Pantsuits and Lawsuits with Attorneys General Kris Mayes and Dana Nessel

When the rules change on a whim, your budget becomes collateral damage. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sits down with University of Michigan economics professor Dr. Justin Wolfers to unpack why the affordability crisis is also a governance crisis: unpredictability, interventionist decision-making, and pay-to-play incentives that can quietly raise prices while weakening competition. We dig i...

A single hyperscale data center asking for 1.4 gigawatts can redraw the map of a state’s energy system—and your monthly bill. We unpack the real-world stakes of the AI buildout with a candid look at how utilities, regulators, and mega-customers strike deals that shape reliability, affordability, and community well-being for decades. We walk through the mechanics of large-load growth: queue gaming...

Rapid policy swings aren’t just political noise—they have real consequences. When funding changes overnight, clinics stall, families worry, and trust erodes. This episode looks at how state attorneys general step in to challenge unlawful actions, stabilize services, and protect the people caught in the middle. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joins us to talk through managing early crises whil...

Power protects itself—until someone pulls the thread. We sit down with New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin to unpack how public corruption actually works, why it inflates your bills and weakens your services, and what it takes to hold powerful people to the same laws as everyone else. From the misuse of tax credits to officials running private ventures from public offices, we break down real...

A district spoke, and power stalled. When voters in Arizona’s 7th chose Adelita Grijalva, the oath never came—leaving more than 800,000 people without a voice for 50 days. We take you inside the legal fight to end the delay, the constitutional questions it raised, and the very real ways a shutdown and a locked office can silence a community that did everything right at the ballot box. Adelita shar...

A quiet revolution is happening in state courtrooms and attorney general offices across the country, and in this episode of Pantsuit and Lawsuits our guest co-host New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin pulls back the curtain on how it works. We talk about how New Jersey moved from participant to leader in multistate litigation, protected food benefits for millions, and delivered three straight...

Power concentrates in silence, and lately the silence is spreading. We unpack a sweeping pressure campaign against the First Amendment—on campuses, in briefing rooms, on city streets, and across shrinking newsrooms—with an unflinching look at how intimidation, lawsuits, and funding threats are changing the way America speaks and learns. From protest crackdowns to new restrictive policies at the Pe...

A hard truth sets the tone: gun violence is now the leading cause of death for kids and teens in America. As parents, we share the fear that comes with lockdown texts and campus alerts; as attorneys general, we break down how states can act when the window opens and how those wins ripple upward. From there, we dig into what actually works—red flag laws, safe storage, and other common sense reforms...

Power without guardrails doesn’t just bend the law—it breaks trust. We sit down with former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade to unpack how federal-state partnerships actually solve complex crimes, and why those partnerships falter when DOJ norms are sidelined by politics and performative “toughness.” From FBI and DEA collaborations that cross borders to the grand jury and charging protocols that keep pr...

The dismantling of America's public health infrastructure is happening at breakneck speed, with potentially catastrophic consequences for generations to come. When top CDC scientists walk out in protest, we should all pay attention. That's exactly what we explore in this urgent conversation with Will Humble, Executive Director for the Arizona Public Health Association, who brings decades...

Award-winning prosecutor Melissa Palepu takes us beyond the headlines to reveal the unsettling reality of human trafficking in America. This eye-opening conversation dismantles widespread misconceptions about what trafficking actually looks like and who it affects. Forget what you think you know about human trafficking. The "white van abduction" scenario represents just 6% of cases. Inst...

AG Mayes and AG Nessel are back from a summer break to take us behind the scenes of their relentless legal battle against what they describe as the most unconstitutional administration in American history. They’ve filed over 25 lawsuits against the Trump administration in just six months, working around the clock to protect their states from illegal trespasses against their residents’ rights and d...

When public education comes under attack, who stands in the breach? Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes take us behind the scenes of their critical legal battles to protect students, teachers, and the very institution of public education in America. Their fight is deeply personal. Nessel shares the story of her son with significant learning disabilities wh...

A decade ago, two Michigan nurses embarked on a journey that would transform American history – not in hopes of a constitutional revolution, but because they wanted to protect their children. April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse had been together for 18 years when they first approached attorney Dana Nessel about a seemingly simple problem. As Michigan foster parents raising three children, they faced a le...

Ten years after the landmark Obergefell decision legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel takes us behind the scenes of the historic legal battle she personally led. As the attorney who argued Michigan's DeBoer v. Snyder case (later consolidated with Obergefell), Nessel provides a remarkably candid account of what it took to secure marriage equality agains...

The fight for America's health and wellbeing takes center stage as we tackle the most alarming proposals coming from Washington. Attorneys General Dana Nessel and Kris Mayes break down their ongoing legal battles against unconstitutional actions by the Trump administration – revealing why they've each filed over 15 lawsuits (and won most of them). Our candid conversation explores the rea...

Ever wonder who's fighting for fairness when corporations grow too powerful? Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes pull back the curtain on the world of antitrust enforcement with special guest Lina Khan, the groundbreaking former Chair of the Federal Trade Commission. This episode of Pantsuits and Lawsuits kicks off with a stark warning: without strong...

The foundation of reproductive freedom in America continues to crumble beneath our feet, leaving millions without access to essential healthcare. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sits down with Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, for a sobering exploration of the post-Dobbs landscape. McGill Johnson reveals the coordinated, multi-pronged attac...

Federal funding for crime victim services is evaporating at an alarming rate. Since 2017, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) fund has plummeted by a staggering 83%, leaving millions of vulnerable survivors without critical support. The human cost is devastating. We sit down with Kirstin Flores and Rebekah Snyder Cox, who lead victim services divisions in Arizona and Michigan, to understand what'...

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes unite to sound the alarm on the environmental crisis unfolding across America. From the Grand Canyon to the Great Lakes, our national treasures are under unprecedented threat as the Trump administration slashes funding, terminates Park Service employees, and rolls back critical environmental protections. The attorneys ge...

In this episode of Pantsuits and Lawsuits , Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel break down the unprecedented upheaval in the federal workforce. With mass firings sweeping across agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, the CDC, and even the nation's nuclear weapons programs, what do these cuts mean for government stability and public safety?...

In this episode of Pantsuits & Lawsuits , we dive into the fight against the Trump Administration’s executive order attempting to redefine birthright citizenship. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is joined by two powerhouse advocates—Susan Reed, co-founder of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, and Reyna Montoya, founder of Aliento Education Fund. Together, they break down the constitutio...

Ever wondered how Attorneys General fight harmful policies in court? Or why some lawsuits take years to resolve? In this week’s episode, Michigan AG Dana Nessel and Arizona AG Kris Mayes break down the legal process in a way that makes sense—no law degree required!   We’re kicking things off with "Litigation 101"—a crash course on how legal action serves as a defense, why cases take so l...

Episode 1: About the Podcast and the Women Behind the Pantsuits In this debut episode of Pantsuits and Lawsuits , Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes pull back the curtain on why they launched this podcast and the journeys that led them to their roles as state attorneys general. From landmark legal battles to personal motivations, they share the defining m...