Opening Arguments
Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith brings on legal analysts to help you understand not only current events, but also deeper legal concepts and areas! The typical schedule will be M-W-F with Monday being a deep-dive, Wednesday being Thomas Takes the Bar Exam and patron shoutouts, and Friday being a rapid response to legal issues in the news!
info_outline
The Trump Trial Is On, and Lordy There Are Transcripts!
04/24/2024
The Trump Trial Is On, and Lordy There Are Transcripts!
Episode 1026 The transcript is in! The first official written record from the first trial of a former President in U.S. history was just released hours before recording, and we dig in for a first look from the first full day of proceedings (Monday April 23rd) to find out which of the 45th president's many misdeeds the court ruled that prosecutors will be allowed to bring up during cross-examination. We also indulge in some dramatic readings of each party's opening statements, and discuss what we can learn from them about the Manhattan DA's case and Trump's defense to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Much more to come! We then check back on last week's round of Thomas Takes the Bar Exam to see how Thomas did on questions about a thieving magician and a lying philanthropist before turning to this week's challenge: an arsonist who doesn't understand how fire works. 1. filed 4/17/24 2. on 4/23/24 If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30964943
info_outline
Did The Supreme Court Just Make Protest Illegal In 3 States?
04/22/2024
Did The Supreme Court Just Make Protest Illegal In 3 States?
Episode 1025 Today we take on two law stories the media have been getting wrong recently. 1) Did the Supreme Court just "end the right to protest in three states"? We go beyond the headlines to better understand Justice Sonia Sotomayor's denial of certiorari in a negligence suit brought against Black Lives Matter organizer Deray McKesson by a police officer injured during a BLM protest in Baton Rouge. 2) Biden's border. The impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ended last week in the Senate before it ever began, but the lies, misinformation, and terrible reporting which fueled it are only getting worse. Matt breaks down what people who complain about Joe Biden's "open-border policies" are actually saying before getting into the facts. How do Trump's enforcement metrics compare to Biden's? How has a commitment to actually abiding by basic due process and our international and domestic obligations to people seeking protection for persecution been spun into "lawlessness at the border"? And what even are Biden's border policies anyway? 1) (4/15/24) 2) (Dismissed by the Senate on 4/16/2024) 3) David Bier, Cato Institute (1/5/2024) 4) , American Immigration Council (10/21/2023) 5) , David Bier, Cato Institute (7/17/2023) If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30928958
info_outline
Trump's Criminal Trial Is Moving Right Along!
04/19/2024
Trump's Criminal Trial Is Moving Right Along!
Episode 1024 We have a jury! The preliminaries are nearly complete in the first criminal trial of a former president in US history, and we take this opportunity to review what we know so far about the Manhattan DA's prosecution of Donald Trump for funneling hush money to Stormy Daniels three weeks before the 2016 election. How did they pick a jury so quickly? What is DA Alvin Bragg's theory of the case? Could "retweets are not endorsements" actually be a loophole to a gag order? The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday from one of the 350 January 6th rioters charged under a 2002 statute passed by Congress in the wake of the many crimes of Enron. How did Congress's attempt to close a loophole which made it legal for some corporate criminals to destroy evidence so long as they did it by themselves open the door to the prosecution of violent insurrectionists? Is there a new, secret meaning to the word "otherwise" that only lawyers know? Is the Supreme Court really about to agree with the defendant that the words "obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding [including in Congress], or attempts to do so" clearly do not apply to him--a person clearly on video violently attempting to obstruct, influence, and/or impede an official proceeding of Congress? We also consider the potential disruption to Jack Smith's DC prosecution of Trump, of which this statute is the basis for one of the four pending charges in that case. For the first time in U.S. history, articles of impeachment brought by the House have been dismissed by the Senate without a trial. Why was the impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for doing his job in a way that Republicans didn't like (a.k.a. a "high crime" and/or "misdemeanor") so totally dead on arrival? We pay zero respects to what we can only hope will go down as by far the stupidest impeachment in the history of impeachments. (See OA bonus episode of 2/11/24 for our breakdown of the House's articles of impeachment). Meanwhile in Florida, Fort Pierce's finest (and only) federal judge has returned fire after Trump prosecutor Jack Smith had the untrammeled nerve to notice in writing that Fort Pierce's only federal judge really sucks at her job (see OA 1016 & 1020). Fortunately for everyone however, it turns out the only person responsible for her many mistakes is--Jack Smith? 