Talking Feds

Talking Feds is excited to introduce a new conversation series: 1-on-1s with Harry Litman. This series will drop in your feed every Thursday — in addition to our Monday roundtables — and feature conversations that go in-depth with one special guest. Host Harry Litman will be engaging with all sorts of topics, from law and politics to art and science to sports, history, movies, and more. With the T...

Recorded live at the Texas Tribune Festival Harry, Keith Ellison, Katie Phang, and Ellen Rosenblum examine Kamala Harris’s work as district attorney and attorney general, the potential points of attack it provides to Donald Trump, and what it tells us about what kind of president she'd be. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do...

An episode focusing entirely on the dynamic, exquisitely close presidential campaign in the wake of the DNC convention. Josh Marshall, Heather Cox Richardson, and Charlie Sykes join Harry to assess whether the convention gave Harris/Walz a lasting bump or just a temporary high; the ticket’s week on the campaign trail, including the CNN interview; more unwelcome headlines for the Trump team over Ar...

Welcome to the 300th episode of Talking Feds, coming to you live from the heart of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago! Today’s show celebrates this milestone with an incredible roster of guests who will help us dissect the electric atmosphere and pivotal moments of this historic week. We’ve lined up exclusive interviews with some of the foremost figures in law and politics, providing yo...

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz breeze into the Windy City for the Democratic convention with a strong tailwind from 3-plus weeks of a pitch perfect campaign, abetted by a lackluster at best performance from Donald Trump and JD Vance. Bill Kristol, Bob Shrum, and Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill join Harry to analyze what the ticket and party need to accomplish this week. The roundtable then broadens focus...

Things could be going better for Kamala Harris, but it is hard to see how; and a great roundtable of Jen Rubin, Tara Setmayer, and Charlie Sykes join Harry to analyze the week and what lies ahead. Harris’s VP choice of MN gov Tim Walz drew high marks, and the 2 embarked on a series of exuberant initial campaign stops. Trump, meanwhile, convened a largely incoherent press conference, and the R atta...

Another week in which the fledgling Kamala Harris campaign seemed to click on all cylinders while Donald Trump and JD Vance had trouble finding their footing. The Trump campaign tried out different themes for attacking the Vice President, but none landed squarely and drew some broad rebuke. Mara Liasson, Zerlina Maxwell, and Jacob Weisberg join Harry to consider whether Harris is riding a false cr...

For a third successive week, we had a great and unanticipated shifting of the tides. In a juggernaut of adroit maneuvering in the immediate wake of Biden’s withdrawal, Kamala Harris all but secured the presidential nomination and launched a campaign against Donald Trump. A terrific bipartisan roundtable of Jonah Goldberg, Ali Vitali and Rick Wilson analyzes how Harris ascended so quickly and wheth...

We are in the midst of a political maelstrom as intense, consequential, and unpredictable as very few in the nation’s history. A terrific clear-eyed roundtable of Alisyn Camerota, David French, and Norm Ornstein joins Harry to discuss the shifting landscape in both major political parties. The national convention marked Republicans’ total emergence as the party of Trump; while the teeth-gnashing a...

The tectonic shifts in the legal and political landscapes of the last 3 weeks have upended all prospect for legal accountability for Trump before the election, and the country is paying far less attention. But all of the 4 criminal cases remain in play in some fashion. In this special episode of Talking Feds, 3 of the country’s most prominent analysts–Norm Eisen, Kristy Greenberg, and Joyce Vance–...

Three weeks now into a political crisis of the highest stakes and volatility, as Biden attempts to bypass political elites & fundraisers, many of whom seem implacably set against him, and take his case directly to the American people. Susan Glasser, Jason Kander and Mike Podhorzer join Harry to bear down hard on Biden’s prospects for survival and the likely alternative if Biden steps aside. Adding...

Our annual end-of-term Supreme Court episode comes to grips with a momentous Court year that upended the national political and legal landscapes, in the process augmenting the Court’s own powers and giving a leg up to Donald Trump and the horrifying prospect of his return to power. A great roundtable of Emily Bazelon, Melissa Murray, & Steve Vladeck join Harry to come to grips with the cataclysmic...

The week had a tsunami like intensity that left abundant wreckage in its wake, both in the political and legal landscapes; and a fantastic roundtable of Andrea Mitchell, Charlie Sykes, and Jacob Weisberg bears down on what went awry and the unavoidable question—unthinkable one week ago—whether Biden needs to step aside. We then turn to the momentous week in the Supreme Court, which advanced the ub...

The hot-button issues in US society are getting hotter as the political season commences in earnest. A long blueprint for operations in a 2nd Trump administration sets out volcanic changes in abortion, religion, the administrative state, immigration, & more. In this episode, a great roundtable of Gloria Borger, Dahlia Lithwick, and Jen Rubin joins Harry to stare down the barrel of the most content...

The world feels more upside down than ever, as Donald Trump staged a victory tour in the wake of his convictions and Republicans on the Hill fell completely and obsequiously in line. A great Talking Feds panel of Susan Glasser, Jacob Weisberg, & Rick Wilson analyze Trump’s total capture of the party & what it portends for November. We then move to the Hunter Biden conviction & why it ties Rs in kn...

MAGA nation launched a coordinated campaign this week against Trump’s felony convictions followed by a literal call to arms and a dark promise of retribution. A great roundtable of Bill Kristol, Congressman Ted Lieu, and Tara Setmayer considers the danger of the MAGA rhetoric. We then move to analyze the Hunter Biden case and its relationship to the Trump convictions, closing with a discussion of...

With Trial’s convictions in NY state court behind us, it’s the perfect time for our quarterly close focus on the Department of Justice, by 3 stalwart friends of the podcast who know DOJ best – Katie Benner, Paul Fishman, & Amy Jeffress. After discussing the possible effect on DOJ of the NY case, we take up the state of play of the two Jack Smith investigations, inc the prospects for either to proc...

One last week of trial brings a final Talking Feds episode with a roundtable of great reporters who were among the few in the courtroom, Jon Alter, Maggie Haberman, and Hugo Lowell. We break down the dramatic differences b/t the trial as reported in the media and as it actually was, zeroing in on the chief reasons for the DA’s decisive victory and focusing in turn on the lawyers, the judge, and th...

The hiatus in the Trump trial gives us the opportunity to dive into other legal and political news for the first time in several weeks. A stellar panel of Jason Kander, Carol Lee, and Congressman Eric Swalwell assesses the debates, Haley’s endorsement of Trump, & the swing-state polls. We then consider the Justice Alito’s display of pro-MAGA flags outside of his two homes after January 6. Finally,...

Lots happening out there, but NY v. Trump remains the main event, and this week we again bring you a roundtable of all new prominent commentators–and all first time @talkingfedspod guests–who have been in and around the court the whole trial. Katie Phang, Yasmin Vossoughian, and Ben Wittes join Harry to carefully assess where the trial stands with nearly all the evidence in and on the verge of clo...

Another very special episode this week about the room where it’s happening with three commentators who were there — Jon Alter, Danny Cevallos, & Kristy Greenberg. We focus in depth on the dramatic highlight of the week for the jury and the country — Stormy Daniels’s testimony, esp the cross-examination. We next consider how much Madeline Westerhout helped Trump. After an in-depth preview of Michae...

A week of pitched battles in court, campuses, and Congress; and three of the country’s most wise and respected voices — Zoe Lofgren, Norm Ornstein, and Michael Steele — join Harry to analyze the action. The NY prosecutors continued to build a strong case against Trump, ending the week on a high note with Hope Hicks. The situation in many campuses boiled over, requiring administrations to enlist he...

We add a special episode this week to tackle the Supreme Court argument on immunity. A great group of court experts – Emily Bazelon, Leah Litman, and Mark Stern – join Harry to add the feds voices to a robust debate in the wake of the argument about the sky is falling, the gang breaks down the questions and a parent fault lines in the court to weigh in on whether the argument augurs the end of any...

A special and singular episode on Trump’s trial, including 3 experts who spent the week as one of the few dozen people permitted to be inside the courtroom where Trump’s trial is happening. Norm Eisen and Jon Alter, along with Harry, were all feet from Trump, the witnesses, and the jury. They are joined by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who has extensive experience with the NY courts, including Judge Me...

Things finally got real this week--w/ a wealth of quick developments, inc the full jury chosen, punctuated by dramatic details: Trump’s meekly sitting down on the judge’s order, prospective jurors breaking out in tears from the pressure & anxiety of serving, the DA’s moving for criminal contempt v. Trump for 10 postings; & a lot more. A great roundtable of Aaron Blake, Peter Baker, & Jen Rubin bre...