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Harry Litman

Talking Feds is a roundtable discussion that brings together prominent former government officials, journalists, and special guests for a dynamic and in-depth analysis of the most pressing questions in law and politics.

Talking Feds

A jam-packed discussion following hot on the dramatic news of the raid of John Bolton’s home, the stunning scenes in a militarized D.C., and the latest escalation in the gerrymandering arms race. Talking Feds regulars Jason Kander, Norm Ornstein, and Tara Setmayer join Harry to break down how long Trump can sustain his flagrant campaign of weaponizing law enforcement and politicizing the military—as well as how long the country can endure it.

Mentioned in this episode: 

Jason’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-54/id1309354521 

Norm’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dsrs-words-matter/id1420216970 

The Seneca Project: https://www.senecaproject.us/ 

Jason’s brilliant 2016 ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_S5s16Y1OA 

Harry’s substack about the detention of Texas legislator Nicole Collier: https://substack.com/@harrylitman/p-171582600 

Video of Harry’s interview with J.B. Pritzker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUyF845Wk7k& 
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Bagging Bolton

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has a message for Donald Trump: if you want to mess with my state, “you have to come through me.” In this wide-ranging sit-down, Pritzker reveals to Harry why he thinks the gerrymandering fight, ICE arrests, and troops in D.C. are all a blaring signal to Democrats that they need to finally fight the president on his own terms, no-holds-barred. They also discuss Pritzker's very personal reasons for going into public service, Trump's direct attacks on the governor, and a lot more.

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J.B. Pritzker takes on the Bully-in-Chief

With a totally false picture of crime in D.C. as his pretense, Trump sought to turn the capital into a federal law enforcement enclave over local objections. Michael Podhorzer, Stuart Stevens, & Jacob Weisberg analyze Trump’s move and what it means for the rest of the country. The panel then takes up the gerrymandering wars coming to a rolling boil in Texas & California, before ending with an in-depth discussion of whether some Democrats' new combative style is the right tonic for the party.

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Checkpoint D.C.

Harry talks with E. Jean Carroll about her harrowing but high-spirited new book—”Not My Type”—which is a tour of her exceptional legal victories over Donald Trump. The pair go inside Carroll’s triumphant legal strategy and talk through details from the trials—all brightly illustrated by Carroll’s inspired and colorful turns of phrase. The conversation closes with a dive into a shared fascination with boxing, of all things, and Carroll’s urgent advice for what the rest of us can do to take on Trump.
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E. Jean Carroll’s Knock-Out Punch

It was the week when the Department of Justice fully embraced its new status as the corrupt, ruthless agent for Trump's endless retribution agenda. The president’s lieutenants in the department launched a legal barrage against Trump foes like Barack Obama, Adam Schiff, and New York AG Letitia James. We chronicle the steep descent with 3 DOJ experts: Kristy Greenberg, Perry Stein, and Glenn Thrush. Rough but essential listening. Plus: a special sidebar on the beleaguered Voting Rights Act.

Courtside with Kristy Greenberg: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@CourtsidewithKG/videos⁠ 

Glenn’s reporting: ⁠https://www.nytimes.com/by/glenn-thrush⁠ 

Perry’s reporting: ⁠https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/perry-stein/ ⁠
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Department of Vengeance

Harry talks with top election law expert Marc Elias about the efforts by Trump and Republicans across the country to stack the deck in their favor for the 2026 midterms. They delve into the effort in Texas to gerrymander five new seats for Republicans. They then turn to the Department of Justice's extraordinary effort to acquire information from state and local officials, and the specific dangers it poses. They close with some thoughts about what all of us can do to fight back. It's always timely to check in with Marc Elias, but particularly now with the first signs of danger for the midterms.

Marc's articles at Democracy Docket: 
https://www.democracydocket.com/author/marc_elias/ 

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2026 Election Interference Has Begun

It was another week dominated by the Epstein scandal, which grew ever more murky. A stellar only-on-Talking-Feds roundtable of Alisyn Camerota, Josh Marshall, and Asha Rangappa joins Harry to work through both the law and politics of Trump’s efforts to disentangle himself. The panel then moves on to apparent capitulation to Trump’s shakedown by a series of universities including Harvard, the former poster child for resistance. We close with a quick look at the Alina Habba mess in New Jersey.

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Incriminating—Or Just Skeevy?

Harry and Molly team up once again to swap burning questions about law and politics. The standout topic: Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Harry gives Molly the lowdown about the Justice Department’s bizarre and deeply suspect dealings with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Molly reads Harry the tea leaves on whether masses of young men — and even Fox News mastermind Rupert Murdoch — might be ready to ditch Trump. Lots more besides!

Molly's piece in the Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/opinion/colbert-late-show-cbs-trump.html

Molly's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738849/how-to-lose-your-mother-by-molly-jong-fast/

Molly's podcast:

https://fastpoliticspod.com/ 
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A Molly Mashup on the MAGA Mess

It was the week when the Epstein scandal showed up in earnest and looked as if it would be staying for a while. Susan Glasser, Adam Klasfeld, and Bill Kristol join Harry to break down what is powering it and assess Trump’s various efforts to shake himself free, including dispatching the Deputy AG to Florida to interview Epstein’s co-conspirator, Ghislane Maxwell. But the week also brought key advances in Trump’s totalitarian agenda, with successful shakedowns of prominent civic institutions.
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Justice Blanched

With just 5% of the world’s population, the United States holds nearly 25% of its prisoners. In this one-on-one, NYU Law Professor Rachel Barkow joins Harry to discuss her new book Justice Abandoned, which reveals how a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions helped enable the rise of mass incarceration. From pretrial detention to stop-and-frisk, Barkow explains how the Court’s embrace of “law and order” politics quietly gutted constitutional protections—and how today’s conservative majority could, ironically, be positioned to help reverse course.

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Justice Abandoned: Rachel Barkow on the Supreme Court’s Role in Mass Incarceration

In this special bonus Talking Feds: Women at the Table, three #Sistersinlaw, all clerks to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, come together to describe what Justice Ginsburg really was like as a mentor, judge, spouse, and improbable pop culture hero. Amanda Tyler, Gillian Metzger, and Ginger Anders talk about their lives during their clerkships and paint a multi-dimensional portrait of the woman they knew and revered. They discuss everything from her approach to writing to her love of opera and of course her judicial work.
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Before She was Notorious: Clerking for Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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