1. 2. 3. 4. (4/15/24) 5. 6. (4/4/2024) 7. (4/9/24) If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30897593
info_outline
T3BE Week 10! Disappearing Wallets and Fake Philanthropy
04/17/2024
T3BE Week 10! Disappearing Wallets and Fake Philanthropy
Last week's answers, this week's questions! If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30859938
info_outline
11 Years Ago Today, A Brutal Act of Terror
04/15/2024
11 Years Ago Today, A Brutal Act of Terror
April 15th marks two significant events in US history: the 11th anniversary of Tamerlan and Dzhokar Tsarnaev's bombing of the Boston Marathon, and the first day of jury selection in the first criminal trial of a former US President. These two very different situations both share one important legal question: how do you select a jury from a city full of people who not only know a defendant by name but have good reasons to despise them? Boston residents Matt and Casey share their own memories of the day that changed their city forever before breaking down the trial of surviving bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev and ensuing appeals of his death sentence to the 1st Circuit and Supreme Court. We examine why the U.S. publicly announced that it would not be reading Tsarnaev his Miranda rights, and debate whether or not the defense should have been allowed to introduce evidence during the penalty phase that Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have participated in a triple homicide two years earlier to prove his influence over his younger brother. What can Clarence Thomas's decision reinstating Tsarnaev's death sentence tell us about how Trump trial judges might handle jury selection? And what might be next following the 1st Circuit's recent findings on juror bias? 1) 2) 3) (7/31/2020) 4) (3/5/2022) 5) If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30824868
info_outline
Arizona Republican Party Like It's 1864
04/12/2024
Arizona Republican Party Like It's 1864
Episode 1022 Courts in Arizona and Florida have both ended abortion rights in very different (but both terrible) ways this month. Did Arizona actually resurrect a 160-year law passed decades before it was even a state? And how weird can it get when you go full originalist on a law that is younger than most people in Florida? Before we get there, Matt opens by sharing his experience with the OJ Simpson trial at the age of 14 and how it shaped his understanding of US criminal law. We then make sure to pay appropriate respects to the violent domestic abuser who (do we even have to say "allegedly" anymore?) brutally murdered Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman on June 12, 1994. Also, two different countries have committed extreme and unprecedented violations of international law involving embassies in the past week. How does the Vienna Convention protect diplomatic posts, and what actually happens when these international agreements are broken? The first of the Trump trials will finally begin in New York in one business day! How does jury selection even work in a case where everyone on the planet has an opinion about the defendant? 1) (4/1/24) 2) In Re: TW, 551 So. 2d 1186 (1989) 3) (4/9/24) 3) (1961) 4) If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30795053
info_outline
T3BE Week 9! Prescription Negligence and Breach of Contract
04/10/2024
T3BE Week 9! Prescription Negligence and Breach of Contract
As usual, we've got last week's answers and this week's questions! Some fun and tricky ones... If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30760183
info_outline
RERELEASE: Immigrant Workers Died Repairing Bridge Named After Slaveholder
04/09/2024
RERELEASE: Immigrant Workers Died Repairing Bridge Named After Slaveholder
