about the James indictment shocked Harry most?  Mentioned in this episode: Emily’s reporting: https://www.nytimes.com/by/emily-bazelon   Susan’s latest column:  https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trump-the-self-styled-president-of-peace-abroad-makes-war-at-home Kristen’s reporting:  https://www.cnn.com/profiles/kristen-holmes-bio CNN’s story about Lindsey Halligan not coordinating the James indictment with DOJ brass:  https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/10/politics/lindsey-halligan-no-coordinate-letitia-james-indictment-doj Judge Karin Immergut's ruling: https://www.portland.gov/federal/documents/10-4-2025-state-city-v-trump-temporary-restraining-order-granted/download Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Supreme Court expert, Strict Scrutiny star, and Obama White House alum Kate Shaw joins Harry to preview the new SCOTUS term. A steady stream of emergency rulings that mostly backed President's Trump power grab has set the tone for a new year at the court. Kate and Harry preview several of the upcoming blockbuster cases, especially those dealing with executive power and gay rights. They then broaden the conversation, discussing whether any precedent is safe from the conservative supermajority; whether legal reasoning really remains the basis of the court's decisions; and most important: whether there is any executive action so heinous that the court won't permit it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry pulls in a trio of political pros—former Senator Barbara Boxer, Jonathan Capehart, and Norm Ornstein—to assess the fight over the shutdown. Who will the public blame? How long will it last? They turn next to the stunning federal raid in Chicago, with agents busting down doors and snipers dropping in from helicopters. Does the action signal not just the abandonment of the 4th Amendment, but the arrival of an American gestapo? Finally, the trio decode Trump's speech to top military leaders, with its ominous call to use U.S. cities as "training grounds" for troops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry turns to professor of medicine at Stanford, former Obama public policy official, and practicing primary care physician Dr. Kavita Patel to try to understand the Trump administration’s feverish transformation of federal health policy. Dr. Patel explains Trump’s warnings about tylenol, RFK Jr.’s plans for the CDC, and the costs of politicizing medicine. Dr. Patel offers a raw look at the reality of being a doctor amid these drastic changes, revealing details she’s never before shared publicly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the shocking indictment of James Comey, Harry convenes DOJ veterans Paul Fishman and Mimi Rocah, plus political analyst Jonathan Alter, to discuss the seismic implications for the rule of law. The panel then breaks down the stunning details of the bribery scandal that's quickly enveloping immigration czar Tom Homan. The group ends with a turn toward some hopeful news: the return of Jimmy Kimmel to TV screens and the small respite it signals for freedom of speech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this month’s “Molly Harry Mashup,” Harry and Molly Jong-Fast break down the whirlwind of political and legal chaos under the current administration. From Trump’s clash with Jimmy Kimmel and his obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize, to the unraveling of DOJ norms and the erosion of the Constitution, to the bizarro Trump vaccine claim, Molly and Harry cut through the noise to explain what’s really happening in the political AND legal worlds—and why it matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A week in which America suddenly came to look like classic autocratic regimes with the removal from TV of late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, and more enforced exiles to come, for the simple sin of displeasing Trump. A trenchant panel of Bill Kristol and Juliette Kayyem take stock of this nightmarish development, as well as Trump’s effort to destroy the independence of the Fed, and the increasingly checkered and controversial on-the-job performance of FBI director Kash Patel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest conversation in the Talking San Diego series, Harry sits down with Harvard historian and New Yorker writer Jill Lepore in front of a live San Diego audience to discuss Lepore’s important new book, “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution.” The book contains revelations about the importance to the Framers of the Amendment process, which Lepore argues has become a dead letter since the failure of the proposed Equal RIghts Amendment.  In its stead various generations of Americans have looked to either political events or, more recently, the U.S. Supreme Court, to announce fundamental changes in our charter document, with significant consequences for the democracy  In her book, as in her conversation with Harry, Lepore challenges the Supreme Court’s dominant doctrine of originalism; and she rallies Americans to be able to become more personally involved in repairing fundamental problems with the Constitution. The book was released for purchase Tuesday, September 16. This event was made possible by the generous support of the Prebys Foundation, which made it possible for local high school teachers and students to attend free of charge; by KPBS who have their own deep dive series on the American founding coming out in November in the form of a new Ken Burns series; and by Warwicks, our bookselling partners.  You can read more about Jill’s book in the Atlantic and the New York Times.   Talk to you later Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the country reels from the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Harry welcomes a special all-Contrarian panel of George Conway, Norm Eisen, and Jen Rubin to grapple with the attack's aftershocks. Has the country taken a yet darker turn, with political violence now in the mix? Will Trump seek to institute a crackdown on his critics? And has Kash Patel’s leadership weakened the FBI’s ability to respond effectively and impartially to a rising tide of politically motivated attacks?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks to Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat who’s got a hand in a wide array of headline-grabbing initiatives on Capitol Hill. Representative Krishnamoorthi fills Harry in on what Trump has planned for Chicago, what Democrats are saying about a possible government shutdown, whether further Epstein disclosures are on the way, and why he thinks it’s past time to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Heidi Heitkamp and CNN's Aaron Blake join Harry to break down a week that saw a series of sharp legal setbacks for the Trump administration and the return of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Trump is working Congress to keep Epstein materials from the public eye, but the hydraulic push from victims may prove too much to ignore. Meanwhile Trump is making noises about his next targets for a military incursion despite a serious legal rebuff. And as a dismal new jobs report suggests, the economy may be cracking under the weight of the president’s chaotic—and apparently illegal—tariffs. Mentioned in this episode: Aaron’s reporting: ⁠ https://www.cnn.com/profiles/aaron-blake Judge Charles Breyer’s ruling in the Posse Comitatus case: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.450934/gov.uscourts.cand.450934.176.0_1.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Richard Blumenthal takes Harry through his bombshell report exposing the colossal waste generated by the ironically-named Department of Government Efficiency during its rampage through the federal government. Illegal firings, spoiled food aid, and the installation of Elon Musk's overpaid minions all came with a price—both in billions of dollars and in quality of government. Plus, the two former federal prosecutors talk about Trump's efforts to push unqualified loyalists into top law enforcement posts with or without Senate approval.  Mentioned in this episode:  Senate minority staff report on DOGE:   https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/b256b202-ff01-48dc-a2d1-80b0e43fa87a.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest host Jonathan Alter convenes Peter Baker, Molly Jong-Fast, and Charlie Sykes to talk through Trump’s latest lunge for unchecked power. The quartet dig into the week’s flurry of controversial firings and the prospects for a long-promised, now long-overdue peace deal in Ukraine. They then put Trump’s mafioso tactics under a microscope, investigating why they’ve worked so well, and what everyone can do to resist them.Mentioned in this episode:Jonathan’s Substack: https://oldgoats.substack.com/Peter’s reporting: https://www.nytimes.com/by/peter-baker#latestMolly’s podcast: https://fastpoliticspod.com/Charlie’s Substack: https://charliesykes.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veteran journalist Ruth Marcus takes Harry on a tour of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Justice Department. Drawing on months of reporting including candid interviews with top officials, Marcus reveals the department’s frightening new view of itself and the costs of Bondi’s revolutionary tactics. The pair end with a look at another American institution undergoing seismic change: the Washington Post, which Marcus left this year after a four decade tenure.Mentioned in this episode:Marcus’ story about Bondi and the department: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/pam-bondi-profileMarcus’ piece about leaving the Washington Post: https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/why-ruth-marcus-left-the-washington-postMarcus’ piece about her dog: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/my-dog-tank-was-a-precious-creature-that-saw-no-dividing-lines/2020/08/31/4880738e-eb99-11ea-b4bc-3a2098fc73d4_story.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A jam-packed discussion following hot on the dramatic news of the raid of John Bolton’s home, the stunning scenes in a militarized D.C., and the latest escalation in the gerrymandering arms race. Talking Feds regulars Jason Kander, Norm Ornstein, and Tara Setmayer join Harry to break down how long Trump can sustain his flagrant campaign of weaponizing law enforcement and politicizing the military—as well as how long the country can endure it. Mentioned in this episode:  Jason’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-54/id1309354521   Norm’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dsrs-words-matter/id1420216970  The Seneca Project: https://www.senecaproject.us/  Jason’s brilliant 2016 ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_S5s16Y1OA  Harry’s substack about the detention of Texas legislator Nicole Collier: https://substack.com/@harrylitman/p-171582600  Video of Harry’s interview with J.B. Pritzker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUyF845Wk7k&  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has a message for Donald Trump: if you want to mess with my state, “you have to come through me.” In this wide-ranging sit-down, Pritzker reveals to Harry why he thinks the gerrymandering fight, ICE arrests, and troops in D.C. are all a blaring signal to Democrats that they need to finally fight the president on his own terms, no-holds-barred. They also discuss Pritzker's very personal reasons for going into public service, Trump's direct attacks on the governor, and a lot more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a totally false picture of crime in D.C. as his pretense, Trump sought to turn the capital into a federal law enforcement enclave over local objections. Michael Podhorzer, Stuart Stevens, & Jacob Weisberg analyze Trump’s move and what it means for the rest of the country. The panel then takes up the gerrymandering wars coming to a rolling boil in Texas & California, before ending with an in-depth discussion of whether some Democrats' new combative style is the right tonic for the party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with E. Jean Carroll about her harrowing