Talking Feds

With gas prices surging and inflation on the rise once more, Harry turns to economist Justin Wolfers to get a handle on what Trump is doing to the U.S. economy. Wolfers explains why the real cost of the war with Iran is vastly higher than the figures quoted so far by the Pentagon, how long exorbitant fuel costs could last, and the deeper, unremarked ways that Trump is challenging the foundations of American prosperity.  Mentioned in this episode:  Platypus Economics on YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@PlatypusEconomics? Platypus Economics on Substack:  https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Republicans falter on their gerrymandering plans and Trump looks for a creative new way to pocket taxpayer dollars, Harry talks with Alisyn Camerota, Adam Klasfeld, and Elliot Williams. The tri-state trio dig into the stark racial politics of the post-Callais south and Republicans' sudden hesitation in their redistricting crusade. Next, the group turns to reports that the DOJ may be planning a swift surrender in Trump’s collusive lawsuit against the IRS. Finally the panel considers whether the president will get his wish and coat D.C. in Trumpian gold leaf.Mentioned in this episode: Alisyn’s new show: https://www.scrippsnews.com/shows/connected-with-alisyn-camerotaAdam’s reporting: https://www.allrisenews.com/Elliot’s book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768052/five-bullets-by-elliot-williams/NYT reporting about Democrats mulling drastic changes to Virginia’s Supreme Court: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/us/politics/democrats-virginia-plans-gerrymandering.htmlHarry’s piece about the Trump IRS case: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/a-judge-calls-out-trumps-self-dealing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a bombshell redistricting ruling in Virginia shakes the midterms map, Harry talks with three top political minds—David French, Mara Liasson, and Mike Murphy—to try to get a sense of the outlook for November. Will two seismic court verdicts end Democrats’ hopes of retaking the House? Or will a strong anti-Trump tide power them to a win anyway? Can Trump keep Republicans in line, even as his approval rating hits record lows? And is there any rhyme, reason, or endpoint to Trump’s latest skirmishes with Iran?  Mentioned in this episode:  David’s columns: https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-french  Mara’s reporting: https://www.npr.org/people/1930401/mara-liasson  Mike’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hacks-on-tap/id1467297559  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leading SCOTUS scholar Melissa Murray joins Harry to discuss her new book on the constitution and her concerns about the Justices now tasked with interpreting it. Melissa guides Harry through key points from her book—"The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader"—from the fears of slave rebellion that shaped the 2nd amendment to the expansive promise of liberty that has been gradually erased from the 14th. The two close with a closer look at the Justices, including why Melissa sees John Roberts as the "Victor Frankenstein of American government."Mentioned in this episode: Melissa’s new book:  https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-U-S-Constitution/Melissa-Murray/9781668221938New York Times reporting on the origins of the shadow docket:  https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.htmlNoah Feldman’s book “Scorpions”:  https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/books/review/ACohen-t.htmlCarol Anderon’s book “The Second”:  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/books/review/the-second-carol-anderson.html  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s seismic redistricting decision, Harry talks with David Gura, Juliette Kayyem, and Tara Setmayer to take stock of the ruling’s impact, the aftershocks of the White House Correspondents' Dinner attack, and Jerome Powell’s stand against Trump. How will the Callais ruling reshape the political map and Black representation in the South? Will Powell’s successor prove a Trump lapdog? And what are the political and policy ramifications of the latest episode of political violence?  Mentioned in this episode:  David's reporting: https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AWxIJr64omw/david-gura Juliette's analysis: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/juliette-kayyem/ Tara's Substack: https://tarasetmayer.substack.com/  Juliette's piece about the WHCD attack: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/safety-security-whcd-prevention/686969/  Atlantic piece on the rise of so-called normie extremists: https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/04/cole-allen-whcd-trump-extremism/686993/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jake Sullivan helped negotiate the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Now, as he watches Trump try to superglue some version of that deal back together, Sullivan tells Harry the president “has no idea what he is doing because he has no idea quite why he's doing it.” Drawing on his four years of experience as Biden’s national security advisor, Sullivan plumbs the depth of Trump’s strategic catastrophe in Iran and its disastrous consequences everywhere from American gas stations, to the Ukrainian frontline, to the Taiwan strait. Mentioned in this episode: Sullivan's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer/id1850526014  Sullivan and Finer's January opinion piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/opinion/trump-venezuela-force-risk.