Talking Feds

A no-holds barred critique of what ails the Supreme Court and what if anything can be done about it. Kate Shaw, Steve Vladeck, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse join Harry to discuss the Court’s current record-low standing and how it came about. The Court has amassed power at the expense of the political branches and is using it unabashedly to push through a pattern of controversial – indeed unpopular – results that touch the lives of all Americans. Can anyone or anything constrain this Court? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Several important showdowns building to a head, starting w/ the debt crisis, and Aaron Blake, David Gura, & Amna Nawaz join Harry to break them down. Biden & the R’s telegraphing possible agreement, but still far apart—will the White House possibly pull the trigger on an out-of-the-box solution? Meanwhile, Jack Smith makes steady progress towards a Trump indictment; Fani Willis telegraphs her timing; & Durham delivers up a dud. And lots to discuss about 2024 w/ DeSantis’s formal entry this week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We present a special topical episode this week featuring three of the most prominent and respected trial lawyers in the profession--Barry Berke, Leslie Caldwell, and Lisa Wayne. Law typically involves compromise, but trials typically involve all-in win-or-lose big bets. For that reason, trial practice has a special mystique, and trial lawyers are considered the ultimate badasses of the profession. What makes these celebrated professionals tick and what lies underneath their courtroom bravado? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s episode is a special discussion on a crisis in the U.S. that is as grave as it is underappreciated. There has been an alarming rise in levels of loneliness, so that today 60% of American adults regularly feel lonely, while 61% of young adults feel “serious loneliness.” In “Loneliness in America,” Prof Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, and Senator Chris Murphy join Harry to assess the crisis’s magnitude, causes, consequences, and possible reduction strategies. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It was a week when the gloves came off in several high-stakes and historic battles, and a great set of Washington insiders—Jon Alter, Carol Lee, and Norm Ornstein—break it all down. Trump took it twice straight on the chin with the historic testimony of Mike Pence in the Grand Jury and the E. Jean Carroll trial. The House Rs passed a debt-reduction bill that put the White House on the defensive. And Biden announced his 2024 candidacy, framing it as a battle for democracy. We also have a sidebar from Torrey DeVitto. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s our periodic DOJ Report Card episode, in which 3 stalwart DOJ-experts provide an insider’s perspective on the goings-on at the Department. NY Times Reporter Katie Benner joins deeply experienced former DOJ alumns Paul Fishman, Andrew Weissmann, and Harry to suss out questions such as will Jack Smith decide to indict Trump and what exactly would happen next; what is the current state of play b/t DOJ and FBI; and can and will the Department become involved in the Clarence Thomas embroglio. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s our periodic deep dive into the economy, with a killer group of commentators—Dean Baker, Paul Krugman, & Stephanie Ruhle. Two recent reports seem to set out a remarkable state of economic affairs of cooling inflation combined with low unemployment and recession for now held at bay. Are the current landscape & immediate horizon as encouraging as they appear, or are we overlooking big warning signs? We also tie the economy into the political scene and broader crazy era we’re living through. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The week was dominated a dramatic and somewhat surreal arraignment of former President Donald. A glum & glowering Trump pleaded not guilty then returned to Florida to trash the prosecution and judge. Meanwhile, other civil & criminal cases continued to close in around him. A terrific group of guest –Alisyn Camerota, Jason Kander, & Sam Stein–join Harry to analyze the political repercussions before moving on to the upcoming Fox defamation trial and the bare-knuckle tactics of the TN legislature. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Where were you when you learned Donald Trump had been indicted? A landmark in history, but even as it marked the crossing of a vital line for the rule of law, it brought both the legal and political system into new and very challenging territory. Congressman Eric Swalwell, Greg Sargent, & Ali Vitali join Harry to break down the political and legal seismic implications, including the portents for other potential prosecutions, before turning to the dangerous end game in the debt ceiling standoff. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Laura Coates, David Jolly, and Jen Rubin join Harry to analyze the legal nooses tightening around Donald Trump. The Manhattan DA investigation stalled on the very precipice of bringing criminal, but while the internal workings in that office were inscrutable, there’s scant reason to think that the office won’t move ahead. And the federal court delivered two strong blows against Trump and in favor of the DOJ, rejecting claims of privilege from Evan Corcoran, Mark Meadows, & other Trump insiders. