Keepers of Our Republic

The Supreme Court has issued a major ruling in the Trump tariffs case — but what does it actually mean? This week, Brooke sits down with former federal judges Philip Pro and Liam O’Grady to break down Learning Resources v. Trump in nonpartisan terms. They explain the constitutional issues at stake, how the decision reflects checks and balances at work, why Justice's Gorsuch and Barrett's...

Shorewood, Wisconsin is bucking the trends: 90% of registered voters show up to vote in elections, and Village Clerk Toya Harrell has more volunteers than she knows what to do with. What's the secret to Shorewood's civic engagement? This week Brooke chats with Toya Harrell to discuss an unexpected career in public service, voting in Wisconsin, and a family legacy of protecting free and f...

As Wisconsin continues to play a pivotal role in national elections, Green Bay City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys offers a local perspective on what keeps the state’s decentralized election system strong. As we honor Black History Month on Keepers of Our Republic, Celestine joins Ari to reflect on more than two decades of public service, including her historic election as Green Bay’s first African Amer...

As partisan politics take center stage in the federal judiciary confirmation process, this week's guest, Retired Federal Judge Lee Yeakel, United States District for the Western District of Texas, talks us through the Senate confirmation process from an insider's perspective. Judge Yeakel and Keeper's host Brooke Bergen discuss the effects of injecting partisanship into the judiciar...

As Georgia's elections have come under increased scrutiny and national attention in recent years, Bartow County’s Election Supervisor Joseph Kirk has weathered the storm. This week on Keepers of Our Republic , Executive Director Ari Mittleman sits down with Joseph Kirk, current President of the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials. Ari and Joseph discuss the many r...

In the wake of President Trump's executive orders targeting various law firms in 2025, a number of former federal judges, attorneys, and legal scholars rallied to create a new set of legal principles that would affirm the necessity of asserting independence and exercising First Amendment rights in the legal profession. On this week's episode, Judge Shira Schendlin and Professor Pearlstei...

Welcome back. This week, Brooke sits down with former Judge John Tinder, a former AUSA and Judge of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Tinder and Brooke discuss recent mass resignations at the Department of Justice. The DOJ is the most common litigant in the federal court system. With apparent chaos over staffing shortages, firings, and resignations at the nation's largest prosecutorial...

This week on Keepers of Our Republic, Brooke sits down with one of Keep our Republic's newest staff members, Kamryn Hoadley, a former elections administrator from Pontiac, Michigan who literally grew up in elections. Kamryn shares childhood memories of working in elections administration with her family before jumping into it as her full time career. Kamryn shares her experiences pulling in v...

Happy New Year, and welcome back to Keepers of Our Republic, a weekly podcast that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy.  This week, host Brooke Bergen speaks with Judge Diane Wood, retuired federal judge of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to discuss the annual SCOTUS report, and Chief Justice Roberts' not so subtle message about the state of the federal...

This week, Brooke speaks with former federal judge Robert Cindrich about recent calls for impeachment hearings against federal judges. Judge Cindrich dives deep into the history and legal underpinnings of the impeachment process, and why maintaining judicial independnce is essential for a peaceful and just America.  You can read the Article III Coalition's statement on judicial impeachment, h...

This week, Brooke talks headline news and a possible criminal contempt probe against the administration with former US District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel. Judge Fogel takes us behind the headlines regarding Judge Boasberg's criminal contempt probe stemming from this spring's DHS deportation flights of migrants to El Salvador.   In this episode, we dive deep into the legal underpinnings of...

Welcome back to Keepers of our Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy. Polk County Director of Elections Cliff Marr talks with Ari this week about running elections during North Carolina's most chaotic elections in decades: 2020 and 2024. Marr and Ari dive deep into the logistics of staffing rural p...

Welcome back to Keepers of our Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy. This week, Special Projects Manager Brooke Bergen talks with Judge Gary Feess, former Senior Judge for the US District Court for the Central District of California. Brooke talks with Judge Feess about his long career in public service...

Welcome back to Keepers of our Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy. This week, Executive Director Ari Mittleman sits down with Marge Bostelmann, State Elections Commissioner for Wisconsin to discuss the unqiue quirks of managing elections in America's Dairyland. Marge talks about the big and smal...

Welcome back to Keepers of our Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy. This week, Brooke talks with former U.S. District Court Judge Liam O'Grady about how we can help restore faith in the American judicial system, and the surprising optimism of speaking with high schoolers about the rule of law. Ev...

Welcome back to Keepers of our Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy. This week, Keep Our Republic's Ari Mittleman sits down with Seth Bluestein, City Commissioner – one of three members of the Board of Elections in charge of election operations and voter registration for the City of Philadelphia....

Welcome back to Keepers of our Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy. This week, Brooke talks with former U.S. District Court Judge and current President of Dickinson College, John Jones. Judge Jones and Brooke dive into threats facing the American judiciary today, including from our very own Supreme Co...

Welcome back to Keepers of our Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy.  This week, Keep Our Republic's Ari Mittleman talks with Thad Hall, Elections Director for Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Ari and Thad talk the realities of administering elections using Pennsylvania's antiquated procedures an...

Welcome back to Keepers of the Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy.  This week, Keep Our Republic's Special Projects Manager Brooke Bergen talks with Judge Philip Pro, former judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Judge Pro and Brooke discuss the rhetorical and very...

Welcome back to Keepers of the Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy. This week, Keep Our Republic's Executive Director Ari Mittleman talks with Lisa Posthumus Lyons, County Clerk for Kent County, Michigan. Ari and Lisa discuss her years as a Michigan state representative, dive into the nitty gritt...

Welcome back to Keepers of the Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy. This week, Keep Our Republic's Special Projects Manager Brooke Bergen talks with Judge Paul Michel, a former federal judge and Watergate prosecutor. Judge Michel and Brooke discuss current threats to the federal judiciary, both l...

Welcome to Keepers of the Republic, a new podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy.  Through thoughtful conversations with election officials, county clerks, legal experts, and retired federal judges, we explore how elections are really run, discuss why an independent judiciary is essential to a strong republic, and separate fac...

Launching September 18, 2025, welcome to Keepers of the Republic , a new podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy.  Through thoughtful conversations with election officials, county clerks, legal experts, and retired federal judges, we explore how elections are really run, discuss why an independent judiciary is essential to a st...