but high-spirited new book—”Not My Type”—which is a tour of her exceptional legal victories over Donald Trump. The pair go inside Carroll’s triumphant legal strategy and talk through details from the trials—all brightly illustrated by Carroll’s inspired and colorful turns of phrase. The conversation closes with a dive into a shared fascination with boxing, of all things, and Carroll’s urgent advice for what the rest of us can do to take on Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was the week when the Department of Justice fully embraced its new status as the corrupt, ruthless agent for Trump's endless retribution agenda. The president’s lieutenants in the department launched a legal barrage against Trump foes like Barack Obama, Adam Schiff, and New York AG Letitia James. We chronicle the steep descent with 3 DOJ experts: Kristy Greenberg, Perry Stein, and Glenn Thrush. Rough but essential listening. Plus: a special sidebar on the beleaguered Voting Rights Act. Courtside with Kristy Greenberg: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@CourtsidewithKG/videos⁠ Glenn’s reporting: ⁠https://www.nytimes.com/by/glenn-thrush⁠ Perry’s reporting: ⁠https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/perry-stein/ ⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with top election law expert Marc Elias about the efforts by Trump and Republicans across the country to stack the deck in their favor for the 2026 midterms. They delve into the effort in Texas to gerrymander five new seats for Republicans. They then turn to the Department of Justice's extraordinary effort to acquire information from state and local officials, and the specific dangers it poses. They close with some thoughts about what all of us can do to fight back. It's always timely to check in with Marc Elias, but particularly now with the first signs of danger for the midterms. Marc's articles at Democracy Docket: https://www.democracydocket.com/author/marc_elias/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was another week dominated by the Epstein scandal, which grew ever more murky.  A stellar only-on-Talking-Feds roundtable of Alisyn Camerota, Josh Marshall, and Asha Rangappa joins Harry to work through both the law and politics of Trump’s efforts to disentangle himself.  The panel then moves on to apparent capitulation to Trump’s shakedown by a series of universities including Harvard, the former poster child for resistance. We close with a quick look at the Alina Habba mess in New Jersey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry and Molly team up once again to swap burning questions about law and politics. The standout topic: Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Harry gives Molly the lowdown about the Justice Department’s bizarre and deeply suspect dealings with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Molly reads Harry the tea leaves on whether masses of young men — and even Fox News mastermind Rupert Murdoch — might be ready to ditch Trump. Lots more besides! Molly's piece in the Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/opinion/colbert-late-show-cbs-trump.html Molly's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738849/how-to-lose-your-mother-by-molly-jong-fast/ Molly's podcast: https://fastpoliticspod.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was the week when the Epstein scandal showed up in earnest and looked as if it would be staying for a while. Susan Glasser, Adam Klasfeld, and Bill Kristol join Harry to break down what is powering it and assess Trump’s various efforts to shake himself free, including dispatching the Deputy AG to Florida to interview Epstein’s co-conspirator, Ghislane Maxwell. But the week also brought key advances in Trump’s totalitarian agenda, with successful shakedowns of prominent civic institutions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With just 5% of the world’s population, the United States holds nearly 25% of its prisoners. In this one-on-one, NYU Law Professor Rachel Barkow joins Harry to discuss her new book Justice Abandoned, which reveals how a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions helped enable the rise of mass incarceration. From pretrial detention to stop-and-frisk, Barkow explains how the Court’s embrace of “law and order” politics quietly gutted constitutional protections—and how today’s conservative majority could, ironically, be positioned to help reverse course. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another scandal erupted for Trump this week, but this time it was MAGA up in arms over the Administration’s doublespeak & failure to release the promised files involving Jeffrey Epstein. He also notched successes elsewhere, notably when Judiciary Committee Republicans unanimously approved his atrocious nomination of Emil Bove, and Congressional R's eliminated public funding for NPR & CPB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry speaks with Representative Ro Khanna, who’s spending the summer fighting Trump on a range of fronts, from the Big Beautiful Bill to the unauthorized bombing of Iran. Lately Rep. Khanna has flashed a maverick streak to go with his progressive bonafides. Can his "Benefits Over Billionaires" tour bring political punishment to Republicans who backed Medicaid cuts? Why is he standing up for professional gamblers? And how come a CA congressman is so excited about an NYC mayoral race? As always with Rep. Khanna—a several-time guest on Talking Feds—it's a discussion filled with thoughtful and provocative opinions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our latest Contrarian episode, with Norm Eisen, Michael Podhorzer, and Jennifer Rubin — each from the all-star cast of the dynamic new media venture. Republicans felt buyer's remorse as Americans learned the contents of their "Big Beautiful Bill." ICE, soon to be the country's biggest law enforcement agency, kept up its aggressive raids. And the DOJ sprinted toward the cliff's edge in its totalitarian activities. Plus Emil Bove, Justice Jackson, and a lot more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes you just need a break from the relentless pace of legal and political developments and the enormous stakes they present for the future of the country. That’s what this 1-on-1 is. Harry speaks with Henry Winkler, Hollywood icon for 50 years and among the most unspoiled, upbeat well-adjusted figures in a famously dyspeptic industry. Henry relates his crazy fun summer – featuring a one-on-one meeting with the Queen (not to mention Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell)--and provides his strategies for staying zen and happy as the world and society seem sometimes to be collapsing around us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s our annual end-of-term Supreme Court special episode, with a roundtable of three of the most eminent Court watchers in the country: Leah Litman, Melissa Murray, and Stephen Vladeck. The nationwide injunction case capped off a conservative juggernaut of a term in which the 6 conservative justices expanded Executive power, contracted individual rights, augmented the Court’s own power vis-a-vis lower courts, and pretty much had their way in all important cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and one of the country's foremost experts on Iran. Trump’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at least damaged their targets and a ceasefire is holding. But will the U.S. strikes force Iran to abandon its drive for a nuclear weapon, or just fuel its desperation? Should the U.S. fear reprisals? And what would it take to bring real, lasting change to Iran? Sadjadpour offers some answers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a week of legal, political, & military battles. Trump bombed Iran but with less definitive results than he had proclaimed, leaving next moves up in the air. A relative unknown stormed to victory in the NYC Dem primary, triggering widespread analysis of what if anything it showed about the state of the party. The Supreme Court ended its term with a series of 6-3 rulings. And Trump DOJ enforcer Emil Bove had a hearing for a judgeship amid widespread accusations of improper conduct at DOJ. Read Josh's post about Mamdani’s Win: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/three-and-one-half-thoughts-on-mamdanis-big-big-win Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded live at Talking San Diego, Senator Cory Booker charts the personal and political path that led him from the streets of Newark to the well of the Senate—and to the longest speech in congressional history. With urgency and candor, he reflects on what it means to watch democracy erode in real time, and why moral imagination is now a political necessity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The episode starts with a 20-minute discussion with War Powers expert Rich Bernstein about Saturday’s bombing of Iran. From there we go to our Friday roundtable of Talking Feds stalwarts–Jason Kander, Norm Ornstein, & Jacob Weisberg. We focus on both the prospective bombing of Iran and the domestic use of force in CA & elsewhere. The court of appeals opinion green-lighting the federalization of the national guard in CA raises the prospect of an expansion to different big cities in blue states. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt joins Harry Litman to discuss his bestselling book "The Anxious Generation" and how the shift to smartphone-based childhood around 2012 triggered a mental health crisis—especially among liberal girls. Haidt explains his moral foundations theory, why Americans can't agree on basic facts anymore, and how social media created a "curse of Babel" that's undermining both democracy and child development. Plus: his four practical norms for rolling back the phone-based childhood and why we may be accidentally training kids for authoritarianism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A wild, turbulent, and ugly week. Trump used protests to his immigration operations in LA to declare a “rebellion” and federalize the national guard. A court decision rejecting the move was itself stayed, leaving the situation tense and tenuous. Sen. Padilla was roughed up and arrested when he tried to ask a question at a press conference. Meanwhile, the Administration brought Abrego-Garcia back only to charge him with crimes, and an effort to have Congress ratify DOGE cuts looked likely to fail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with Michael Lewis—author of Moneyball and The Fifth Risk—to discuss Who Is Government?, his new book spotlighting the unsung public servants who quietly hold the country together. They trace the project’s roots to Trump’s chaotic transition, explore the GOP-led assault on federal expertise, and ask: Can the damage be undone? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a week in which events looked to be spinning out of control on multiple fronts. The bromance between Elon Musk and Donald Trump hit the rocks and broke to smithereens, with Musk by week's end calling for Trump's impeachment. The Big Beautiful Bill looked likewise to be at rough shoals, w/ several R's threatening to leave the fold. More courts ruled against the gov, especially in alien cases, and the gov reversed ground and brought Abrego Garcia home, only to charge him with federal crimes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special recording from our Talking San Diego event with Rick Wilson. A longtime Republican strategist turned fierce Trump critic, Rick was among the first to sound the alarm on the threat Trump posed to American democracy. For nearly a decade, he’s been relentless in his efforts to expose that threat—most memorably through a sharp, unflinching, and often darkly funny series of political ads that take aim at Trump and his enablers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Elon Musk Era of government came to an abrupt end as the architect of DOGE left the Administration, somewhat the worse for wear and tear. What remains in his wake of DOGE’s slash-and-burn agenda is unclear. Sen Barbara Boxer, Mara Liasson, and Stuart Stevens join Harry to assess the Musk experiment. We then move on to Trump’s no-holds-barred war against Harvard, and the damage it threatens for the school & American society as a whole. We then turn to the moving target of Trump’s TACO tariffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the latest monthly Molly mashup where Molly Jong Fast of Fast Politics fires legal inquiries at Harry, and Harry counters with political questions.  