Talking Feds

Public school education is the cornerstone of equal opportunity for all students and the key to the country’s future prosperity and competitiveness. In the last few years, it has plunged into a crisis far greater than most people realize, posting benchmarks that national officials call “appalling” and “unacceptable.” In this special topical episode of Talking Feds, 3 of the country’s leading education experts join Harry to analyze the woeful state of affairs and consider ways out of the ditch. 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

On a week of tumultuous and hugely consequential developments on both the political and legal landscapes, Harry welcomes Sen Barbara Boxer, Norm Ornstein, and Michael Steele to work through the aftershocks of the Republicans’ gaining control of the Senate, Nancy Pelosi’s decision to step down as Speaker of the House, former President Trump’s declaration of candidacy, & AG Merrick Garland’s appointment of Jack Smith as Special Counsel to take charge of the criminal investigations involving Trump. 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 a midterm election in which Democrats outperformed not only poll-driven expectations but the results for any party in power in a generation, Harry is joined by a superb set of political analysts with great on-the ground political experience—Al Franken, Heidi Heitkamp, and Ted Lieu—to assess how the party did it but, more importantly, what the results suggest for the lame duck Congress, the next Congress, and the 2024 elections, including the coming battle royale between Trump and DeSantis. 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

On the very eve of the midterms election, Harry and a great set of guests combining extensive political experience and broad savvy—Bill Kristol, Carol Lee, and Gov. Christine Todd Whitman—undertake a clear-eyed assessment of the potential coming changes. They consider the very real prospect of an election empowering Trump and dragging the country down even further into a polarized and vicious swamp, including a continuation of violence of the sort exemplified in the recent attack on Paul Pelosi. 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

At T-minus one week to the election, 3 of the country’s leading political commentators and analysts–Joe Lockhart, Susan Glasser, and Josh Marshall—join Harry to analyze the parties’ closing strategies and assess the outsize stakes of the election. They analyze the potential deficiencies in the polls, and the challenges the Democrats face of trying to break through with arguments about abortion and democracy. Finally, they consider the implications, including the Trump factor, of an R victory. 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

On a week in which the midterm polls have shifted modestly but discernibly in favor of Republicans, a great set of political savants–Jon Alter, Greg Sargent, and Tara Setmayer–join Harry to assess the national movement and what if anything Dems can do to avert loss of 1 or 2 Houses of Congress. The group then discusses some individual races before moving on to the likely implications of Republican rule. Finally, they look at the status of Donald Trump after his horrible terrible no-good week. 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 January 6 Committee neared the end of its historic turn on the national stage with a hearing that focused relentlessly on the central role of former President Donald Trump in orchestrating the various schemes to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to President Biden. A fantastic panel with deep knowledge and experience - Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Carol Leonnig, and Andrew Weissmann - joins Harry to assess the hearing and consider where the Committee, and the country, goes from here. 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 move that seemed only to strengthen the case against him for obstruction, Trump opted to stonewall the DOJ yet again in response to DOJ’s charge that he is still withholding some official docs. A seditious conspiracy case & the upcoming J6C hearing also kept the country’s focus on Trump’s Jan 6 conduct. All of this plays into the approaching midterms, with diverging strategies for the House and Senate, and the specter of a House takeover by Rs bringing on unparalleled partisan viscousness. 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

