The Big Picture with Edwin Eisendrath

Laura Jedeed gets published by The New Republic, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone and other places that value solid journalism and good writing. You can also find her work at firewalled media. That’s where you will find her fabulous story, The Wet and Wild Freedom Day Catastrophe , where she reports on her Fourth of July on the National Mall. That story, and her report on the UFC match on the Whit...

This year, the Fourth of July holds special meaning because our captured government no longer believes it is self-evident that all are created equal and endowed with rights no one can take away. Yet all across our great nation Americans are celebrating precisely that belief. What’s more, we are celebrating the idea that governments exist to secure these rights even as our own has weaponized the ju...

Several times a year I get the privilege of catching up with John Nichols. John is editor of The Nation . He is also the associate editor of the Cap Times in the important and beautiful state of Wisconsin. He is somehow also the author of books that go right at the essential questions of money and power in America. This week he joined me from the stacks of the Library of Congress where he is doing...

Every Tuesday at noon eastern time Susan J. Demas , the executive editor at Lincoln Square and I talk about the latest news and share our thoughts about the path we are on. Today Susan began by discussing some of the SCOTUS rulings. At one point, after noting that Alito got upset when Justice Sotomayor read her dissent from the bench Susan couldn’t have been clearer: Alito responded from the bench...

Imagine you lingering at dinner, the wine bottle is open and the conversation is turns to American democracy… that’s what where my conversation began with Tom Nichols, the Atlantic staff writer who spent 25 years teaching at US Naval War College. We talked about the loss of a shared sense of who we are as Americans. We mused about whether the draft was a good idea, and what might replace as a way...

Lisa Graves is the founder and executive director of True North Research, author of Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights, co-host of Legal AF on the Meidas Touch network. As busy as she is, she still finds time to talk with me from time to time about SCOTUS, and about American democracy. A year ago, she and her research...

Adam Klasfeld is the owner and editor in chief of All Rise News. He created it because traditional media wasn’t meeting the moment when it came to covering the judiciary. His work is timely, clear, and vitally important. We spoke this week after another round of dismal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court. With SCOTUS still sitting on the birthright citizenship case, Adam made the stunning point th...

Margaret is a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School. She served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut and before that in the JAG Corps for six years as a captain. She writes for Just Security . During this conversation Margaret- who served in Iraq- talked about what it’s like for military personnel to hear elected officials say crazy things. She worries about the impact on our soldiers when...

Dr. Maya Hornberg is senior researcher in elections and government program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. She is the author of articles and papers and books. Her latest is, Stuck- How Money, Media and Violence Prevent Change in Congress . We talked about our broken Congress, and Maya wasted no time in explaining that, even though Americans have always complained about Congress, some...

Gillian Brockell is a careful, thoughtful, hardworking journalist who has turned her talents towards one of the most important and hidden cruelties of the Trump Administration- ICE flights. We talked on my radio show on WCPT820 this week. It was a conversation that stayed with me long after. Gillian’s been tracking the 50-90 ICE flights conducted every day. I was surprised to learn that most of th...

I sat down with Amanda Marcotte, senior politics writer at Salon.com and star of the podcast Standing Room Only . Amanda is fearless. Her reporting and commentary focus on the where many are afraid to go- race, religion, gender. Where Donald Trump goes to divide us into factions, Amanda goes to find the sources of American strength. We talked about the tumbling down of Trump’s name from the Kenned...

Amazingly, Indivisible, founded just a decade ago, has become a well-known and powerful organizing force in our politics, giving structure to the collective voices of millions of American. Ezra Levin, the organization’s co-founder and co-executive director is passionate about what Americans can do together, and realistic about what we will fail to do individually. We talk from time to time about h...

Every week, Joe Walsh and I catch up on the news of the week. This week we spent little time on the crybaby in the White House (okay, Joe did call him that). A few minutes on the feckless handling of the Iran war. And a few more on his ill health. We talked about important and interesting evolution of both political parties. On the Dem side, there is passion for outsider candidates along with a ge...

Every week Joe Walsh and I let loose on the state of our politics. There’s a lot we don’t agree on, but both of us are determined to preserve American democracy and American freedom. That’s not something anyone can say about the GOP Congress these days. Get full access to It's the democracy, stupid at edwineisendrath.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s news ecosystem can be confusing to many. But for a generation raised on multiple platforms and social media, it’s second nature. Each news consumer makes the key decision about who to trust. Then they double check to be sure they got it right. Many of them trust Aaron Parnas . I asked him about the stories he’s thinking about this week. Instead of leading with the China summit, or the ball...

David Roberts built Volts - a community built around his newsletters, podcasts, and social media focused on the intersection of politics, policy and climate. You won’t find reporting like Dave’s anywhere else. He also has some views on American politics that make a lot of sense. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation. Give a listen and let us know what you think! Get full access to It's the...

Oona Hathaway is a Yale professor multiple times over: at the Yale Law School, in the Department of Political Science, and at the School of Global Affairs. She directs the Yale Law School Center for Global Legal Challenges. And, she has recently become president of the American Society of International Law. She talked with me about the international order- a system of treaties and organizations th...

Dana Stroul directs research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. She previously served America as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. That’s the Pentagon’s civilian official for that complicated part of the world. She has also worked at the Senate foreign Relations committee. We discussed the Iran war, the politics of the region, as well as the humanitarian cri...

Katie and I talked about building communities of small d democratic purpose. Red Wine and Blue is a fast-growing powerhouse and part of the reason I’m optimistic we will successfully put an end to this terrible chapter in American history. I think you are going to like what she has to say. Give a listen and, as always, let us know what you think. Get full access to It's the democracy, stupid at ed...

This week Susan and I discuss Trump’s effort to pass himself off as Jesus. His continuing failures in Iran, his destruction of our economy, the rule of law, and the values that make us American. We also talk about the fall of Orban in Hungary and the growing resurgence of democracy around the world. Plus, we discuss whether it is wise for Democrats to impeach and remove Trump ASAP, and the imperat...

As usual… let us know what you think! Get full access to It's the democracy, stupid at edwineisendrath.substack.com/subscribe

Who talks of obliterating an entire civilization? Only madmen and monsters. Susan and I try to make sense of Trump’s horror show and to square it with the America will still believe in. Give a listen and let us know what you think. Get full access to It's the democracy, stupid at edwineisendrath.substack.com/subscribe

Sometimes on WCPT I join other show hosts to discuss important topics. This morning I joined Richard Chew to talk about the No Kings rally in Chicago and where we go from here. Listen, and let us know what you think. It's the democracy, stupid is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to It's the democr...

Ilan Goldenberg is Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at J Street. He comes to that role after serving as Middle East Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris and Iran Team Chief at the Department of Defense during the Obama Administration. We talked about the war in Iran, the lack of good options for the United States and the recklessness of the decision to launch this war. We talked a...

As always…. thanks to those who joined us live. For those didn’t, give a listen and let us know what you think. Get full access to It's the democracy, stupid at edwineisendrath.substack.com/subscribe