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In their newest mashup, Harry and Molly Jong-Fast swap questions about the scandals swamping Trump’s administration and the chances for real accountability for the culprits. Molly asks Harry what it’ll take to prosecute people like Kristy Noem and how far the Supreme Court might go to rescue Trump in the midterms. Harry fires back with questions about J.D. Vance’s political implosion and what the Democrats need to do to stick the landing in November. Mentioned in this episode:  Molly's podcast: ⁠ https://fastpoliticspod.com/Molly's Substack: ⁠ https://mollyjongfast.substack.com/ Harry's Substack about the SPLC indictment: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/funding-extremism-please Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As scandals shake Trump’s cabinet, Harry sits down with Emily Bazelon, Conor Lamb, and Charlie Sykes to discuss the revelations about Kash Patel, a Democratic redistricting win in Virginia, and the administration’s latest retaliations. Along the way, the trio discuss what it will take to revive the rule of law and whether there’s a path away from endless gerrymandering. They close by digging into the jaw-dropping details from Emily’s reporting about how Trump turned DHS into an agency incompetent at real law enforcement but adept at inflicting suffering. Mentioned in this episode: Harry’s Substack on the SPLC indictment:  https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/funding-extremism-pleaseEmily’s reporting:  https://www.nytimes.com/by/emily-bazelon#latest Charlie’s Substack:  https://charliesykes.substack.com/ Emily's DHS article:  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/14/magazine/trump-dhs-ice-officers-immigration-deportations.html   Emily’s conversation with Harry about her oral history of the DOJ under Trump:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PDKeMe1mXU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 100 days into her tenure, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill thinks she’s cracked the code for handling Trump. She tells Harry how she’s used the president’s negotiating tactics against him, why she’s putting in place some of the nation’s most ambitious bulwarks against ICE abuses, and how she ended up in a high-stakes battle with another venal, unpopular entity: FIFA. Plus, Governor Sherrill delivers her thoughts as a former federal prosecutor on the legal wreckage left by ousted U.S. attorney and Trump crony Alina Habba. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our latest Contrarian episode, Norm Eisen, Norm Ornstein, and Jen Rubin join Harry to assess new flashpoints in Trump's nonstop quest to escape accountability and his hasty efforts to claw free of his war in the Middle East. The group takes stock of Trump's stumbling attempts to find a deal with Iran, which seem likely to leave the U.S. weakened and isolated. The panel also weighs the bombshell state charges against an ICE agent and the odds that Trump could name two new Supreme Court justices before year's end.  Mentioned in this episode: The Contrarian:  https://contrarian.substack.com/ Norm Ornstein's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dsrs-words-matter/id1420216970 The Robert Kagan article about America's changing place in the world: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/03/trump-national-security-greenland-spheres-of-interest/685673/  The profile of Justice Alito: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/samuel-alito-supreme-court-conservative/686756/  Norm Ornstein's kakistocracy article: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/american-kakistocracy/542391/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry talks with Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, the principal force behind the massive and wildly successful No Kings protests. They fill Harry in on the politics and mechanics of building one of the biggest popular mobilizations in American history, and how to harness the popular forces in a concrete way to defeat Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Trump's two-week ceasefire hanging in the balance, Harry turns to Kristy Greenberg, Jason Kander, and Jasmine Wright to make sense of a week of reversals and u-turns for Donald Trump. What are the new revelations about how Trump decided to strike Iran? And if the status quo stands, will the U.S. have lost its war of choice? Can new Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche do any better than Pam Bondi at sating Trump's appetite for retribution? And what do another pair of Democratic overperformances in off-cycle elections augur for November?  Mentioned in this episode: Courtside with Kristy Greenberg: https://www.youtube.com/@CourtsidewithKG  Jason's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-54/id1309354521  Jasmine's reporting: https://www.notus.org/jasmine-wright New York Times reporting on Trump's decision to go to war with Iran: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/us/politics/trump-iran-war.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mimi Rocah, a veteran federal prosecutor and former colleague of Acting AG Todd Blanche, joins Harry to assess Pam Bondi's legacy at the Department of Justice and what lies ahead for the department now that she's gone. Rocah fills Harry in on Todd Blanche's total transformation into a pro-Trump ideologue—one as devoted, but more canny and probably more dangerous than his predecessor. And Mimi gives Harry some insights from her forthcoming book—Justice Under Siege—about Trump's complete takeover of the DOJ.