Talking Feds

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 f...

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 iden...

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...

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 wa...

Divided government comes to DC and the gloves are off, 3 of the country’s most prominent analysts of the ways of Congress and DC—Jackie Alemany, Luke Broadwter, and Norm Ornstein, join Harry to break it down. The discovery of classified documents in Biden’s office & residence forced the hand of Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel. In the House, Kevin McCarthy & his far-right allies pushed...

The longest speaker battle since the Civil War played out in a slow-motion humiliation of Kevin McCarthy, who offered repeated concessions to the Freedom Caucus before finally mustering a majority of votes. A stellar set of guests – Gloria Borger, Jonathan Capeheart, and Robert Costa–breaks down the battle and its aftermath. They then turn to the 2-year anniversary of Jan 6, discussing what need h...

A special topical episode with 3 of the country’s most eminent historians & social critics–Eric Foner, Eddie Glaude, and Heather Cox Richardson. The group first discusses the degree to which our tempestuous period resembles prior flirtations with authoritarianism. We broaden the focus to those features of our democracy that expose us to the menaces of Trumpism and a critical examination of whether...

This special topical episode focuses on municipal government, and the mayors who exercise it, featuring 3 of the country’s most distinguished recent mayors. The last few years have been a crash course in federal and state power. But it’s at the municipal level that the potholes and garbage pickups hit the road and an American ideal of representative democracy can be most directly achieved. And in...

It’s the last days of the year, & 4 separate govt hubs are in overdrive: the January 6 Committee, finalizing its report & referrals; the lame duck Congress, w/ important final legislation such as the Electoral Count act; the Republican caucus, full of intrigue over whether Kevin McCarthy can squeak into the Speakership; & the DOJ, where investigations of Trump continue to pick up steam. A great se...

A week of high-profile critical developments for Trump, the Supreme Court, the DOJ, and Congress. A phenomenal group of expert commentators—Emily Bazelon, Prof Laurence Tribe, and Sen Sheldon Whitehouse—joins Harry to break it all down. They begin with lessons from Georgia Senate runoff; go on to Supreme Court argument in Moore v Harper, which carries the potential to upend democratic rule itself;...

A great trio of prominent commentators–Katie Benner, Aaron Blake, and George Conway–join Harry to break down a very good week for the rule of law joined with a rockier one on the political and social landscapes. The roundtable covers the broader legal and political importance of the Oath trial; the strongest of the many legal threats against Trump, the end game for J6C; & possible moves of the lam...

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 educa...

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 appoint...

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 n...

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 swam...

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...

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...

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...

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 a...

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...

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 happen...

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 ab...

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...

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 clo...

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...