There’s Something Deeply Wrong With Stephen Miller (And There Always Has Been)
Opening Arguments
OA1098/T3BE51 - We conclude our review of Trump’s immigration enforcement team with the man behind Donald Trump’s immigration policies.. Who is Steven Miller, and why? You’ll want to listen to this one even if you think you know who this man is, because it’s all a lot weirder--and, somehow, worse--than you might have ever imagined. Then, it's time for the answer to last week's bar exam question, and Q51! “ (2/20/2020) Check out the OA for all the places to go and things to do! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge...
info_outline
Trump Doubles Down on Immigration Plans In Softball NBC Interview
Opening Arguments
OA1097 - Trump's Staff Infection, Vol. 5 Donald Trump has just reiterated his intentions for mass immigration enforcement in a Sunday Meet the Press interview, and Lydia joins for a closer look at the people who will actually be carrying these policies out. We take a quick introductory look at runner-up Attorney General pick Pam Bondi before Lydia reviews some of Project 2025’s plans and Matt explains the different roles of the DOJ and DHS in the US immigration system. Also, why has the former governor of a lightly-populated state nearly 1000 miles from the Mexican border with nothing...
info_outline
Supreme Court Justices Should Not Be This Good At Playing Dumb
Opening Arguments
OA1096 - The President of the United States has just pardoned a blood relative and it’s--fine, actually. We review the full pardon of Hunter Biden in the greater context of presidential pardons before moving on to our main story: this week’s oral arguments in the trans rights case U.S. v. Skrmetti. The most important and very likely the most consequential case of this Supreme Court term featured the first openly trans lawyer ever to appear before the high court patiently trying to explain to some of our finest legal minds why a Tennessee law denying life-saving healthcare to certain people...
info_outline
Trump's Intelligence Picks - Doozies and Russian Assets
Opening Arguments
OA1095 - Trump's Staff Infection, part 4 plus T3BE50! Lydia Smith joins us once again to take us through another volume of Trump's Staff Infection. This time, we focus on the Intelligence Agencies. Then, it's T3BE50! Submit your answer on or ! Check out the OA for all the places to go and things to do! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
info_outline
Please Stop Spreading Panic About Denaturalization
Opening Arguments
OA1094 - Denaturalization and an executive order revoking birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents have both been in the news a lot recently, and Matt would like everyone to take a breath and do some realistic risk assessment. We review what it actually takes to denaturalize someone under our current system, and what it would take for a majority of even this Supreme Court to say that the Fourteenth Amendment doesn’t say exactly what it says. Agenda 47 (2024) (2018) Check out the OA for all the places to go and things to do! If you’d...
info_outline
Drakesgiving Special
Opening Arguments
OA1093 - In this episode recorded on Thanksgiving Day, two vegetarians carve up the Canadian turkey born Aubrey Drake Graham. Are Drake’s exploratory legal actions against Universal Music in response to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” the weakest move in the history of rap beefs? Matt shares some of his favorite diss tracks before we consider these filings and how Drake thought he could possibly come out of this looking good. We also take a look at Jack Smith’s motion to dismiss both of the federal criminal cases against the 47th President-elect of the United States, and what we...
info_outline
"The Right Way" Part 2
Opening Arguments
OA1092 plus T3BE49 - we continue our conversation with Somali-American author and advocate Abdi Nor Iftin. Then, it's answer time for T3BE question 48, and our new question 49! Play along on BlueSky! Check out the OA for all the places to go and things to do! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
info_outline
What It Really Takes To Immigrate "The Right Way"
Opening Arguments
OA1091 - We are honored to welcome Somali-American author and advocate Abdi Nor Iftin for the first of a 2-part Thanksgiving episode dedicated with gratitude to the incredible efforts that so many naturalized Americans have made to be a part of this country. Abdi has recorded the full story of his life in his book Call Me American, in which he details the long journey from his escape from being forced into service as a child soldier in war-torn Somalia to his years as a refugee in Kenya before winning the U.S. diversity visa lottery and building a thoroughly American life in one of the last...
info_outline
Trump Takes MAGA Senators on Field Trip, Allowing Dems To Confirm More Judges
Opening Arguments
OA1090 - It's an ALL GOOD NEWS EPISODE! It exists, and there is plenty of it. Positive vibes only for today's dose of practical hope. And right when you think it can't get any better, the Footnote Fetish returns! Matt has found yet another bizarre RFK Jr animal-related scandal, this one far from the headlines at the intersection of election and avian law. Also Thomas Takes the Bird Exam! , Cook Political Report ) “” (11/21/24) (11/18/24) “ (11/5/24) Check out the OA for all the places to go and things to do! If you’d like to support the show (and...
info_outline
All the President's... Defense Attorneys
Opening Arguments
OA1089 - Trump's Staff Infection, part 3 plus T3BE48! In this installment of Fashwatch’s continuing review of Trump’s incoming legal team, we take a closer look at what we know about the top spots in his DOJ and some of the other most important lawyers in any Presidential administration: White House counsel, Solicitor General, and the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. 1. “ (8/25/22) Check out the OA for all the places to go and things to do! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at !
info_outlineOA1091 - We are honored to welcome Somali-American author and advocate Abdi Nor Iftin for the first of a 2-part Thanksgiving episode dedicated with gratitude to the incredible efforts that so many naturalized Americans have made to be a part of this country. Abdi has recorded the full story of his life in his book Call Me American, in which he details the long journey from his escape from being forced into service as a child soldier in war-torn Somalia to his years as a refugee in Kenya before winning the U.S. diversity visa lottery and building a thoroughly American life in one of the last states you might expect. In this extended interview we get to know Abdi as he shares his story and his unique perspective on what the current American moment means for him and his community.
-
Call Me American: A Memoir,: Abdi Nor Iftin (2018)
-
“Now is the time to buckle up and fight, not to flee,” Abdi Nor Iftin, The Forecaster (11/19/24)
-
“Abdi and the Golden Ticket,” This American Life (7/3/2015)
Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!
If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!