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Attorney General Pam Bondi is out. Harry talks with all-star journalists Aaron Blake, Liz Landers, and Scott MacFarlane to break down why Trump rewarded Bondi's obsessive loyalty with an abrupt and humiliating firing. Next, the panel tries to make sense of Trump's primetime address about his increasingly opaque goals in the month-old war with Iran. Finally, the group analyzes the arguments in the birthright citizenship case and considers whether Trump has already notched a partial victory, regardless of the final verdict. Mentioned in this episode: Harry's Substack about Bondi's firing: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/out-of-touch-out-of-trust-out-of Harry's Substack about the birthright citizenship case: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-birthright-citizenship-order Aaron's analysis:  https://www.cnn.com/profiles/aaron-blake Liz's reporting: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/liz-landers Scott's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ScottMacFarlaneNews Scott's Substack: https://macfarlanenews.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry mines Marc Elias's unrivaled expertise in election law to dig into the alarming contents of the SAVE Act, the Supreme Court's possible lurch to ban mail-in voting, and the progress of the DOJ's efforts to seize personal information about as many voters as possible. Mentioned in this episode: Democracy Docket: democracydocket.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his latest effort to trace the Department of Justice’s downward spiral, Harry talks with DOJ veterans Paul Fishman and Stacey Young, along with reporter Evan Perez. The panel assesses the DOJ’s obstructive tactics on the Minnesota investigations, the retribution prosecutions that keep coming despite loss after humiliating loss, and the new revelations about Trump’s misuse of classified documents. Finally, the panel closes with some reflections on the life and work of former FBI Director Robert Mueller. Mentioned in this episode: Evan’s reporting: https://www.cnn.com/profiles/evan-perez-profile Justice Connection: https://www.thejusticeconnection.org/ Sara Bloom’s organization: https://massdeportationdefense.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even before Trump started raining bombs down on Iran, harassing allies to clean up his mess, and yanking sanctions off Russia, the global order that kept Americans safe for generations was in shambles. Historian and foreign policy expert Robert Kagan discusses his landmark article explaining how Trump broke the “Grand Bargain” that promoted peace and prosperity after World War II. The crucial question now—according to Kagan—is not whether that order is coming back, but what will replace it. Mentioned in this episode: Kagan’s article: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/03/trump-national-security-greenland-spheres-of-interest/685673/ Kagan’s latest book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714679/rebellion-by-robert-kagan/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three superb journalists—Natasha Korecki, Ali Vitali, and Jacob Weisberg—join Harry to break down another grinding week of war with Iran. Ali explains why a major Trumpworld resignation offered another sign that MAGA will soon be an “utter mess.” Back in D.C., Democrats stormed out over Pam Bondi’s prevarications; Jacob lays out a strategy for them to hold Bondi to her subpoena. Finally, Natasha gives the panel a tour of the Illinois primaries and what the results signal for the shape of a resurgent Democratic party. Mentioned in this episode: Natasha’s reporting: https://www.nbcnews.com/author/natasha-korecki-ncpn1286792  Ali’s Way Too Early: https://www.ms.now/way-too-early  Juliana Stratton’s campaign ad: https://www.facebook.com/JulianaForIL/videos/they-said-it-were-all-thinking-it/967001489339870/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the latest Talking San Diego conversation, Harry sits down with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in front of a packed-house in San Diego.  They discuss the experiences that have shaped the governor, from his long-shot bid to rescue Soviet Jews, to his fight for abuse victims, to the arson attack on his family, and more telling stories from his new best-selling memoir “Where We Keep the Light.”But Governor Shapiro also speaks to this “dangerous moment" for a U.S. at war with Iran, facing a rising tide of division and hatred domestically, all worsened by what the governor calls President Trump’s “corrosive, cruel politics.” Against that grim backdrop, Governor Shapiro lays out his vision for repairing the country and makes his case that our challenges calls for a new brand of leadership.This Talking San Diego event was made possible by our venue partner Congregation Beth Israel and bookselling partner Warwicks. You can find a video version of this episode (and all 1-on-1 conversations) on the Talking Feds YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a second week of war slips by without Iran’s promised collapse, David French, David A. Graham, and Juliette Kayyem join Harry to assess the administration’s apparent unpreparedness and growing tally of grave mistakes. The group discusses the dangers that could come with a prolonged conflict and the cold comfort provided by Pete Hegseth’s rant-filled briefings. Finally, they turn to the vital news being overlooked amid the war: Trump’s relentless push to overhaul voter requirements and collect states’ voter data ahead of the midterms. Mentioned in this episode: David French’s analysis: https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-french#latest David A. Graham’s reporting: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-a-graham/ Juliette’s analysis: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/juliette-kayyem/ ProPublica’s report about the Pentagon’s moves around civil casualties: https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-defense-department-iran-hegseth-civilian-casualties The Atlantic’s report about a potential overhaul of the JAG Corps: https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/03/hegseth-comes-lawyers/686351/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices