Talking Feds

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, Ann...

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—jo...

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 cou...

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 repr...

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...

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...

At the end of a week of brutal news that began with another mass shooting in Highland Park IL, three of the sharpest commentators in the country and Talking Feds stalwarts – Laura Coates, Al Franken, and Norm Ornstein – join Harry to analyze the importance of the Cipollone interview before the J6 Committee, the Fulton County subpoenas, and the Supreme Court’s decision overruling Roe v Wade and it’...

In the week ending one of the most consequential Supreme Court terms in American history, 3 of the country’s most trenchant and prominent Court watchers – Dahlia Lithwick, Leah Litman, and Steve Vladeck – join Harry to assess the Term and what it portends for coming years. The 5 arch-conservative Justices shot out of the gate in their first term together and unabashedly wrenched the law and the co...

At the tail end of a week as eventful and tumultuous as any in memory, a stellar group of guests – Katie Benner, Melissa Murray, and Jen Rubin – join Harry to assess the damage and consider what lies ahead. The group divides its discussion between the Supreme Court’s radical landmark decision overruling Roe v. Wade and the January 6 Committee blockbuster hearings documenting two near-miss efforts...

It was a week with two separate hearings in the January 6 Committee, one on the “Big Lie” and one on “Hang Mike Pence.” Each felt like a full-length movie, crammed with new details and above all leaving no doubt that the 2 schemes were 100% bankrupt and everyone in the self-titled “Team Normal” (as opposed to “Team Crazy”) knew it. A phenomenal set of guests–Bill Kristol, Ezra Klein, and Emily Baz...

A special Talking Feds episode devoted entirely to a single topic, the much-anticipated initial hearing of the January 6 Committee. Representative Pramila Jayapal, Laura Jarrett, and Norm Eisen join Harry for a thorough look at perhaps the most important congressional hearing in at least 50 years. The group all give high marks to the Committee but then discuss whether its work, however persuasive,...

A few days ahead of the most anticipated congressional hearings in 50 years or more, Harry welcomes Julie Zebrak, Josh Marshall, and Rep. Ted Lieu to preview the hearings, including the chief challenges for the January 6 committee. They then move to the rays of hope for change in federal gun violence legislation in the wake of a terrible bloody fortnight with multiple assault shootings, closing wi...

A special economics-focused episode. With the U.S. and world economy in the apparent doldrums, & fears of an inflation-driven recession gripping the globe, a top policymaker--Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi—and two world-class economists--Austan Goolsbee and Betsey Stevenson—join Harry to work through key economic indicators & explain the state of play at home and abroad. The group ends with so...

The country’s bitter partisan divides played out this week at the highest stakes, and a trio of the most experienced and sage analysts in the country–Jon Alter, David Frum, and Norm Ornstein–join Harry to work through the implications. The group discusses in turn the work of the Jan 6 committee and the DOJ’s parallel investigation of possible high-level wrongdoers. They then move to the Buffalo sh...

It’s our every 3 months return-to-roots Talking Feds classic, with three of the country’s most experienced and knowledgeable authorities on the Department of Justice. The group reads the tea leaves on the unfolding investigation of the political actors who may have conspired to overturn the lawful election results and helped foment the 1/6 riot. We next discuss the pending trial of Michael Sussman...

An in-depth conversation with three prominent legal and political commentators – Melissa Murray, Jane Mayer, and Jessica Levinson – about the Supreme Court’s abortion case and the leaked Alito draft majority opinion. The group critiques the substance and tone of the draft and consider whether it likely will hold as an opinion of the Court. We then move to a consideration of the leak itself, includ...

Polls suggest that Russians overwhelmingly support the War of Russian Aggression.  Is that really possible?  Does it just reflect the extreme steps that the Putin government took to stifle dissent require pro-government media coverage?  What are the real attitudes of the Russian people to the war and their government? This very special episode of TalkingFeds brings together 3 expert guests on the...

3 guests who know the US political landscape like the backs of their hands—Dem Rep. Joaquin Castro, Rep Former Rep. David Jolly, and Dem Former Senator Barbara Boxer—join Harry to assess the political jockeying on the right, and particularly by Fla Gov DeSantis and Tex Gov Abbott to be the new party standard bearers. They then discuss the best strategies for Democrats in the midterms. They end by...

At the end of a week where the recent sharp divides in the country have never seemed clearer, three of the country’s most knowledgeable and savvy commentators–Alisyn Camerota, George Conway, & Joe Lockhart—join Harry to assess the (fairly woeful) state of the Union. The group looks at the 1/6 Committee and a possible criminal referral of Trump to the DOJ; Biden’s ambitious, but possibly DOA, agend...

Aided by guests with rich national security expertise, we take two deep dives down to where the currents roil in the 1/6 investigations and the War of Russian Aggression. Frank Figliuzzi, Norm Ornstein, and Asha Rangappa join Harry to analyze the 1/6 committee’s contempt referrals, the testimony of Ivanka and Jared, and the coordination with the DOJ’s investigation. They then turn to the war and t...

It was a week of possible headway on many fronts: at home, in DOJ, which has broadened its investigation of the events leading to 1/6; the 1/6 Committee, which held 2 witnesses in contempt; the federal courts, which determined that Trump more probably than not had committed a crime. And in Ukraine, where fledging peace negotiations were underway. A fantastic panel — Sen. Mike Bennet, Amy Jeffress,...

After 18 hours of grueling testimony, Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson appeared headed for narrow confirmation, but the week put on vivid display the degraded state of the confirmation process. Sen Al Franken, Aaron Blake, and Alexi McCammond join Harry to take apart the hearings and segue to states’ passage of voting rights restrictions and severe anti-abortion laws even before the Court’s expected ab...

In an eventful week featuring an address to Congress by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the passage of a 1.5 trillion spending bill, Harry is joined by three of the country’s most prominent congressional reporters — CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash, Jon Lemire of Politico, and Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post — to assess the week of war and its portents and evaluate its i...

This week we take a close look through an economic prism at the war and its effects in Russia and worldwide, joined by a terrific group of economic and political experts – Congressman Ro Khanna, Professor Justin Wolfers, and MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle. The group evaluates the efficacy of the sanctions, and whether any sanctions regime can upend Putin. Moving to the United States, the group discu...

This week marks one year in office for Attorney General Merrick Garland. Harry sat down with Vanita Gupta, the third-ranking official in the Department, who has supervisory responsibility over a wide range of litigating divisions and grantmaking components. Gupta described how Garland’s priority for protecting civil rights – one of the Department’s 3 chief priorities under Garland – informs the De...