Hey folks, due to an annoying technical glitch, I'm just re-releasing this episode. This was some weird backend problem with our hosting. The file looks completely fine everywhere that I can see, but internet goblins decide otherwise, I guess. Sorry for the trouble and I'll make sure this won't happen again! OA10121 On March 26, 2024 a container ship the size of the Eiffel Tower named for the world's most famous surrealist destroyed a bridge named after the author of the U.S. national anthem yards from one of the most notable sites of our country's least popular war. Who was Francis Scott Key anyway, and why has the man who gave the world the phrase "land of the free and the home of the brave" gotten a total pass for writing the world's worst national anthem while owning people and prosecuting abolitionists? We then honor the memories of the six Latino immigrants who lost their lives in this disaster by taking a closer look at the contributions of both undocumented and "lightly documented" workers to the U.S. economy, including the massive boost of more than $7 trillion that the Congressional Budget Office has predicted the so-called "border crisis" will bring in the coming years. But what about the most recent Republican "solution" to give the world's whitest and wealthiest a chance at the American Dream? Would Thomas be able to immigrate to the U.S. under Sen. Tom Cotton's RAISE Act? We end with a short cruise through maritime law and examine why the owners of the Dali are seeking protection under the same 209-year-old maritime law which was used to severely limit the liability of everyone responsible for the Titanic. 1. Jefferson Morley (2012) 2. (3/28/24) 3. 4. 5. (9/15/2021) 6. (U.S. Supreme Court's application of the 1851 Limitation of Liability Act to the Titanic disaster) 7. filed in federal court by the owners of the Dali (4/1/24) If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30754278
info_outline
Immigrant Workers Died Repairing Bridge Named After Slaveholder
04/08/2024
Immigrant Workers Died Repairing Bridge Named After Slaveholder
OA10121 On March 26, 2024 a container ship the size of the Eiffel Tower named for the world's most famous surrealist destroyed a bridge named after the author of the U.S. national anthem yards from one of the most notable sites of our country's least popular war. Who was Francis Scott Key anyway, and why has the man who gave the world the phrase "land of the free and the home of the brave" gotten a total pass for writing the world's worst national anthem while owning people and prosecuting abolitionists? We then honor the memories of the six Latino immigrants who lost their lives in this disaster by taking a closer look at the contributions of both undocumented and "lightly documented" workers to the U.S. economy, including the massive boost of more than $7 trillion that the Congressional Budget Office has predicted the so-called "border crisis" will bring in the coming years. But what about the most recent Republican "solution" to give the world's whitest and wealthiest a chance at the American Dream? Would Thomas be able to immigrate to the U.S. under Sen. Tom Cotton's RAISE Act? We end with a short cruise through maritime law and examine why the owners of the Dali are seeking protection under the same 209-year-old maritime law which was used to severely limit the liability of everyone responsible for the Titanic. 1. Jefferson Morley (2012) 2. (3/28/24) 3. 4. 5. (9/15/2021) 6. (U.S. Supreme Court's application of the 1851 Limitation of Liability Act to the Titanic disaster) 7. filed in federal court by the owners of the Dali (4/1/24) If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30726438
info_outline
Jack Smith's Smackdown of Judge Cannon
04/05/2024
Jack Smith's Smackdown of Judge Cannon
Episode 1020! It's time for a round of Trump updates, starting in Florida with the responses to Judge Aileen Cannon's weird request that the parties try making up new law that she could try out on a jury if this case ever finally makes it to one. Is Jack Smith's response to this nonsense everything we'd wanted? And what happens when you actually try to sit down read anything that the Trump defense team has filed as if it were a serious legal document? We then turn to recent legal developments in New York, where a subprime auto lender has totally failed to post Trump's bond and Judge Merchan finally had to get around to putting in writing that the world's most famous criminal defendant isn't allowed to go after his family. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30692343
info_outline
T3BE Week 8! Elaborate Crimes and Psychedelics
04/03/2024
T3BE Week 8! Elaborate Crimes and Psychedelics
Can you believe it, it's T3BE8! You know the drill, we answer last week's questions, honor two winners, and then ask two more questions! But Matt has a new bar exam book, and it's going to be quite fun, if these questions are any indicator. Deviously hard, needlessly complex, extremely silly... it has it all! If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30657438
info_outline
Boeing Killed 346 People. So Why Did They Get a Sweetheart Deal?
04/02/2024
Boeing Killed 346 People. So Why Did They Get a Sweetheart Deal?
Most criminal defendants can't kill 346 people and expect to get off with a light fine and three years of probation, but most criminal defendants are not The Boeing Company. In today's show, we examine the differences between different kinds of pretrial diversion agreements and why the best ones are reserved for ultra-wealthy defendants like Boeing and Jeffrey Epstein. We then take a closer look at the DOJ's routine use of deferred prosecution agreements to help our nation's most valued citizens (corporations) avoid the unpleasant inconvenience of facing actual consequences of their actions (killing people), with a special focus on the NPA which recently resolved Boeing's recent deadly fraud involving its 737 MAX. 1. (1/7/2021) 2. " (6/6/2022) 3. " (3/25/22) 4. " (2/9/24) 5. confirming that courts have no authority to review a DPA and that families will have to wait to oppose any future motion to dismiss If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30638958
info_outline
The Mifepristone Case Is an Insult to the Concept of Standing
03/29/2024
The Mifepristone Case Is an Insult to the Concept of Standing
Episode 1018 - GOOD NEWS EPISODE! It's positive vibes only as we celebrate the impending disbarment of MAGA law toadies John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark, the first but-actually-for-real-this-time Trump trial date, and some extremely real threats to your favorite President's sacred First Amendment rights to lie to the public and terrorize the families of court personnel. In more good news, the Supreme Court couldn't seem to find an actual excuse to ban medical abortions this week--or even find anyone who could even claim to have been in the same ZIP code as someone harmed by mifepristone--so we take a good look for ourselves and don't find too much to worry about. One more bit of good news: Matt wants to give you a job! (Inquire within.) 1. 2. (March 27, 2024) 3. (3/26/24) 4. (12/23/2024) 5. (March 26, 2024) 6. (April 7, 2023) 7. 8) If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30592403
info_outline
T3BE Week 7! Best Evidence and Contract Law
03/27/2024
T3BE Week 7! Best Evidence and Contract Law
It's week 7, and it's a Next Generation of test. Make it so! Oh also, we're still dogged by controversy, #T3BEgate2.5 but we've got a fall guy and it's Matt. Question 12 was a repeat and Matt is to blame and accepts the inevitable public shaming. But 13 was new! And, now we've got an entirely new kind of test! If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30560748
info_outline
Contractor Who Leaked Trump's Tax Return Gets 5 Years In Prison
03/25/2024
Contractor Who Leaked Trump's Tax Return Gets 5 Years In Prison
Episode 1017 He had a plea agreement with the government which he thought would get him 8-14 months. He ended up with 5 years. What happened? Also, was this Democrats' version of January 6th Casey joins this week to help to answer an OA patron's question about the plea agreement reached in the prosecution of former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn for leaking records of Donald Trump, Rick Scott, Elon Musk, and a tragically high number of other innocent and blameless billionaires who are simply far too important to have to pay their taxes. We then review the unique role of plea bargaining in U.S. law and exactly how these agreements are reached and play out in court. Did you know that approximately 98% of all federal criminal charges are resolved in a way which is portrayed in approximately 0% of law-related movies and TV show? 1. Propublica (6/8/2021) 2. "," Propublica (11/4/2021) 3. "" NYT (9/27/2020) 4. " NPR (2/22/2023) 5. 6. If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30525488
info_outline
Judge Aileen Cannon Sucks - A Definitive Guide
03/22/2024
Judge Aileen Cannon Sucks - A Definitive Guide
Who is Aileen Cannon? Why is Aileen Cannon? We answer these important questions and many more in this brief review of the incomprehensible jurisprudence of the best federal judge in Fort Pierce, Florida. 1. 2. 3. 4. (9/5/22) 5. re: 100 classified documents (9/21/22) 6. (12/1/22) 7. (2/8/24) 8. (2/8/24) 9. (without prejudice)(3/14/24) 10. 11. (3/18/24)
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30493458
info_outline
T3BE Week 6 - ROCKED by Scandal #T3BEgate2
03/20/2024
T3BE Week 6 - ROCKED by Scandal #T3BEgate2
Massive controversy shakes T3BE to its core. Thomas and Matt respond to the international outcry and media firestorm generated by allegations that T3BE is using repeat questions. After that, we get two TOTALLY DEFINITELY NEW practice bar exam questions. Topics are appealing to SCOTUS re State constution vs. US constitution, and also the gender wage gap when it comes to bank robbery. If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30452618
info_outline
Deported by an Immigration Court in a Strip Mall
03/18/2024
Deported by an Immigration Court in a Strip Mall
Episode 1015 Part 2 of Azul's story Folks... I implore you. I beg of you, please listen to this one all the way through. Azul tells us the rest of her story, and talks about where she is now, and it is one of if not the most inspiring, heartwarming things I have ever had the privilege of publishing. Seriously. And please share it. Another massive thanks to Azul, and to Matt, who we are so incredibly lucky to have on the show. If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30415658
info_outline
We Have A Ruling In Fani Willis Case - EMERGENCY POD
03/16/2024
We Have A Ruling In Fani Willis Case - EMERGENCY POD
Emergency Bonus Pod! - Fani Willis and the Odor of Mendacity on the Fani Willis disqualification motion. Get the OA breakdown with a full analysis and plenty of opinion and context. If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30397098
info_outline
Judge Dismisses Some Trump Charges. Should We Be Worried?
