Half the Answer

Trent and Caitlin talk to Chris Geidner of Law Dork about the absolute deluge of legal news that seems to be crashing over us like a tsunami. What are the current assaults on our constitutional rights? What are judges and lawmakers doing to defend those rights? Why is Mike Johnson pretending the Fourth Amendment doesn’t exist? Resources: https://www.lawdork.com/https://bsky.app/profile/lawdorknews...

Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Gillian Brockell about her work tracking the flights and airline companies that move people in unsafe conditions to third-party recipient countries, where they will be imprisoned, mistreated, tortured, and possibly sent to their country of origin in violation of international law. Resources ICE flight monitor https://humanrightsfirst.org/ice-flight-monitor/ U...

Trent and Caitlin ask Evan Urquhart about his 2025 wrap up piece on Assigned Media: "The Year We Lost Everything." They discuss the need to take stock of where we are on trans rights, autonomy and the various freedoms we hold dear, and the value of acknowledging that we are not hysterical or out of touch with reality when we feel those freedoms being wrenched from our grasp. We talk about the inte...

Caitlin and Trent chat with linguistics scholars Savi Namboodiripad and Daniel Midgley on what word most exemplifies 2025. Was it a new coinage? A pre-existing word that gained a new meaning or usage this year? A word that seemed to be on everybody's lips in 2025? Resources: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year "6 7" song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xpV4ix2K8 https://www...

Trent and Caitlin catch up with Greg Sargent from The New Republic about his recent piece exploring the family history and ideology of Stephen Miller. How did the product of Russian Jewish refugees come to see today's refugees as incapable of integration in American society? What are the white nationalist positions on who is a real American, and how does Miller navigate his position in relation to...

Caitlin and Trent speak with Mark Copelovitch, a political science professor from University of Wisconsin–Madison. They discuss the problem of a world power going rogue, the lack of viable responses for countries like Venezuela and Denmark, and the costs to international trust when the US is so unreliable. Resources: https://polisci.wisc.edu/staff/mark-copelovitch/ https://www.markcopelovitch.com/...

Trent and Caitlin check in with the Handbasket’s Marisa Kabas about the year that has been the first week of 2026. What are we doing in Venezuela, and why is corporate media being so weird about it? What are the ethics of publishing scoops that involve military actions? Why are we doing our war crimes from a resort ballroom in Florida? Resources: https://www.thehandbasket.co/ https://www.semafor.c...

Trent and Caitlin talk with philosophy of science expert Nathan Oseroff-Spicer about his review of the book "The War On Science," how the book misses the mark, what strategies its authors use to downplay the threats from the right and fabricate a threat from the left, and what motivations could possibly lead thirty-nine scholars to create such a meritless collection of propaganda under the leaders...

Caitlin and Trent talk with Matthew Sheffield about his experiences as a former Republican strategist and the information he wants progressives to know about their strategies and successes. Resources: https://plus.flux.community/p/what-republicans-know https://www.patreon.com/posts/142008768?utm_campaign=postshare_fan https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4qwwk0g0yo https://www.seattletimes.com/busi...

Trent and Caitlin catch up with journalist Amanda Moore to hear about her tour of American cities that have been targeted for ICE and Border Patrol operations. Resources: https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/broadview-ice-cbp-gregory-bovino/ https://www.clippings.me/users/noturtlesoup17 https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/us/illinois-broadview-ice-protesters-charged https://abcnews.go.com/US/bord...

Caitlin and Trent talk with Jonathan Howard, a neurologist, psychiatrist, and author of *Everyone Else Is Lying to You* and *We Want Them Infected*, both books analyzing the policies and discourses around the COVID-19 pandemic. Resources Science-Based Medicine website: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/ *Everyone Else Is Lying to You*: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781959346999 *We Want Them Infec...

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist and author Jonathan Katz about the gangsters of capitalism, the imperial boomerang, and the moral injuries inflicted when officers, agents, and soldiers engage in the inhumane and depraved acts that are demanded of them. Resources Jonathan's book https://jonathanmkatz.com/gangsters https://theracket.news https://www.tiktok.com/@katzonearth?lang=en https:/...

