

Talking Feds
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 11, 2022 • 57min
Cooperation and Covert Operations
Aided by guests with rich national security expertise, we take two deep dives down to where the currents roil in the 1/6 investigations and the War of Russian Aggression. Frank Figliuzzi, Norm Ornstein, and Asha Rangappa join Harry to analyze the 1/6 committee’s contempt referrals, the testimony of Ivanka and Jared, and the coordination with the DOJ’s investigation. They then turn to the war and the likely newfangled efforts ongoing in the subterranean “gray zone” away from the fields of combat.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Apr 4, 2022 • 57min
Current Events: Turning of the Tides?
It was a week of possible headway on many fronts: at home, in DOJ, which has broadened its investigation of the events leading to 1/6; the 1/6 Committee, which held 2 witnesses in contempt; the federal courts, which determined that Trump more probably than not had committed a crime. And in Ukraine, where fledging peace negotiations were underway. A fantastic panel — Sen. Mike Bennet, Amy Jeffress, and Carol Leonnig — joins Harry to chart the tides and set them all in the proper political context.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mar 28, 2022 • 55min
Critical Republican Theory
After 18 hours of grueling testimony, Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson appeared headed for narrow confirmation, but the week put on vivid display the degraded state of the confirmation process. Sen Al Franken, Aaron Blake, and Alexi McCammond join Harry to take apart the hearings and segue to states’ passage of voting rights restrictions and severe anti-abortion laws even before the Court’s expected abortion ruling. They end with analysis of the main stress points shaping up for the midterms.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mar 21, 2022 • 52min
Mr. Zelensky Goes to Washington
In an eventful week featuring an address to Congress by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the passage of a 1.5 trillion spending bill, Harry is joined by three of the country’s most prominent congressional reporters — CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash, Jon Lemire of Politico, and Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post — to assess the week of war and its portents and evaluate its impact on domestic politics. The group also discusses the upcoming confirmation hearing for Judge Jackson.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mar 14, 2022 • 57min
(Economic) Life During Wartime
This week we take a close look through an economic prism at the war and its effects in Russia and worldwide, joined by a terrific group of economic and political experts – Congressman Ro Khanna, Professor Justin Wolfers, and MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle. The group evaluates the efficacy of the sanctions, and whether any sanctions regime can upend Putin. Moving to the United States, the group discusses the overall state of the economy, focusing on inflation, which last week hit a 40-year high.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mar 10, 2022 • 21min
Taking Civil Rights Seriously
This week marks one year in office for Attorney General Merrick Garland. Harry sat down with Vanita Gupta, the third-ranking official in the Department, who has supervisory responsibility over a wide range of litigating divisions and grantmaking components. Gupta described how Garland’s priority for protecting civil rights – one of the Department’s 3 chief priorities under Garland – informs the Department’s work across a range of settings well beyond the core civil rights enforcement function.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mar 7, 2022 • 56min
Darkest Hour 2: Midnight in Kyiv
It was one of those rare weeks when events bring into outline the contours of a new order. The world looks altered after 10 days of brutal—and ferociously resisted—Russian aggression on Ukraine. A fantastic group of guests with deep knowledge of the domestic and international fronts–Erin Burnett (who reported from Ukraine as the war began), Rick Wilson, & Congressman Eric Swalwell –join Harry to take on the bigger and richer questions involving the war and its implications for politics at home.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Feb 28, 2022 • 57min
Rule of Law, Rule of Outlaws
After a week of near-constant breaking news, Harry is joined by Michael Schmidt, Katie Benner, and David Jolly to analyze the events unfolding on the domestic and global stages. They discuss the implications of Vladimir Putin’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine and the American response, Biden’s official nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and various developments in the investigations into Donald Trump’s business practices and possible role in the 1/6 insurrection.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Feb 21, 2022 • 1h 3min
Facts, Feints, and the Fifth
A week of drama and uncertainty, as Russian troops amassed on the Ukrainian border threatening—or feinting--imminent invasion; Congress and prosecutors brought forth more damaging information about Donald Trump, who was ordered at week’s end to sit for a deposition in a civil fraud inquiry by the New York AG; and Democrats possibly took an edge in the redistricting maps. Laura Coates, Josh Marshall, & Rep. Ted Lieu join Harry to break it all down and discuss which way the winds are blowing.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Feb 14, 2022 • 54min
DOJ: Inside the Insurrection Investigation
In our periodic return to our roots, Talking Feds checks in the Department of Justice for a close look at public developments and a scrutiny from the most experienced DOJ veterans of what lies behind them. New York Times DOJ reporter Katie Benner, & Paul Fishman & Andrew Weissman, both richly experienced in all levels of the DOJ, join Harry to work through what’s going on inside DOJ with the 1/6 investigation and Merrick Garland’s probable thinking, and what lies ahead for DOJ and the country.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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