Talking Filibuster

It was a week of multiple aftershocks from the January 6 attack, and a fantastic panel – Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Professor Larry Tribe, & Jonathan Alter – joins Harry to break it all down. The committee reached out to Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who called them illegitimate and refused to cooperate. Biden made a strong push for voting rights reform, but was snubbed by Sens. Manchin and Sinema. And DOJ shook up the landscape with a wide-ranging seditious conspiracy indictment.

Harry speaks with Zoe Lofgren, Larry Tribe, and Jonathan Alter.

Happy Anniversary. I Want a Divorce.

On the week marking the anniversary of the 1/6 attack on the Capital and record-breaking rates of viral spread, three stellar commentators join Harry to analyze the cataclysmic events and chart what comes next. David Fahrenthold, Juliette Kayyem, & Norm Ornstein reflect on the implications of the continued persistence of the Big Lie. They discuss if the break-glass point has arrived for filibuster reform. And they discern an important pivot point in the public approach to the virus.

Harry speaks with David Fahrenthold, Juliette Kayyem, and Norm Ornstein.

Democratic Party 2022: Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind

Our final offering of the year is another special episode this time on the prospects for the Democratic Party in 2022. A stellar panel of journalists and Democratic strategists–Stephanie Cutter, Joe Lockhart, and Josh Marshall–join Harry for a sober look at the party’s uphill battle to avoid losing one or more Houses of Congress in the midterms. The stakes are huge, given the Republicans’ apparent surrender to Trump control and the threat to constitutional norms a Republican victory presents.

Harry speaks with Stephanie Cutter, Joe Lockhart, and Josh Marshall.

Republican Party 2022: Party Over?

In the first of our 2 end-of-year special episodes, we look at the 2022 landscape for the Republican Party. A terrific trio of Republican party stalwarts & former officials–Bill Kristol, Michael Steele, & Governor Christie Todd Whitman–give a candid analysis of the grave threat to the Party & the Republic of the ascendant Trump wing of the party. They consider what a principled Republican should do today and the possible path back to normalcy for a Party that is now captured by aberrant forces.

Harry speaks with Bill Kristol, Michael Steele, & Governor Christie Todd Whitman.

A Very Variant Christmas

3 of the country’s most prominent journalists—David Frum, Jon Lemire, and Carol Leonnig—join Harry to break down a banner, and mainly glum, news week. They begin with the dramatic developments from the Jan. 6 committee, including the contempt referral for Mark Meadows. They then take up the medical and psychological challenges of the Omicron variant. Finally, they analyze the dimming prospects in Congress for the Administration’s Build Back Better package and major voting rights legislation.

Harry speaks with David Frum, Jon Lemire, and Carol Leonnig.

Economics 2021: Inflation Frustration

A special episode on the economic state of the union. On the day when the Consumer Price index recorded the highest rate of price inflation in nearly 40 years, a superb panel of economic experts–Atlantic writer Annie Lowrey, Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell, and former Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers–join Harry for a lively, sophisticated, and highly accessible discussion about what is driving the surge and the implications for our daily lives now and in the coming year.

Harry speaks with Annie Lowrey, Catherine Rampell, and Larry Summers.

Supreme Court: Leaving Us No Choice

The Supreme Court argument in the Mississippi abortion case, already shaping up as the biggest of the Term, transformed during oral argument this week into the most important case of a generation, as it became clear that the new conservative majority was poised either to sharply restrict, or flatly overrule, the Court’s landmark abortion jurisprudence. Harry and a panel of top Supreme Court experts analyze the argument and gauge the immense impact on American women and the court’s own standing.

Harry speaks with Dahlia Lithwick, Melissa Murray, and Kate Shaw.

Making Ends Meat: Farmers Get Raw Deal

In this special Thanksgiving episode, Harry is joined by a fantastic panel of experts – Senator Cory Booker, award-winning author Michael Pollan, and sustainable farming activist Leah Penniman – to discuss the country's deeply flawed farming and food production systems. The group breaks down the economic, health, and environmental harms of Big Agriculture; the legislative policies that have allowed them to persist; and the diverse movement working to improve the ways we produce and consume food.

Harry speaks with Cory Booker, Michael Pollen, and Leah Penniman.

Pelosi Talks, Rittenhouse Walks, Meadows Balks

The week ended with a thunderous 1-2 stroke of the passage in the House of the Build Back Better Bill, arguably the most significant piece of legislation in a generation, followed by the announcement of the across-the-board acquittals in the Kyle Rittenhouse case. An all-star panel comprising CNN anchor Laura Jarrett and Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Jamie Raskin join Harry to break down both developments and place them in the broader context of the country’s continuing partisan divide.

Host Harry Litman talks with Laura Jarrett, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Jamie Raskin.

From the White House to the Big House to Rittenhouse

The Bannon indictment is the biggest game-changer in many months in the pursuit of the truth about various aspects of the Trump presidency. “From the White House to the Big House to Rittenhouse" features a stellar panel—Alisyn Camerota, Jen Rubin, & Rick Wilson-- to unpack the broader legal, cultural & political implications of the landmark indictment. We also cover the Rittenhouse trial, which is morphing into a litmus test of partisan divisions on issues of race, gun control, and vigilantism.

Host Harry Litman talks with Alisyn Camerota, Jen Rubin, & Rick Wilson.