Trent and Caitlin speak with journalist Spencer Ackerman about the CIA, DHS, and other parts of the US government ostensibly protecting us from terrorism. How have they achieved this level of impunity? What are the precedents for the intolerable level of human rights and privacy violations we see today? What have we allowed to be done to the “other” in the past and present? Resources https://www.f...

Caitlin and Trent speak with educational policy researcher Derek Gottlieb about what it's like to research education in a country whose administration thinks public education shouldn't really even be a thing. Resources: https://www.derekgottliebphd.com/ "Building a Better Teacher" https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html Kristof, "Obama and Our Schools&q...

Caitlin and Trent speak with livestreamer Audrey Lee about her experiences participating in and documenting protests at the Portland ICE facility. Audrey explains the relationship among the people on the street, the officers of various departments and agencies, and the counterprotesters and right-wing influencers who have been interacting since she arrived this fall. Resources https://www.tiktok.c...

Trent and Caitlin speak with Professor John Pfaff, author of "Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration—and How to Achieve Real Reform." They talk about prisons, militarized police, and ICE in today's political climate. Resources: John's book https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/john-pfaff/locked-in/9780465096916/?lens=basic-books ICE accidentally gasses everybody http...

Caitlin and Trent check in with Daniel Harper of the "I Don't Speak German" podcast, taking another moment to peek under the rock and discover that the creepy crawlies are making friends with each other. They discuss the controversial interview between Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes, the role it seems to be playing in the far right, and various reactions (the good and the goofy). Re...

Caitlin and Trent check in with attorney and legal scholar Madiba K. Dennie about the Supreme Court and the originalist reading of the US Constitution—and why the originalist reading is a trap. Resources https://ballsandstrikes.org https://madibadennie.com/ The Originalism Trap https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735353/the-originalism-trap-by-madiba-k-dennie/ NJ Reparations Council report ht...

Trent and Caitlin talk with Emily Glankler of Anti-Social Studies about moments in American history that could inform us about the events of Trump’s second term as president. Who are some characters who resemble the individuals we are dealing with today? Who are the scapegoats? Resources: https://www.randyblazak.com https://www.tiktok.com/@antisocialstudies?_t=ZT-90u54I8WX3F&_r=1 https://youtu...

Caitlin plays field reporter at the Portland ICE facility, interviewing the famous Portland chicken suit guy, Jack Dickinson himself, who gives his observations and thoughts after eight months on the scene. Resources: The impact of inflatables: https://www.404media.co/the-surreal-practicality-of-protesting-as-an-inflatable-frog/ ICE recruits not well vetted: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna23...

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist Walker Bragman about the various crises in public health and climate change, the people who helped bring us here, and the dark money that funded it. They discuss the ways disinformation is packaged and spread to discourage the public from being able to access the services and tools they need to live. Resources https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/ https:/...

Caitlin and Trent catch up with historian and former journalist John Ghazvinian to discuss the state of Iran, its past, present and future, how that has historically intersected with the United States dating back nearly 300 years, why trust is so important in international relations, the JCPOA, the Trump era, and his book, "America and Iran." John's book: https://www.penguinrandomhou...

Caitlin and Trent speak with Jared Holt and Michael Edison Hayden about the infamous right-wing "busybody journalist" Andy Ngo, his work demonizing Muslim immigrants in grad school, and his transition to online political influencer and professional victim with "The Post Millennial" as its editor-at-large. Resources Posting Through It https://www.patreon.com/cw/PostingThroughIt...

Trent and Caitlin are joined by Layla al-Sheikh to discuss that Israel deal and the history of past proposals and solutions. Resources: Current updates https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/09/world/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire Doha attack https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/netanyahu-killed-any-hope-of-hostage-release-with-strike-on-doha-qatars-prime-minister-says Patrick Wintour in the Guardian htt...

Christopher Mathias, author of "To Catch a Fascist," speaks to Caitlin and Trent about the events of 2020, clashes between violent fascist clubs and "community defense" groups. They discuss misconceptions about what "antifa" is and what kinds of activities they are engaged in, the difference between doxxing a teacher who practices inclusivity and doxxing one who is br...