03/15/2024
Judge Dismisses Some Trump Charges. Should We Be Worried?
Episode 1014 We begin by pouring a Tequila Sunrise out for the charges against three memorabilia collectors charged with stealing old Eagles lyrics, in which the unexpected airing of 6,000 pages of Don Henley's dirty laundry had Manhattan prosecutors realizing last week that they truly could check out anytime they liked. Matt then takes us through Fulton County Judge Scott MacAfee's decision to dismiss 6 of the 41 pending counts against Trump and his goons. Can Trump still be prosecuted for his "perfect phone call" to GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger? And what does a guy have to do to solicit someone to violate an oath around here, anyway? We then turn some much-needed light on to Texas's most recent attempt to enforce federal immigration law before finishing up with some good immigration news out of--also Texas? 1. (J. McAfee, 3/13/24) 2. (Criminal Solicitation) 3. (Violation of Oath by Public Officer) 4. (8/14/2023) 5. (2/29/24)(granting injunction against SB4) 6. (striking down most of AZ SB1070) 7. (finding no standing for TX to challenge Biden's CHNV parole program) If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30384793
info_outline
T3BE Week 5! Personal Injury and Comparative Negligence
03/13/2024
T3BE Week 5! Personal Injury and Comparative Negligence
Thomas Takes the Bar Exam Week 5! Ok so last week revealed to us that the "hot unbreakable streak" was not, in fact, unbreakable. No one could have seen this coming though, so no use in playing the blame game. Thomas comes into the week 5-2. Will he go to 5-4? Or 7-2? Or perhaps the other possible record? Find out! Then, we get 2 new questions! It's personal injury, and also... personal injury? Maybe? We'll see! If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30353518
info_outline
Arrested on Her 22nd Birthday. She Didn't Know She Was Undocumented.
03/11/2024
Arrested on Her 22nd Birthday. She Didn't Know She Was Undocumented.
Episode 1013 Today, we get to meet Azul Uribe. Azul lived most of her life in the US as a devout Mormon, doing her best to get by in a sea of Whiteness. She even made jokes at her own expense about being undocumented. That all changed when she was arrested at age 22 under bizarre and very unlucky circumstances. She was put in ICE detention. Treated terribly. Strip searched multiple times. She then found out those jokes... weren't. Despite being a college student, Azul faced deportation from the only home she'd ever known. Join us as we hear Azul's fascinating and heartbreaking story, in all its raw humanity. And we learn more about our immigration system, and its raw inhumanity. If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30317678
info_outline
Did the Trump Colorado Decision Make You Feel Crazy? You’re Not Alone.
03/08/2024
Did the Trump Colorado Decision Make You Feel Crazy? You’re Not Alone.