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It was a week when things got real: Fromer President Donald Trump prepared to be arrested on charges in New York City, a first in US history; the DeSantis-Trump squabbling came suddenly to unnerve Ukraine and the EU and threaten the U.S’s future support; and China made a dramatic move to be a Middle East power broker, with implications throughout the region and world. A superb group of seasoned political commentators–Peter Baker, Bill Kristol, & Tara Setmayer–analyze the sobering developments. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It was a week when you could feel the vibrations of coming battles all over: the first ever indictment of a former President; Fox staring down the barrel of a jury trial in Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation suit; the schism between R elites, who favor DeSantis, and immovable Trump supporters; & bitter struggles over abortion rights in several states. A superb group of guests-Laura Jarrett, Alicia Menendez, & Ashley Parker-joins Harry to break it all down and analyze the shape of things to come. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The unseemly political alliance between the MAGA right and Fox Corp. burst into plain view. Filings in a defamation suit showed Fox knowingly pushing the Big Lie and Speaker McCarthy hand-delivered to Tucker Carlson alone some 44,000 hours of security footage from Jan. 6. A terrific panel of savvy commentators–Sen Al Franken, Jon Alter, and Juliette Kayyem–work through the toxic implications and forecast the future state of play. And a sidebar from songwriter and musician Dan Wilson. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The anniversary of the Ukraine war marks a time to reflect on the current state of play on the battlefield; the strategic interests of Ukraine and Russia but also the U.S., Europe, & China; the war’s broader geopolitical and in fact historical implications; and the miserable prospect of an endless conflict so long as Putin remains in power. A truly fantastic group of experts—Ben Rhodes, Garry Kasparov, & Natasha Bertrand—joins Harry for a rich exploration of all these points and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the vantage points legal and political worlds locked on the coming few months, to possible indictments new Presidential candidates, a fantastic group of prominent commentators–Maggie Haberman, Josh Marshall, and Charlie Sykes—join Harry to analyze the political and legal stress points and consider likely outcomes. They discuss the series of aggressive prosecutorial moves by Special Counsel Jack Smith and the prospects of multiple Republican candidates such as Nikki Haley to take Trump down. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At the end of a week featuring the State of the Union, the debut of the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government, and the delivery of a subpoena to former Vice President Mike Pence, Aaron Blake, Susan Glasser, Carol Lee join Harry to analyze the political substance & theater. Each of these events involved clashes between representatives of the Trump era and the Biden presidency, which continues to draw only tepid public approval notwithstanding significant domestic achievements. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a very special 1-on-1 episode of Talking Feds, Rachel Maddow joins Harry to discuss the stunning, and relatively unknown, historical episodes of American flirtation with fascism and armed insurrection in the 1940s, which she chronicles in her latest tour-de-force podcast, Ultra. After delving into some of the highlights of the remarkable 80-year-old story, the two discuss the possible lessons for our own troubled times and how we as a society can push back against today’s parallel threats. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Calls for police reform in the wake of the killing of Tyre Nichols dominated the weekly news, along with the slash-&-burn moves of R committees in the House and two NY cases acting like pincers in applying pressure to Donald Trump. A fantastic set of guests–Congressman Ted Lieu, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Carol Leonnig, and former Congress and DOJ official Elliot Williams–join Harry to identify the fault lines, assess the political & legal fine points, and predict where things are headed. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It was a week when the new Republican majority in the House showed its colors. Speaker McCarthy announced committee assignments that empowered some of the country’s most unhinged political figures and a committee structure featuring a special committee on the weaponization of government that promised a steady stream of vitriolic battles with the White House and executive branch. David Frum, Kavita Patel, & Michael Schmidt join Harry to break it all down, plus Pence docs, Barr Durham, and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Perhaps our most lively and informative repeating series of episodes is the quarterly deep dive into the DOJ from 3 analysts who know the Department inside and out: Katie Benner, Matt Miller, and Andrew Weissmann. This week is the latest one and in the nick of time: there has been detailed factual coverage of the Biden docs, Garland’s appointment of Hur, Smith investigations, the House lying in wait to afflict the DOJ. Now it’s time to dig deep into what’s happening beneath the surface. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.