Based on its series of seismic changes to the law last Term, the Supreme Court starts a new term with record-low public support and deep disapproval in the legal profession. But the Court appears undaunted and poised to take up another set of cases that portend huge transformations for the law and US society. In an episode taped live at the Texas Tribune Festival, court experts Melissa Murray, and Greg Stohr, and Steve Vladeck join Harry to consider what the Court has in store in its new Term. 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 wasn’t that long ago that the DOJ and Merrick Garland were being roundly criticized for not aggressively pursuing criminal cases against Donald Trump. No more. It’s clear that the DOJ has the former President in the crosshairs on a cluster of possible crimes. In an episode taped live at the Texas Tribune Festival, Katie Benner, Matt Miller, and Charlie Sykes join Harry to tap into what’s happening at DOJ and work through the rich brew of considerations that a Trump prosecution would entail. 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 wild and woolly week, and Luke Broadwater, George Conway, & Jen Rodgers join Harry to assess its impact.  Judge Aileen Cannon again threw a monkey wrench into DOJ’s Mar-A-Lago work, prompting DOJ to take an appeal. DOJ’s Jan 6 investigation of Jan 6 seemed to spread to Trump confidants including Mark Meadows. On Capitol Hill, Lindsay Graham introduced a bill purporting to ban nearly all abortions after 15 weeks, while the January 6 Committee prepared for a new hearing. 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 began with a seeming lifeline to Donald Trump—a deeply flawed and out-of-touch ruling by a Trump appointed judge that threatened to upend both the criminal investigation and the national security review growing out of the MAL search. But by week’s end, DOJ had pushed back. Harry is joined by Bill Kristol, Emily Bazelon, and Natasha Bertrand to discuss Trump’s legal troubles and how they and the Dobbs ruling may be driving a momentum shift for the Ds in the midterms. 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 managed once again to dominate the news, but that wasn’t good news for him. Court filings from DOJ detailed the magnitude of his illegal grab of public documents and the brazenness of his resistance to returning them. Both the US and our allies scrambled to assess the damage of Trump’s conduct to national security. Biden gave a speech calling out Trump and MAGA Republicans. And we take a close look at the state of play in the Ukraine-Russia War and its impact on the global world order. 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

Donald Trump has been slipping the noose for six years, but in the aftermath of the Mar-A-Lago search, he is facing his greatest peril. The search has triggered a criminal investigation within the Dept of Justice, and the case is appearing both solid and righteous. In “[REDACTED],” Harry is joined by David Jolly, Norm Ornstein, & Jen Rubin to analyze Trump’s troubles in Florida and Georgia, assess the newly released Bill Barr 2019 memo, and to discuss Biden’s student-loan reduction package. 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

Fentanyl has become the leading cause of deaths of all Americans aged 18-45. Its combination of astonishing potency, synthesis, and control by criminal cartels have produced an extraordinary health and law enforcement crisis. Harry sits down with three experts in drug toxicology, treatment, & use. He then has a rare 1-on-1 interview with the top official at the Drug Enforcement Administration, Anne Milgram, to discuss the government’s multi-pronged response to the unprecedented challenge. 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 Donald Trump was pummeled from all corners of the legal system, starting with an FBI search of his Mar-A-Lago residence. The feds acted after learning that Trump and his circle had failed to return hugely sensitive documents that he improperly took from the White House and was continuing to conceal. A banner set of guests–Aaron Blake, Alexi McCammond, and Andrew Weissmann—join Harry to analyze the seismic events and assess their potential for future criminal culpability. 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 news this week found Trump is in the metaphoric crosshairs of the Department of Justice and Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the literal crosshairs of a deadly drone attack from the U.S. A fantastic group of commentators– Erin Burnett, Juliette Kayyem, and Asha Rangappa—join Harry to analyze the portents for Trump, assess the fallout from the drone attack, and canvass the latest in the country’s spirited reaction to the Supreme Court Dobbs 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

In the wake of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade, state Attorneys General around the country are grappling with a new landscape of abortion rights. Harry is joined by three of those state officials from blue states–AG Dana Nessel of Michigan, AG Aaron Ford of Nevada, & AG Phil Weiser of Colorado–to discuss the status of abortion law in their states & what they are doing to protect the reproductive health care of their residents and those who travel to their states seeking abortions. 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 Horror! The Horror!,” Harry and 3 of the country’s most prominent and knowledgeable commentators—Norm Eisen, Juliette Kayyem, and Matt Miller-- give a 360 º look at the January 6th Committee’s hearing on the “187 minutes” during which former President Trump steadfastly refused to call a halt to the ruinous melee he had instigated. The group take up the hearing from multiple vantage points – law, national security, politics, stagecraft, 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

A multi-threat, round-the-world episode. The Jan 6 hearings have chased foreign policy, especially the war in the Ukraine, from the headlines; but the brutal war slogs on, in ways that have distinct consequences for domestic politics. Natasha Bertrand, Frank Figliuzzi, & Fiona Hill join Harry to canvass the state of play in the war, the best current thinking on the end game, Biden’s first trip to the Middle East, the Jan 6 hearings, & the interrelationships among all these topics. 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