Episode 1012 Does anyone else feel like the Supreme Court decided a part of the Constitution just doesn't exist anymore? Perhaps you're like Listener Thomas S, who found this decision absolutely nuts. If so, you're in luck, because in this episode of OA, Thomas throws every argument at actual lawyer Matt Cameron for why this decision sucked. How does the actual lawyer feel? Did SCOTUS get it right actually? Find out! If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30286638
info_outline
T3BE Week 4! Firefighters' Rule and Interstate Commerce
03/06/2024
T3BE Week 4! Firefighters' Rule and Interstate Commerce
Thomas Takes the Bar Exam Week 4! Thomas comes into this week on a HOT, some would say, UNBREAKABLE, streak! 5-0. So, naturally, he aced questions 6 and 7, right? You'll find out! After those answers, we get questions 8 and 9, pictured below! What the hell is the firefighters' rule? And are drycleaners interstate commerce? If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30251748
info_outline
MAGA Fascists Try To Ban Drag and Fail. Repeatedly.
03/04/2024
MAGA Fascists Try To Ban Drag and Fail. Repeatedly.
Episode 1011 Here's one for everyone who enjoys stories about terrible people losing in court! Casey stops by to review Alito's complaint to America's managers about the devastating cost of marriage equality: the exclusion of anti-LGBTQ bigots from juries. Matt breaks down the total failure of state attempts to ban drag shows and why the actual First Amendment keeps winning over the one that the kinds of people who yell the most about the First Amendment seem to think that they are yelling about. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30216508
info_outline
A Tale of Two Dons in Criminal Court
03/01/2024
A Tale of Two Dons in Criminal Court
Episode 1010 It was the worst of Dons, it was the worst of Dons. Eagles singer Don Henley was not taking it easy in a New York City courtroom this week in his testimony against three memorabilia-collecting desperadoes who had to bring their alibis to face charges of conspiring to sell stolen (?) legal pads filled with Henley's drafts of "Hotel California"-era lyrics. Will the court find that these defendants are hiding their lyin' eyes, or is the Manhattan DA's case against them already gone? New kid in town Matt takes his legal analysis to the limit one more time. We move on to some Trump updates, including the Supreme Court's decision to take his extremely unserious claims of Presidential immunity for all crimes seriously and complications to the defense's effort to disqualify Fani Willis from the Fulton County prosecution. Oh also, Trump doesn't want to pay any money and is complaining to the court on account of "I don't like this." If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30185553
info_outline
T3BE Week 3! Drugs and Hearsay
02/28/2024
T3BE Week 3! Drugs and Hearsay
Thomas Takes the Bar Exam! It's time for the answers to last week's questions, plus two more! If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30147223
info_outline
Project 2025 Is Terrifying
02/26/2024
Project 2025 Is Terrifying
Episode 1009 The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 has been making headlines with its promises to set the next Republican president up with a full staff of loyal civil servants and a 920-page executive branch playbook--but what is actually in this thing, and what can we learn from it? Matt takes us through some disturbing echoes of 1933 Germany, which was a famously chill and cool time, showing us how the legal system has historically been used to turn democracies into autocracies. We learn that laws with the most boring names are often the scariest, and about the administrative violence of a well-timed memo. 1. (2023) 2. (Project 2025 job application) 3. (Nov 10, 1938) If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30107343
info_outline
Embryos Are People, My Friend
02/23/2024
Embryos Are People, My Friend
Episode 1008 Today we are serving up a tasteful pairing of radically destructive activism from one supreme court with a refreshing adherence to basic Constitutional law from another. We start in Alabama, where the state's highest court just found with no any apparent legal, factual, or moral justification whatsoever that a few hundred frozen cells are legally equivalent to a "child"--because God, probably? Unclear! We then review a recent example of the U.S. Supreme Court doing exactly what it is supposed to do: reviewing and unanimously reversing an obvious Constitutional violation, in this case one which put a man who had been acquitted on mental health grounds at risk of the death penalty. 1. Alabama Supreme Court's decision in 2. Ketanji Brown Jackson's decision for a unanimous court in 3. If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30076903
info_outline
T3BE Week 2!
02/22/2024
T3BE Week 2!
Thomas Takes the Bar Exam! It's time for the answers to last week's questions, plus two more! If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at ! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.
/episode/index/show/openargs/id/30062483