The two trade vantage points on the Qatari "Palace in the Sky," with Harry explaining its illegality and Molly its political inanity. They move on to the pasting Trump is getting in the courts, and Molly’s sense of his quickly declining popularity. Molly explains why Dems are likely to take the House in the midterms.  And both concur that as damaging as the first few months have been, his chance at actually replacing our constitutional democracy with an authoritarian state has passed him by.  Lots more besides! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A terrific round table of Alisyn Camerota, Bill Kristol, and Mike Podhorzer join Harry to analyze a week in which only a couple things went right for Trump this week, but they were big-ticket items. The House R’s dragged the “big beautiful bill” over the finish line by a single vote. And the Supreme Court gave Trump a big victory that will permit him to fire leaders of certain important agencies without cause. But otherwise the courts forcefully rejected Trump’s overreaching executive orders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down for the first time with Scott Galloway whose wide-ranging influential views encompass politics, psychology, marketing, and technology, to name just a few. They first discuss Galloway's thesis of the current crisis among young men.  Galloway lays out the manifold causes and cross-cutting effects, including eye-popping rates of substance abuse suicide and depression.  They then turn to the link between young men's hardships and disenchantment and the rise of Trump as a dark model of masculinity. That leads Galloway to a harsh critique of the Democratic party’s marketing and agenda, and a specific postmortem of the 2024 election. From there, Galloway prescribes a series of proposals that he thinks Democrats should be offering in order to appeal to younger middle-class voters. And those are only the touchstones of a fast moving, provocative discussion chock full of Holloway’s thoughts on sundry topics such as social media, the importance of peer groups, the tax code, and why young people should drink more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you like your presidential travel mixed with $B self-enrichment for Trump and sons, this is the week for you, guided by a terrific only-on-Talking Feds panel of Peter Baker, Tara Setmayer, & Jacob Weisberg. Trump makes for the Gulf States with bags open for booty before coming back to face the unraveling of his big beautiful bill of tax breaks for the wealthy funded by sacrifices in health & welfare for the rest of us. We end w/ the legal landscape and the DOA scheme to suspend habeas corpus. Read Harry's Substack on the "Palace in the Sky": https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/trumps-palace-in-sky-is-a-clear-constitutional Check out Talking San Diego: https://www.talkingsandiego.net/events Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has been at the forefront of the efforts to keep attention on the nightmarish treatment of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia. Abrego-Garcia was pulled from the car he was driving and next thing he knew was in a notorious prison in El Salvador, the very place that a judge had ruled he could not be sent because of the risk of persecution. Senator Van Hollen went to El Salvador to meet with Abrego-Garcia. Abrego-Garcia has had no other communication with the outside world before or since. Senator Van Hollen discusses his reasons for going to El Salvador, previously undisclosed details of his meeting with Abrego-Garcia, the state of the war of public opinion about the case and Abrego-Garcia’s fate, and the prospects for Abrego-Garcia’s eventual return to his home and family in the United States. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a week that brought a series of stinging court defeats for Trump and his bevvy of executive orders, which have as a common theme the disregard of constitutional limits. Michael Scherer, Ali Vitali, and Charlie Sykes join Harry to consider whether Trump is adjusting his approach or just erratic. They break down Trump’s recent legacy media blitz before moving to the inauspicious mess of his tariff policy. Finally, they take up the significance of the defeat of the Ed Martin nomination. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks at length with Leah Litman about her new book on the Supreme Court, “Lawless” The book is a funny but biting look at the Court’s recent cases in a series of hot-button areas, including voting rights, abortion, and money in politics. Litman (no relation!) contends that the Court is driven mainly by the sentiments and political views of the Republican Party. The two Litmans explore her general approach to analyzing the Court as well as cases in several of the areas of focus on the book. They move at the end to Leah’s ideas for constructing a better, more progressive Court and finish with thoughts about the prospect for the Court and country’s falling off the cliff during Trump rule. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our monthly Contrarian episode, and it comes at a natural pivot point entering the second 100 days of Trump 2.0. Three of the core members of the Contrarian — Norm Eisen, Jen Rubin, and Steve Vladeck — join Harry to break down Trump's dismal record in the courts & plunging polls against his continuing flurry of executive orders unmoored from the law and the constitution. After careful focus on recent events, the group turns to a prediction of the themes that will dominate the coming 100 days See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a very unusual one-on-one--make that one-on-two--Harry sits down with Penn law professor Kate Shaw and Pennsylvania congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon to discuss the recent hearing in Congress at which Professor Shaw testified and Congresswoman Scanlon posed questions for the minority. The hearing was a tendentious and contrived set piece directed by Republican Congressman Jim Jordan with the clear goal of supporting the Trump administration's claim that federal judges such as Jeb Boasberg are improperly enjoining administration action. From their respective vantage points Professor Shaw and Congresswoman Scanlon explain the rules of the road about how to counter false claims about the constitution and the role of judges in it. Then with general discussion of ways in which the minority can be effective in the sharply constrained roles that the system forwards them. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a week in which Trump’s power-mongering again achieved little but left the country and world in far worse shape. In a wide-ranging, insightful discussion, a great panel of Ted Lieu, Beto O’Rourke, & Tara Setmayer explain why & what’s to come. We begin with the gun-to-the-head offer to Ukraine and its implications for the U.S.’s global role. We move on to the Hegseth resignation watch & Trump’s abysmal record in the courts, ending w/ thoughts about what concerned citizens can be doing now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this 1-on-1, Harry sits down with Congressman Dan Goldman, who previously worked on Trump’s first impeachment and before that was an AUSA in New York City. Goldman gives a sobering analysis of a series of stealth moves from the Trump Administration that are pulling us closer to authoritarian rule, including secret IRS-ICE data deals that shred privacy, economic sabotage through chaotic tariffs, and a GOP too scared to stop him.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The stage seems just about set for us to get the answer from the Supreme Court whether it will permit the judiciary to get rolled by an administration looking to use the label "foreign policy" to avoid all accountability. Elsewhere, the administration’s campaign to take control of large civil institutions hit a roadblock with a pushback from Harvard. Jon Alter, Susan Glasser, and Katie Phang join Harry to take stock of how far from the private precipice we are and our prospects for going over. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Mark Tushnet, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School, and one of the country’s leading constitutional scholars. After a brief discussion about his new book, “Who Am I To Judge,” the two dive in to the law and politics of the Trump administration assault on elite universities, in particular Harvard and Columbia. Tushnet explains why he thinks that the Administrations’ broad-gauged demands are unconstitutional on several grounds, including a somewhat underdeveloped principle in the law of fit between Government objection and proposed remedy, i.e. here that the administration is stating concerns about antisemitism to justify an extremely broad range of demanded changes. Tushnet describes the fervent opposition on campus and in the Harvard alumni community to the Administration’s demands, and lays out Harvard's overall strategic thinking in the short, medium, and long terms. The two then turn to the very different response from Columbia, including discussion of the Administration’s apparent consideration of a very novel approach to continuing supervision of the university under the model previous Departments of Justice have employed for corrupt police departments. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a week in which Trump’s broad and malign influence on civil society took another giant step forward. He single-handedly brought the economy to the edge of a recession w/ erratic and ill-considered tariffs; commandeered several more large law firms; initiated criminal investigations of two former officials for daring to oppose his views; and issued an executive order on showerhead pressure. A fantastic panel of Jason Kander, Zoe Lofgren, and Charlie Sykes joins Harry to break it all down. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Dr. Kavita Patel, professor of medicine at Stanford and a previous official overseeing public health in the Obama Administration. In the short tenure of Robert F Kennedy, Trump’s controversial head of HHS, we have seen several potential national and international health crises, involving measles, bird flu, and tuberculosis. Dr. Patel discusses all of them, and explains what a traditional federal government approach would be to each and the contrasting and frightening approach of Kennedy and the Trump Administration. The two end by discussing a potential parade of horribles to which Kennedy’s stewardship of the nation’s public health system could give rise See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many federal agencies have new leadership that are hostile to the career personnel. For this special episode, we go inside the DOJ, or as close as we can, w/ the help of 2 of the country’s most respected reporters, Devlin Barrett and Evan Perez, and a recent DOJ exile, Stacey Young, who has an organization to help her erstwhile colleagues. We get a concrete sense of what life & work are like now; the day-to-day relationships b/t new guard and the old staff; & the state of mind of the workforce. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Jake Auchincloss, a relatively young Demoratic member of the House who is drawing a lot of attention for his ideas about how the Party needs to proceed to win back a majority of the American people. They first discuss the issue of Generation-Z men, who are shaping up to be a conservative cohort of Republicans for the next 50 years. Auchincloss believes there are ways to provide them attractive alternatives without in any way mimicking or appropriating the MAGA rhetoric. Auchincloss follows up with his own defining themes, leading with housing, as well as corrections to democratic processes (such as the elimination of gerrymandering), that he believes could drive a shift back to Democrats. One concrete opportunity for multiple reforms could come from 2026-28, if the party establishes majorities in Congress and Trump is a lame duck. Auchincloss’s overall prescription for the party is it needs to focus on economic opportunities and an “abundance agenda” to contrast favorably to the overall scarcity ideology that has come to dominate the Republican Party. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After revealing details of a military operation on a Signal group chat that included a reporter, the Administration circled the wagons, minimizing the episode & declining to undertake a real investigation. A terrific panel of Jonathan Alter, Alisyn Camerota, & David French joins Harry to discuss the potential political & legal fallout. We then take up the effort to whisk people to a hellhole prison in El Salvador, inc the courts’ pushback, and end w/ general thoughts about the state of the Union See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice, about the possibly imminent introduction by House of the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility” (SAVE) Act. The legislation, which passed the House last year but wasn’t taken up in the Senate, would require every citizen registering or re-registering to vote to produce a birth certificate or passport in order to vote. It’s defended as a way to ferret out voting by non-citizens, but that turns out to be a virtually non-existent problem, as does the casual charges by Trump and others of widespread voting fraud. The effect, and likely intent, of the legislation would be to disproportionately disenfranchise Democrats. Waldman explains the manifold problems the SAVE Act would engender, including huge headaches for state and local authorities. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The week featured the expansion of Trump’s shakedowns of prominent sectors of civil society. The legal industry was stunned when prominent law firm Paul Weiss agreed to terms to in order to get Trump to withdraw a blackballing order. Columbia U. also capitulated to Trump’s demands to save $400 million in federal grants. Where does it stop? A great panel of Emily Bazelon, Susan Glasser, & Carol Leonnig joins Harry to dig into that issue and the brighter side of highlights of the legal landscape. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with Steven Pinker, who wears many intellectual hats, all well: linguist, psychologist, political philosopher, historian, and social critic, for starters. After some brief discussion of his childhood and background, they dive into Pinker’s best-selling “The Better Angels of Our Nature,” (Bill Gates’s favorite book at the time), “Enlightenment Now,” and Rationality” (Bill Gates’s new favorite book). In those works, Pinker lay out an argument that by and large, in fits and starts, society is advancing incrementally in health, safety, knowledge, and other key benchmarks of Enlightenment values. The two also touch on Pinker’s strong if idiosyncratic views about writing (he rejects much of modern pedantry about correct usage); his original Promethean work in linguistics; and his views about certain human cognitive biases. A wide-ranging and provocative discussion with one of the great public intellectuals of our time. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A roundtable of 3 great commentators--Josh Marshall, Charlie Sykes, and Ali Vitali--assesses the state of play in politics and U.S. society after 2 months of hyper-aggressive moves by Donald Trump. Minority leader Charles Schumer opted to go along with Republican plans to find the government, to the consternation of many Dems. Trump is trying to exercise control in large parts of civil society, including law, media, and the academy. Popular opposition is expanding, but can it make a difference? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks to Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, whose extensive experience includes a long stint in the Navy as a helicopter pilot and Russian policy officer, a stretch in the US Attorney’s office, and a current candidacy for New Jersey governor. Sherrill’s cross-cutting resume position her to discuss a series of worrisome maneuvers by the new administration, beginning with the party line budget vote and its immediate and grave implications for New Jersey. The two also discuss the state of morale at the Department of Justice, the Administration’s abandonment of Ukraine and its global implications, and the role for state officials to play as counterweights to monolithic Republican federal power. Sherrill also addresses at length the performance of the democrats in Congress and what more they need to do. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our monthly all-contrarian episode with Norm Eisen, Jen Rubin, & Katie Phang first analyzes Trump’s address to Congress, which clocked in at about 2 hours and featured a series of lies and low blows. We then take up to the Supreme Court’s narrow affirmance of the district court order to walk back the USAID withdrawal before moving to the series of cases, many litigated personally by Norm, in which courts for the main part are calling the Administration out for ignoring the commands of Congress. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Max Boot about his latest article, “US soft power took decades to build. Trump is dismantling it in weeks.” Boot explains the critical source of U.S. influence in the world, more than military might, is “soft power,” foreign aid and other far-seeing acts of altruism for people around the world. Soft power is the key to the country’s diplomatic, commercial, and cultural success. It was built up painstakingly over decades with programs like the Marshall Plan and in 3 short weeks Trump has taken a battering ram to it, acutely harming our international standing. Allies such as Canada are perplexed at the U.S.’s bullying tactics, and people around the world dependent on U.S. aid have been gravely harmed. The chief beneficiary of this short-sighted abandonment of longstanding U.S. policy is China, which will aim to fill the void left by the end of U.S. aid programs. Boot concludes, “[i]t is staggering to see how much damage Trump has done to U.S. soft power in just two weeks and painful to imagine how much ore he could do in the next 206 weeks.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Administration and congressional republicans continued to wreak havoc with the federal workforce, international relations, limited executive power, and the constitution, not necessarily in that order. Tara Setmayer, Bob Shrum, and Jacob Weisberg join Harry to analyze the party-line House budget that seems DOA in the Senate; tension within the Executive Branch over Elon Musk; growing popular opposition to the Administration and especially to Musk’s untethered and unaccounted role; and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks once again with constitutional patriot and House Oversight Committee member Jamie Raskin about the tight spot we are in after just one month of Trump rule. Harry presses the Congressman for thoughts about communicating to the country the perils to the rule of law and constitutional scheme themselves. Raskin sets out a short range, mid-range, and long-range agenda for clawing the country back and restoring the rule of law. They go over the most promising and the most worrisome of the 60+ lawsuits against the Administration. They focus at length on the mischief and illegality of the Elon Musk DOGE operation and how that seems to be hitting home with more people daily. And they end with detailed discussion about the terrible perversions at the Department of Justice and what it will take to return the Department to its full institutional footing in the future. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for our periodic episode on foreign policy, in fact the nick of time, b/c while we’ve been chiefly focused on the damage Trump has done to domestic constitutional rules, he’s been taking as big a sledgehammer to longstanding foreign policy relationships. A superb panel of Anne Applebaum, Michael McFaul, & Stephen Sestanovich breaks it all down and, with special focus on Ukraine, Russia, Europe, & China, details the enormous risks for the country and the world of Trump’s abrupt reversals. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Rich Cordray, the first director of the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, about the Bureau’s achievements for American consumers and the concerns that its functions now may slow dramatically or even stop. Trump recently fired the Bureau’s director and appointed a new director who ordered a halt to all Bureau actions; a new acting Director later instructed all staff to cease work. Cordray sketches out the Bureau’s general achievements in the mortgage, credit card, and banking industries, in which individual consumers had so often been victimized with little recourse until the CFPB came online. Cordray explains the lawsuit now pending in the district court in Washington DC to prevent the Administration from mass firings and destruction of agency data. He ends by emphasizing the importance during this time of feverish activity within the Executive Branch to keep watch on enforcement of consumer laws and Administration action to weaken consumer protection. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s our regular mash-up with none other than Molly Jong-Fast, in which Molly fires legal question that have been occupying her at Harry, and Harry reciprocates with political questions for Molly. This mash-up is in the middle of the burgeoning Department of Justice scandal over the Eric Adams prosecution, and Harry presses Molly on whether the scandal will have political legs. Molly meanwhile seeks to understand whether some of Musk’s crazier antics are legal and how they could be challenged. And that’s just the beginning! Always a lively and informative back-and-forth when these two interrogate each other! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump continued to bend the political system to his will, but the courts and his own Dept of Justice pushed back. Alisyn Camerota, Norm Ornstein, & Jacob Weisberg join Harry to assess Trump’s checkered week. A series of federal courts temporarily froze some of Trump’s more brazen power grabs, and a cascade of DOJ prosecutors resigned rather than comply with a lawless order to dismiss well-supported charges. But Trump was able to push through cabinet nominees whose prospects had been in doubt. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks to Kristy Greenberg, former Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in the Southern District of New York, about the burgeoning scandal involving the resignation of the acting United States Attorney and multiple other officials in her office and at Main Justice. The resignations all come in response to an improper command by the acting deputy Attorney General, Emile Bove, to dismiss charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, notwithstanding that there is no question about the righteousness – i.e. the solid facts and law –that undergird the prosecution. Through Greenberg’s experience in the Southern District and Harry’s at Main Justice, they are able to piece together what has happened behind the scenes to date and what may transpire in the future, and all of it pits Bove, Bondi and Trump on the wrong side of the rule of law and Sassoon and Company on the right side. This is not going away. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest conversation in the Talking San Diego series, Harry sits down with Chris Hayes before a live San Diego audience on the evening when Hayes’s new book, “The Sirens’ Call,” was named to the top position on the New York Times’s Bestseller List. Hayes’s focus is attention – how it has become our scarcest resource and the constant bombardment from different forces vying for it and leaving us all a little insane. Be sure to catch the “lightning round” towards the end of the discussion when Harry serves up a rapid-fire series of lighter-side personal questions See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with Jeff Toobin on the day of the publication of Toobin’s latest book, “The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy.” Toobin’s work spans the history of controversial pardons over the last 50 years, with a ground-setting, detailed focus on President Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon. The conventional wisdom about that pardon has come to be that it was a salutary statesmanlike gesture to put the national turmoil of Watergate behind us. Toobin has a contrary take: he is harshly critical of the Ford pardon of Nixon, and his analysis leads to similar critiques of the recent Biden and Trump pardons, and endorsements of pardons by Carter and Obama. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An all-contrarian roundtable—Paul Krugman, Norm Eisen, and Jen Rubin—chronicles the first signs of pushback against Trump’s constitutional assaults and analyzes the vacuous tariffs initiatives. Norm provides some dispatches from the litigation front, which has secured multiple injunctions against Trump’s lawless, harmful policies. Paul proceeds to explain how tariffs work and why they are at best counter-productive before considering Elon Musk’s strange role through the prism of economics. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Andrea Pitzer, who has reported extensively on democratic decline in countries such as Chile, Russia, and Hungary, and has written extensively about historical examples especially Nazi Germany. She discusses signal developments in authoritarian democracy that degraded into authoritarian rule, bringing the illustrations back to compare and contrast with Trump’s first few days of rule and the landscape ahead. The two discuss the most important developments that signify dramatic social and political degradations, as well as the most important indications of decline so severe as to take countries to the other side of the democracy/authoritarian divide. Harry analyzes the particular assaults on the department of justice and the judiciary that Trump is pursuing, and how they dovetail with strong man moves in authoritarian regime. A fair bit of a discussion concerns the potential analogy between Hitler’s brownshirts, who played such a major role in destroying the rule of law in Germany, and the hundreds of pardoned January 6 rioters who now stand ready to resume their violent support of Trump’s agenda. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The worst assault by a president on constitutional norms of any week in history, save possibly only last week. A great panel stocked with political experience & law enforcement experience—Asha Rangappa, Stuart Stevens & Rick Wilson—join Harry to analyze the dregs of Trump’s nominees, whose prospects for confirmation cannot be counted out given Trump’s vice grip on Senate Rs. They then take up other of the weeks follies, including Trump’s blaming the terrible plane accident on Dems’ DEI policies. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump’s anticipated reprisal campaign against the DOJ began with a series of moves aimed at punishing professionals involved in his prosecutions while simultaneously destabilizing the department as a whole. In this special emergency episode, some of the most outstanding and experienced DOJ alumni—Paul Fishman, Amy Jeffress, Mimi Rocah—take stock of the damage inflicted and assess the department’s ability to recover after enduring the chaos of Trump’s rule. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with federal courts and constitutional law expert Steve Vladeck about the hailstorm of Trump executive orders in the first week. Professor Vladeck explains in general terms what executive orders can accomplish and what they can’t. The two then zero in on the orders concerning birthright citizenship, TikTok, and immigration. They finish with some up-to-the-minute accounts of the harrowing goings-on in the Department of Justice, where new political appointees are issuing orders for DOJ litigators that are designed to implement some of the farthest reaching Trump edicts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No need to mince words: it was the most damaging week for the constitution, and the Founders’ carefully calibrated system of checks & balances, since at least the Civil War. Trump put into place a series of executive orders & actions that if upheld will expand his power enormously and cut out the legs from most opposition. A great roundtable of Susan Glasser, David Jolly, and Bill Kristol joins Harry to assess the damage and what it portends for degradations of American law, politics, and life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Mark Greenblatt, one of the Inspectors General fired suddenly in the “Friday night purge” of the vast majority of Senate-confirmed IG’s. They discuss the origin, function, and nature of Inspectors General, who have saved taxpayers nearly $700 billion. Greenblatt talks about his own 20-year + service in the IG community, during which he rotated through several agencies and was elected by his peers to lead the IGs’ council. Then they zero in on Friday night and exactly what happened before moving to Greenblatt’s current thoughts about how the IG community, Congress, and country should respond to the purge, and whether and how it is possible to safeguard the paramount goal of oversight with integrity and credibility. It’s the longest and most detailed and nuance discussion with any of the fired IGs, going well beyond quick sound bites to an in-depth examination of who IGs are and what the country has lost in the purge. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is understandable frustration at the failure to release volume 2 of the Smith Report dealing with the Mar-A-Lago documents case, but we are able to construct strong surmises about what is in that volume based on already available material. Harry checks in again with Marcy Wheeler, whose blog, emptywheel.net, consistently presents the most in-depth and comprehensive accounts of the public record. Through a methodical scrutiny of documents that have come to light in various ways – including a FOIA request from Donald Trump that produced 60 important emails and other documentary records – we can make a detailed sketch of much of the information that Smith likely passed along to Merrick Garland. Critically, some of the information bears on the qualifications for FBI director of Kash Patel, who asserted the 5th Amendment when called to testify about his claim that Trump had declassified the records he took away. Listeners’ alert: some of the discussion is fairly microscopic but that’s because some of the known information is quite detailed. Read Marcy's blog: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/01/19/found-dozens-of-damning-documents-about-trumps-hoarding-of-classified-documents/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Published on the day of Trump’s inauguration, this episode takes brief stock of Biden’s unusual farewell address before pivoting to the perilous future. A great roundtable of Talking Feds stalwarts--Jonathan Alter, Norm Eisen, & Jen Rubin--assesses the confirmation hearings & what they suggest about the nature of Trump rule, as well as the prospects for the most controversial nominees, especially Kash Patel. We end with a set of open-ended reflections about what to expect in the next few months. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry speaks again with Marc Elias, the nation’s most important election-law lawyer, about some of the sharpest challenges on the current landscape and that he anticipates will come our way once Trump takes office. There is a battle being waged in North Carolina, where the Democratic candidate won an election, verified by two recounts, but the Republican party is looking retroactively to invalidate some 60,000 votes. That contest should be receiving more attention than it has, both in its own right and as a possible harbinger of brass-knuckle tactics to come.  The two then switch gears to talk about the continuing appeasement of Trump by traditional media, based on its larger corporate interest. Elias offers a number of thoughts about the dangers of the development and what we all can do about it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After six weeks of special episodes to prepare for Trump 2.0, Talking Feds returns to its normal format of 3 stellar commentators—Jason Kander, Charlie Sykes, & Ali Vitali—working through the big news. Trump was sentenced, becoming the first-felon President, though the Supreme Court nearly saved him. Trump fought publication of the Jack Smith report, but at least volume 1 probably will be made public. January 6 came and went. Trump gave a semi-incoherent press conference. It’s déjà vu all over again. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with Representative Ro Khanna, who from his perch in the heart of Silicon Valley has become a national leader on issues of artificial intelligence and economic innovation. Rep. Khanna is bullish on new technology but keenly aware of its risks. Harry and Rep. Khanna discuss the marketing of AI products; AI’s contribution to social misinformation and how to regulate it; and antitrust protections against undue aggregation of market power by one or two platforms. Along the way, they also touch on others of Khanna’s wide-ranging interests, including term limits for Supreme Court justices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing with our series of subject-specific episodes to gear up for Trump 2.0, a great panel of healthcare policy experts—Dan Diamond, Ezekiel Emanuel, and Kavita Patel—sizes up the critical series of issues about to confront the country. RFK Jr’s potential confirmation to head HHS is an issue in itself, given the huge challenges of the $2 trillion agency. Then there are a serious of potential overhauls in different medical areas to consider, especially vaccines but also ACA, abortion, more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with Greg Casar, the youngest member of the Texas delegation in Congress and an unapologetic progressive in the some-time hostile landscape of Texas (albeit the famous enclave of Austin). A charismatic campaigner, Casar made his mark in Congress by leading a nine-hour thirst strike in 2023 to advocate for workers’ protections from extreme heat. Cesar discusses his against-the-tide electoral success and his work in Congress for immigrant rights, abortion rights, worker’s rights, voting rights, and other signature progressive issues. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing with our series of subject-specific episodes to gear up for Trump 2.0, we take up a wild-card element in the upcoming battles: the prospective pushback from blue states advancing their own sovereign interests and those of their residents. A great roundtable of former state AG’s and senior federal officials—Rich Cordray, Heidi Heitkamp, and Phil Weiser—explain the formidable tools that the states can deploy to parry aggressive federal policies within their own borders. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest entry in the Harry-Molly mix-it-up—the first since the election—with Molly peppering Harry with legal questions while Harry parries with political ones for her. Molly picks Harry’s brain on executive orders, Kash Patel's enemies list, and Harry's exit from the LA Times. Harry returns fire with questions about sounding the alarm on Trump’s authoritarian moves, what’s in the future for the Musk-Trump bromance, and the American mood that gives rise to lionizing Luigi Mangione, who shot a healthcare CEO on the Manhattan streets. As always with these mash-ups, it’s rapid fire, fun, and chock full of information. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No area represents a more stark and violent shift in U.S. policy in Trump 2.0 then immigration, where the country is bracing for the possibility of wholesale roundups of illegal aliens. Three experts in immigration policy and governmental oversight—Doris Meissner, Kristie De Pena, and Leon Rodriguez—join Harry for a preview of what’s coming and the mobilization of state governments and the private sector to push back. Core issues not just of law but of national identity hang in the balance. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with law professor and former prosecutor, Kim Wehle, one of the country’s foremost experts on the pardon power. They begin with some historical precedent to situate the pardon power and its contours within the American justice system. From there, they move onto the controversy involving Hunter Biden’s pardon, which Professor Wehle and Harry see as an overall conventional use of the power given that no one has contradicted that Hunter Biden was singled out for harsher treatment based on his father. The two then dig deep into the the prospect of a numbrella, pardons by Biden of the targets for retribution that Trump and Patel have announced, and the particular way to frame such an action to insulate it from subsequent challenge. Finally, Professor Wehle and Harry discuss the prospect of pardons by Trump for the January 6 marauders; however vexing that may be politically, and however out of the mainstream of historic pardons, Trump likely has the raw power to do it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The next in our series of subject-specific episodes to prepare for Trump’s return. Our regular economics panel–the fantastic trio of Dean Baker, Paul Kruman, and Stephanie Ruhle–assesses the latest reports & the disconnect between people’s views of the economy & its actual robust state. The panel talks at length about Trump’s economic centerpiece of large tariffs on our biggest trade partners before moving onto the economic implications of other campaign promises, especially mass deportations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special 1-on-1 taped before a live audience as part of the Talking San Diego series (www.talkingsandiego.net) , Harry sits down with Congressman Jamie Raskin to discuss a theory of Second Amendment rights that has proliferated in recent years, including support by elected officials such as Matt Gaetz. That is an insurrectionary theory according to which the Constitution protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms in order to use them against their own government when they perceive the government has become tyrannical. Raskin completely shreds the theory as a matter of history, text, and constitutional structure. He concludes that “the real Constitution rejects the right wing fantasy that random banks of disgruntled armed citizens can claim the powers of the constitutional militia.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing in our series of subject-specific topics leading up to Trump 2.0, we convene a great set of experts—Frank Figliuzzi, Juliette Kayyem, and Asha Rangappa—to assess the landscape in national security, beginning with the selection of Kash Patel to head the FBI. Patel has it all--inexperience, arch loyalty to Trump, and deep hostility to the FBI, and his selection would have grave consequences. The group then moves on to the choice of Tulsi Gabbard to lead DNI & sundry topics in the area. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Professor Tim Snyder, Levin Professor of History at Yale, who is both one of our leading political scientists and one of the most trenchant critics of Trump’s moves in the everyday.  Snyder first discusses some of the organizing ideas in his scholarly work, especially the recent “On Freedom.”  He explains his particular notion of freedom and how it differs from the common conception held by most people in the United States.  They then talk about fascism and the degree to which the political program it employs depends on a radical devaluing of the idea of truth and fact. The two then move to the current American landscape, and the degree to which Trump’s return to power, viewed especially in the light of history, represents a genuine threat of an irreversible decline in democratic, constitutional rule.  Professor Snyder closes with some bases for optimism and a constructive agenda moving forward. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The early indications from the first weeks since the election are gloomy. A roundtable of three of the podcast's all stars–Susan Glasser, Jen Rubin, and Charlie Sykes–joins Harry to break down the embryonic warnings of democratic backsliding ahead. Trump and his circle are flouting ethical requirements and trying to run an opaque shop, though reports of backbiting and at least one scandal have emerged. And Jack Smith closed up shop on the most serious allegations ever brought against a president. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Michael Tomasky, Editor of the New Republic, about his article, “Why Does No One Understand the Real Reason Trump Won?” Tomasky digs beneath the demographic information about increased Hispanic voters or concerns about immigration to explain the pivotal fact that vast fractions of the electorate – roughly those who voted for Trump – had a false narrative fed to them by right-wing media, which has become more powerful than legacy media in this country (owing in part to the decline of legacy media), and, far more importantly, speaks in one voice and has a hammerlock on the attention of nearly half the country. Tomasky delineates the strategic genesis and rise of right-wing media, tracing it to huge contributions from right wing forces, whereas the left’s high rollers chiefly contribute to specific causes. Tomasky posits that the right-wing media will not be satisfied with its notable successes but will aim for full domination, and sounds a warning bell for the left to appreciate and respond to the immense political force. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks again w/ Marcy Wheeler, as tenacious a follower of the Trump cases as there is, about what Jack Smith might include in a report to Merrick Garland pursuant to the Special Counsel regulations that would supplement the historical record. The short answer is “plenty.” Marcy and Harry march through intriguing but incomplete details in the public record about uncharged conduct, declined federal crimes, and especially activity of still important members of the Trump circle such as Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, and Todd Blanche. This is a detailed guide to what we don’t know but need to in the interests of both democratic transparency and history. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are doing a series of special episodes leading up to Trump 2.0 in the areas that are most in the crosshairs of Trump and Project 2025, including immigration, health care, and foreign policy. This is the first one, and it focuses on the Department of Justice, with our regular great expert roundtable of Katie Benner, Paul Fishman, and Amy Jeffress. DOJ is not just the agency I and my compadres know best; it is also the one whose ravaging will most signal a backslide towards authoritarianism. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Sen. Chris Murphy about a range of subjects, including his recent reelection, his favorite book, and his annual walks across Connecticut. They focus mainly however on Murphy’s thoughts about the reasons for the Democrats 2024 defeat. Murphy had argued that the Democratic Party was ignoring a crisis staring it in the face, born of the inability to connect with Americans’ bleak view of the economy and their growing alienation. As flawed and vicious as Trump’s candidacy was, it had a certain spiritual element of connecting with voters’ deep-seated feelings about a society that is leaving them behind and increasingly isolated and lonely. Murphy talks about how the Democrats can and should advance their own message of meaning and purpose, and what they will need to do in the near future to counter Trump’s expected legal and policy outrages. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry speaks with Constitutional scholar and Supreme Court expert Steve Vladeck about the seeds of a fundamental crisis in American political life. The Supreme Court rebuffed Trump at least some in his first term. But now Trump is a lame duck and a lawless cynic, and it’s not hard to envision as ignoring even a mandate from the Supreme Court. Moreover, in part because of their bad steps in the last several years, including the Dobbs opinion, the court is at a low ebb of respect and credibility in the country, which is ultimately the capital it must call on to enforce its decisions. Harry and Steve also discuss the constitutional gambit. Trump is suggesting for recess appointments. If the Senate won’t cooperate, they can drive in lot of thinks is unlikely to succeed. Finally, the two talk about the embarrassing and non-judicious personal attack on Steve launched by Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones at a recent conference of the Federalist Society. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An excellent roundtable of commentators—Heather Cox Richardson, Bill Kristol, and Mara Liasson—explains why based on the early evidence, Trump 2.0 poses grave risks to the rule of law & the national security. He has advanced a series of gonzo nominations for key administration positions that as much as dare the Senate to cross him. And he is making noises about using recess appointments to install those nominees, a maneuver that would warp the constitutional design of Senate advice and consent. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with Rick Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project and a former Republican political strategist who did as much as anyone to warn the country of the dangers of a Trump presidency, including creating and distributing a dazzling series of ads that brought home Trump’s essential know-nothingness, hypocrisy, and wickedness.  The two begin with a discussion of whether in retrospect the election was winnable for Harris-Walz, or whether the forces that propelled Trump’s victory were in retrospect insuperable.  Wilson analyzes the result in terms of the media ecosystem that the extreme right has constructed and made common cause with since 2008 and especially since Covid.  Penetrating that ecosystem is the chief task going forward, but it is way easier said than done.  Trump’s likely stumbles as President will provide some headway and perhaps provide openings for the Democrats to take back one of the Houses of Congress in 2026.  But the immediate and pressing issue is whether Trump will use his virtually unchecked power to move the country towards autocracy along the model of say, Turkey, in a way that history demonstrates is very hard to reverse. That leaves little choice of patriots, who might well have been looking forward to a resumption of normal life and normal politics, than to continue to fight day to day and month to month against the coming waves of abuses of governmental power. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A welter of emotions—disappointment, anger, shellshock, bewilderment—jockey for attention in the wake of Donald Trump’s decisive victory. How did the American people select a constitutional villain they know so well, who has promised an even more lawless and destructive second term? A great group of thoughtful and trenchant commentators—Senator Barbara Boxer, Norm Ornstein, and Jacob Weisberg—join Harry to probe the deeper explanations for Trump’s victory and begin to consider what is to be done. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry unpacks Trump’s victory with Mike Podhorzer, founder of the Analyst Institute and the Defend Democracy Project and perhaps the nation’s #1 authority on polls and their foibles. Podhorzer resists the conventional wisdom that the election result is best explained by demographic shifts among certain voters such as Hispanic men or white women. If what's happened here happened in the Hungarian or Turkish elections, we wouldn't be looking at their exit polls to understand what happened. He rather analyzes the seeds of Trump’s victory in a series of developments since 2008, including Supreme Court decisions and an outpouring of money from third parties. Podhorzer avers that Trump’s policies have virtually no support in the electorate, pointing out how Trumpian candidates fared in down ballet races; however, Trump’s success traces to a persuasive embodiment of widely held attitudes, in particular anti-incumbency, which has been a potent force around the world since COVID. That suggests that when Trump begins to put policies into effect, for example the promised mass deportation, it will prompt an electoral backlash. Podhorzer’s core argument about the election is that while it was legal in the sense of not turning of quirky contingencies, it was not legitimate because it failed the fundamental test of expressing the true consent of the governed. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down in a live conversation with Bill Kristol, one of the most influential voices in America political life for the last 35 years and a veteran of high official service in two Republican administrations. Kristol was an early and ardent opponent of Donald Trump and a founder of Republicans for the Rule of Law.  Harry and he talk about his New York childhood in a conservative hothouse, his early academic success as a political philosophy professor, his transition to the practical hurly-burly world of politics, and his long stint editing the most influential magazine of conservative political thought, the Weekly Standard. They then go at length into why Trump is such a pernicious and divisive figure in America, the concrete threats he presents if elected again, and the role of the Republican Party in maintaining his influence, notwithstanding widespread contempt for him.  Along the way, they explore the social and political explanations for Trump’s rise and what needs to happen to restore America to a healthy two-party democracy. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the last episode of the 2024 presidential campaign, a stellar roundtable of David Frum, Jen Rubin and Stuart Stevens wrestles with Trump’s over-the-top vicious rhetoric and considers whether the country may be on the precipice of electing a fascist. We go on to consider the strange late-campaign factor of Elon Musk, and move to Harris’s closing argument, and its emphasis on civility, closing with some tentative observations about what lies ahead for the country over the next several weeks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of the Talking San Diego series, Harry sits down with Nancy Pelosi for a wide-ranging conversation centering on her new book, “The Art of Power.” Pelosi takes us through her entry into Congress as a 46-year-old housewife through the great legislative triumphs of her tenure as speaker, clearly among the most successful in American history. She discusses her approach to leadership and the particular challenges posed by the conduct of Donald Trump and his allies, including their regular departure from the truth. A great conversation with the Speaker’s graciousness, savvy, poise, and judgment on full display. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Going into the campaign’s last week, there is a mile-wide chasm between the candidates in their messages & styles, but not a millimeter between them in the popular vote polls. Harris’s closing argument is emphasizing the grave dangers Trump presents to constitutional rule, but it’s not clear it’s getting through to any new voters. A fantastic roundtable—Beto O’Rourke, Tara Setmayer, & Ali Vitali—join Harry to analyze what’s happening in the final days of the tightest election in a generation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Bob Bauer, the most prominent Democratic political lawyer of the last generation, about his new book, “The Unraveling.”  The book, analyzes the contributions of lawyers to the politics-as-blood-sport that is our inheritance from the last 40 years of national campaigns. Looking back on a lifetime of representation of candidates, officials, and political institutions like the White House, Bauer analyzes the warrior’s role, including pushing on the truth and demonizing the enemy. Many of these excesses helped pave the for the far greater and more vicious dishonesty of the Trump era. Bauer ends with an extended prescription for restoring ethics and a sense of institutional values to political lawyering. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As one of our guests this week puts it, we know the dartboard but we don’t know what area to pinpoint. There has been little concrete indication of movement in the basic dynamic of the election, which means that we need to stare head on at the grim possibility of a Trump victory, and ask why the sense of panic isn’t greater, including among Republican officials who know Trump best. Susan Glasser, Charlie Sykes, & Jacob Weisberg contrast Harris’s vigor w/ Trump’s continued decline & read the sparse tea leaves. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry and Molly trade off political and legal questions in their latest mashup. As usual, they cover lots of territory on both the legal and political terrains, including Trump’s insistence that he is better for Israel, the status of the various Trump cases, including if Trump wins, the Supreme Court’s reaction to public discontent, whether the justice system is biased towards white men, whether Vance represents “Trumpism Without Trump,” FEMA lies, and a whole lot more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

T minus 22 and the two campaigns are a study in contrasts. Harris is prospecting for new voters w/ a broad media strategy, inc niche podcasts, while Trump digs deeper into the dark recesses of MAGA voters searching for supporters who sat the last two elections out. The hurricane is a vivid reminder of all that can’t be predicted, & an illustration of the damage wrought by Trump’s lies. A great trio of political experts—Jon Alter, Mara Liasson, & Bob Shrum—joins Harry to piece it all together. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Judge Tanya Chutkan abruptly unsealed Jack Smith’s 165 page brief describing the evidence he proposes to use to convict Donald Trump of trying to steal the 2020 election, there was a mad dash of activity as we all scrambled to mine the best nuggets of information; and there were many of them. Read of the brief reveals a whole other series of insights that have been overlooked or under reported to date. Harry talks with the ever-tenacious and insightful Marcy Wheeler, a.k.a. the empty wheel, and in a detailed 45-minute conversation, the two exchange and analyze the most important outstanding revelations in the brief and bear down on what the additional key points reveal about Smith’s case and the likely course of litigation ahead. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there was a fundamental shift in the election dynamics this week, it wasn't perceptible at the surface level. A great returning panel of Alisyn Camerota, David French, and Norm Ornstein joins Harry to discuss whether Trump's increasingly brazen lies move any voters into his column. They then take up the VP debate & Vance's inability to concede that Trump lost in 2020; Harris's week, highlighted by a joint appearance w/ Liz Cheney; & finally the impact of the Jack Smith brief in the 1/6 case. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Michael Podhorzer, founder of the Analyst Institute and perhaps the foremost student in the country of the true utility and disutility of political polls. Podhorzer explains the critical difference between two types of “undecided” voters the polls lump together – those (very very rare) votes still uncertain whom to vote for and those (much more common) voters who may or may not vote but know whom they would vote for. The difference has key implications for the state of the race, the best strategies for the campaign, and the right and wrong ways to interpret polls. The distinction also helps explain Trump’s steadfast refusal to expand or soften his autocratic extreme MAGA message. Podhorzer also explains the modeling he has done of the 2024 electorate based on vote history and behavior. A rich discussion and an effective antidote to the “Mad Poll Disease” that so many of us have as the election approaches. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With five weeks to go before the election, Donald Trump seems content to double and redouble down on his appeal to the extreme elements of his base, including conspicuous racist and xenophobic undertones. Kamala Harris spent the week laying out detailed economic policy proposals, facing the press, wooing rural and blue-collar voters, and burnishing her credentials as a potential Commander in Chief. A stellar roundtable of Jen Rubin, Stuart Stevens, & Ali Vitali joins Harry to break it all down. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with Preet Bharara, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and an encyclopedic source about tradition, culture, and current state of play at the Department of Justice. The two have a wide-ranging conversation touching on the threat of Project 2025 to DOJ in particular; the current state of morale, which suffered in the Trump years; fine points of strategy in the DOJ prosecutions of Trump; the Supreme Court’s impact on DOJ practice; and a lot more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A superb panel of Jason Kander, Josh Marshall, and Tara Setmayer joins Harry to take stock of a wild & weird week and consider where it leaves us w/ 6 weeks to go. Harris logged two effective interviews, continued to headline boisterous rallies, and swamped Trump in fundraising. Trump continued to stir the pot about pet-eating in Springfield then at week’s end had to deal with fallout from news of ultra-gross online chatter by NC gov candidate Mark Robinson, whom Trump has praised extravagantly. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry sits down with Judge J. Michael Luttig, a leading conservative jurist and fierce critic of Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and the Supreme Court. Judge Luttig explains why Trump is the very menace to the Constitution that the Framers feared, and excoriates Republicans in Congress for enabling his authoritarian ambitions. The two move on to 3 pro-Trump Supreme Court decisions that Luttig disparages, singling out for special reproach the Court’s immunity decision, which Judge Luttig characterizes as an "abomination". It’s a hard-hitting, essential discussion with one of Trump’s most formidable conservative critics. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The debate behind us, we are in the official 50-day homestretch of the presidential campaign. And although Kamala Harris dominated the debate, it’s not clear that it translates into a political edge in the election. A fantastic roundtable of Susan Glasser, Molly Jong-Fast, and Jacob Weisberg join Harry to assess the debate and its aftermath; analyze each side’s subsequent moves and what they reveal, including Trump’s going full-out nasty; and discuss what each side needs to do going forward. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talking Feds is excited to introduce a new conversation series: 1-on-1s with Harry Litman. This series will drop in your feed every Thursday — in addition to our Monday roundtables — and feature conversations that go in-depth with one special guest. Host Harry Litman will be engaging with all sorts of topics, from law and politics to art and science to sports, history, movies, and more. With the Talking Feds calling card of great guests -- eg Judge Michael Luttig, Scott Galloway, Gina Raimondo, Bill Kristol, Robert Sapolsky, Preet Bharara, and Swati Sharma -- each conversation is sure to be interesting. The first episode will air next Thursday, September 19th. Stay tuned! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded live at the Texas Tribune Festival Harry, Keith Ellison, Katie Phang, and Ellen Rosenblum examine Kamala Harris’s work as district attorney and attorney general, the potential points of attack it provides to Donald Trump, and what it tells us about what kind of president she'd be. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An episode focusing entirely on the dynamic, exquisitely close presidential campaign in the wake of the DNC convention. Josh Marshall, Heather Cox Richardson, and Charlie Sykes join Harry to assess whether the convention gave Harris/Walz a lasting bump or just a temporary high; the ticket’s week on the campaign trail, including the CNN interview; more unwelcome headlines for the Trump team over Arlington cemetery & flip-flopping on abortion; plus some broader historical perspectives on the race. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the 300th episode of Talking Feds, coming to you live from the heart of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago! Today’s show celebrates this milestone with an incredible roster of guests who will help us dissect the electric atmosphere and pivotal moments of this historic week. We’ve lined up exclusive interviews with some of the foremost figures in law and politics, providing you with an insider’s perspective straight from the convention floor. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz breeze into the Windy City for the Democratic convention with a strong tailwind from 3-plus weeks of a pitch perfect campaign, abetted by a lackluster at best performance from Donald Trump and JD Vance. Bill Kristol, Bob Shrum, and Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill join Harry to analyze what the ticket and party need to accomplish this week. The roundtable then broadens focus to the current state of the race, Trump’s apparent loss of mojo, and Vance’s foot-in-mouth problems. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things could be going better for Kamala Harris, but it is hard to see how; and a great roundtable of Jen Rubin, Tara Setmayer, and Charlie Sykes join Harry to analyze the week and what lies ahead. Harris’s VP choice of MN gov Tim Walz drew high marks, and the 2 embarked on a series of exuberant initial campaign stops. Trump, meanwhile, convened a largely incoherent press conference, and the R attack lines failed to connect. We end with discussion of AZ electors’ case and its dangers for Trump. patreon.com/talkingfeds See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another week in which the fledgling Kamala Harris campaign seemed to click on all cylinders while Donald Trump and JD Vance had trouble finding their footing. The Trump campaign tried out different themes for attacking the Vice President, but none landed squarely and drew some broad rebuke. Mara Liasson, Zerlina Maxwell, and Jacob Weisberg join Harry to consider whether Harris is riding a false crest and whether, as recent polls suggest, she has indeed brought the election back to a genuine tossup. patreon.com/talkingfeds See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a third successive week, we had a great and unanticipated shifting of the tides. In a juggernaut of adroit maneuvering in the immediate wake of Biden’s withdrawal, Kamala Harris all but secured the presidential nomination and launched a campaign against Donald Trump. A terrific bipartisan roundtable of Jonah Goldberg, Ali Vitali and Rick Wilson analyzes how Harris ascended so quickly and whether the excitement at her candidacy is a sugar high or a bonafide reconfiguration of the election. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are in the midst of a political maelstrom as intense, consequential, and unpredictable as very few in the nation’s history. A terrific clear-eyed roundtable of Alisyn Camerota, David French, and Norm Ornstein joins Harry to discuss the shifting landscape in both major political parties. The national convention marked Republicans’ total emergence as the party of Trump; while the teeth-gnashing among Democrats since Biden’s disastrous debate seems to be building to a climax and a new nominee. Adding to the rapidly shifting landscape: the late-breaking news of Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race. patreon.com/talkingfeds See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tectonic shifts in the legal and political landscapes of the last 3 weeks have upended all prospect for legal accountability for Trump before the election, and the country is paying far less attention. But all of the 4 criminal cases remain in play in some fashion. In this special episode of Talking Feds, 3 of the country’s most prominent analysts–Norm Eisen, Kristy Greenberg, and Joyce Vance–join Harry to canvass where all of the cases stand and when and how they could spring back to life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three weeks now into a political crisis of the highest stakes and volatility, as Biden attempts to bypass political elites & fundraisers, many of whom seem implacably set against him, and take his case directly to the American people. Susan Glasser, Jason Kander and Mike Podhorzer join Harry to bear down hard on Biden’s prospects for survival and the likely alternative if Biden steps aside. Adding to the extreme volatility: the late-breaking news of the shooting at a Trump rally over the weekend. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our annual end-of-term Supreme Court episode comes to grips with a momentous Court year that upended the national political and legal landscapes, in the process augmenting the Court’s own powers and giving a leg up to Donald Trump and the horrifying prospect of his return to power. A great roundtable of Emily Bazelon, Melissa Murray, & Steve Vladeck join Harry to come to grips with the cataclysmic series of final opinions in immunity, abortion, administrative law, and more. https://www.patreon.com/talkingfeds See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The week had a tsunami like intensity that left abundant wreckage in its wake, both in the political and legal landscapes; and a fantastic roundtable of Andrea Mitchell, Charlie Sykes, and Jacob Weisberg bears down on what went awry and the unavoidable question—unthinkable one week ago—whether Biden needs to step aside. We then turn to the momentous week in the Supreme Court, which advanced the uber-conservative agenda especially in administrative law before previewing the immunity decision. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hot-button issues in US society are getting hotter as the political season commences in earnest. A long blueprint for operations in a 2nd Trump administration sets out volcanic changes in abortion, religion, the administrative state, immigration, & more. In this episode, a great roundtable of Gloria Borger, Dahlia Lithwick, and Jen Rubin joins Harry to stare down the barrel of the most contentious battleground issues, w/ particular focus on the new & coming decisions from the Supreme Court. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world feels more upside down than ever, as Donald Trump staged a victory tour in the wake of his convictions and Republicans on the Hill fell completely and obsequiously in line. A great Talking Feds panel of Susan Glasser, Jacob Weisberg, & Rick Wilson analyze Trump’s total capture of the party & what it portends for November. We then move to the Hunter Biden conviction & why it ties Rs in knots, and close by discussing the sophomoric vote in the House to hold Merrick Garland in contempt. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MAGA nation launched a coordinated campaign this week against Trump’s felony convictions followed by a literal call to arms and a dark promise of retribution. A great roundtable of Bill Kristol, Congressman Ted Lieu, and Tara Setmayer considers the danger of the MAGA rhetoric. We then move to analyze the Hunter Biden case and its relationship to the Trump convictions, closing with a discussion of whether the executive order on immigration allows Biden to reclaim the upper hand on the issue. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Trial’s convictions in NY state court behind us, it’s the perfect time for our quarterly close focus on the Department of Justice, by 3 stalwart friends of the podcast who know DOJ best – Katie Benner, Paul Fishman, & Amy Jeffress. After discussing the possible effect on DOJ of the NY case, we take up the state of play of the two Jack Smith investigations, inc the prospects for either to proceed to in 2024. We then move to the current high-profile trials against Hunter Biden & Sen. Menendez. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One last week of trial brings a final Talking Feds episode with a roundtable of great reporters who were among the few in the courtroom, Jon Alter, Maggie Haberman, and Hugo Lowell. We break down the dramatic differences b/t the trial as reported in the media and as it actually was, zeroing in on the chief reasons for the DA’s decisive victory and focusing in turn on the lawyers, the judge, and the jury. We then take up Trump’s crazed response and consider what it portends for the next 5 months. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hiatus in the Trump trial gives us the opportunity to dive into other legal and political news for the first time in several weeks. A stellar panel of Jason Kander, Carol Lee, and Congressman Eric Swalwell assesses the debates, Haley’s endorsement of Trump, & the swing-state polls. We then consider the Justice Alito’s display of pro-MAGA flags outside of his two homes after January 6. Finally, we turn to the political implications of the NY trial, inc the likely impact of a Trump conviction. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots happening out there, but NY v. Trump remains the main event, and this week we again bring you a roundtable of all new prominent commentators–and all first time @talkingfedspod guests–who have been in and around the court the whole trial. Katie Phang, Yasmin Vossoughian, and Ben Wittes join Harry to carefully assess where the trial stands with nearly all the evidence in and on the verge of closing arguments, with special focus on Cohen’s testimony, inc whether the defense drew blood on cross. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another very special episode this week about the room where it’s happening with three commentators who were there — Jon Alter, Danny Cevallos, & Kristy Greenberg. We focus in depth on the dramatic highlight of the week for the jury and the country — Stormy Daniels’s testimony, esp the cross-examination. We next consider how much Madeline Westerhout helped Trump. After an in-depth preview of Michael Cohen’s testimony, we assess what persuasive arguments about reasonable doubt remain for the defense. https://www.talkingsandiego.net/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A week of pitched battles in court, campuses, and Congress; and three of the country’s most wise and respected voices — Zoe Lofgren, Norm Ornstein, and Michael Steele — join Harry to analyze the action. The NY prosecutors continued to build a strong case against Trump, ending the week on a high note with Hope Hicks. The situation in many campuses boiled over, requiring administrations to enlist help from police. And 6 months out from the election, power plays abounded in Congress and around DC. https://www.talkingsandiego.net/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We add a special episode this week to tackle the Supreme Court argument on immunity. A great group of court experts – Emily Bazelon, Leah Litman, and Mark Stern – join Harry to add the feds voices to a robust debate in the wake of the argument about the sky is falling, the gang breaks down the questions and a parent fault lines in the court to weigh in on whether the argument augurs the end of any possible trial this year and a ruling that provides a measure of kingly immunity to the President. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special and singular episode on Trump’s trial, including 3 experts who spent the week as one of the few dozen people permitted to be inside the courtroom where Trump’s trial is happening. Norm Eisen and Jon Alter, along with Harry, were all feet from Trump, the witnesses, and the jury. They are joined by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who has extensive experience with the NY courts, including Judge Merchan, to break down the trial in its broad strokes & nuances; and to anticipate what’s coming next. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jen-psaki-discussing-say-more-with-harry-litman-tickets-866910250897 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices