Law Talk with Epstein, Yoo & Cooke

Constitutional scholars John Yoo, a Berkeley professor focused on executive power and national security, and Richard Epstein, an NYU law professor known for work in property and constitutional law, preview major Supreme Court battles. They examine climate lawsuits, religious preschools and public funding, AR-15 bans, prison medical care, and the striking case of a pilot’s airplane seized over a six-pack of beer.

Can the government track your car, can the president show reporters the door, and can you blame a chatbot for someone’s crimes? Charles C. W. Cooke, Richard Epstein, and John Yoo tackle Flock surveillance cameras and the Fourth Amendment, the fight over White House press access, and the limits of AI liability—before taking on Meta’s social media settlement and asking when settling a lawsuit became a license to write everyone else’s rules.

Richard Epstein, law professor and legal theorist, and John Yoo, constitutional scholar on executive power, spar over Meta liability, Texas’s law to display the Ten Commandments in schools, massive defamation awards against Donald Trump, and disputes about renovations to the White House ballroom. They probe damages, constitutional limits, originalism, standing, and how courts should police sweeping legal claims.

John Yoo, a law professor focused on executive power, and Richard Epstein, a constitutional scholar championing classical liberal law, spar over presidential authority. They spar about the White House ballroom dispute, birthright citizenship and territorial questions, Fauci invoking the Fifth in Congress, and the scope and limits of presidential pardons. Short, sharp legal debate on separation of powers and standing.

They debate whether a U.S. mayor could try to arrest a foreign leader under an ICC warrant and the legal and political hurdles that would follow. They unpack a new Trump-era tariff theory tied to forced labor and the litigation risks it might face. They revisit a bizarre forfeiture case where a pilot lost his plane over a six-pack of beer. They close with picks for a judicial Mount Rushmore.

Richard Epstein, legal scholar noted for constitutional history and libertarian analysis, and John Yoo, originalist law professor focused on executive power, break down three Supreme Court rulings. They tackle birthright citizenship and originalism, transgender athletes and Title IX plus federalism, and campaign finance limits and the future of party spending. Each topic is discussed in short, sharp exchanges.

John Yoo, law professor specializing in constitutional and national-security law, and Richard Epstein, legal scholar focused on constitutional and libertarian theory, join to analyze recent Supreme Court rulings. They discuss presidential removal power and the future of independent agencies. They examine geofencing warrants and cellphone location privacy. They close with debate over counting mail ballots received after Election Day.

The Supreme Court drops a bombshell voting-rights ruling, Richard Epstein declares the republic is heading for the rocks, John Yoo says everybody needs to calm down because politicians have always behaved terribly, and Charlie Cooke tries to referee the whole thing before the podcast devolves into anarchy. Along the way: racial gerrymandering, constitutional originalism, the mysterious “Republican Form of Government Clause,” whether Trump can legally settle a lawsuit with… himself, and why both parties suddenly love slush funds when they’re the ones holding the hose. It’s a cheerful little conversation about whether America’s political system is fundamentally broken — and whose fault it is.

John Yoo, law professor and national security scholar, and Richard Epstein, constitutional law expert and author on birthright citizenship, spar spar over contentious constitutional topics. They debate birthright citizenship history and Supreme Court arguments. They tackle free speech versus professional regulation in a therapy case. They also dissect laws of war, war crimes, and U.S.-Iran conflict dynamics.

Richard Epstein, a libertarian legal scholar, and John Yoo, a constitutional and national security law professor, debate U.S. action in Iran and the role of imminence in anticipatory self-defense. They dissect a major 2nd Amendment fight over banning firearm possession by drug users. They clash over parental rights, school secrecy, and where constitutional protections for parents come from.