Biden’s State of the Union, Post-Bruen Gun Regulations, Pennsylvania Special Elections, Spy Balloon Part 2

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Trey & Ken open the episode with a discussion of Biden’s State of the Union Address. Following that they move to recent federal gun law cases in the wake of the Bruen decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. Following that they consider the importance of the recent Pennsylvania special election putting Democrats in control of the House for the first time in 10 years.  They conclude the episode with a revisiting of the Chinese spy balloon in wake of Thursday’s hearings and the U.S.’s decision to shoot it down.

Trey’s Recommendation
Shrinking (AppleTV+)

Ken’s Recommendation
Austin City Limits (PBS)

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Tyre Nichols & Policing, Bill Barr & John Durham, US & China

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Mike & Jay open the episode with a discussion of the Tyre Nichols killing and what can be done to better hold police accountable and change the culture of policing. Following that they consider whether former Attorney General William Barr acted improperly in the Durham investigation of the FBI’s investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, and US relations with China in light of a new US / Philippines agreement and a Chinese balloon that violated US airspace this week.

Mike’s Recommendation
The Recruit (Netflix)

Jay’s Recommendation
Ice Climbing (as in, actually climbing tall icy stuff – safely, of course)

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Elie Honig on How The Powerful Evade Justice

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Mike talks with former federal prosecutor and CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig about his just released book, Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It.

Topics Mike & Elie Cover Include:
– the tactics powerful people use to avoid prosecution
– the legal strategies of Donald Trump and The Trump Organization
– using cutouts and innuendo to avoid direct responsibility
– how fear of reprisal helps to protect the powerful
– the use and abuse of presidential pardons
– the cases against Donald Trump and the likelihood of convictions

Elie Honig on Twitter

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Google Lawsuit, Tanks to Ukraine, NATO Expansion, Classified Documents

Mike & Jay open the episode with the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Google for allegedly anticompetitive practices. They also discuss the nature of antitrust law, potential changes to search with the emergence of Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, and Paul Pelosi’s interestingly timed sell-off of his Google stock shortly before the DOJ suit was announced and Senator Josh Hawley’s PELOSI Act banning securities trading by members of Congress and their spouses.

Following that, they turn to foreign policy in a discussion of the implication of tanks to Ukraine, the probability of nuclear escalation by Putin, the likelihood of the war ending in 2023, and how large of an obstacle Turkey’s refusal to allow Sweden NATO membership will be to enlarging the alliance.

They close with a look at government document classification and mishandling in the wake of yet another top official – former VP Mike Pence – finding classified documents in his papers.

Jay’s Recommendation
The Revolutionary: Sam Adams. Stacy Schiff

Mike’s Recommendation
Philosophize This! Stephen West

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Dobbs Leak, Debt Ceiling, Ukraine Aid, Biden Documents, House Committees

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Mike & Ken open with a discussion of the investigation into who leaked the Supreme Court’s draft opinion in the Dobbs case. While no leaker was found, Ken thinks the most likely suspect is Virginia Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas.

Next, they turn to the debt ceiling, with Mike arguing that, as always, it will be worked out before the United States defaults on its external debt. Ken doesn’t think so, and predicts a short period of default before hardline House Republicans blink in the face of serious economic consequences.

Following that is a look at the tanks that aren’t going to Ukraine (yet), Mike’s argument that the US should be doing a lot more to aid Ukraine’s war effort (and Ken’s skepticism), the less than pitch perfect White House response to the Biden classified documents investigation, and what the makeup of committees may tell us about how things will go in the 118th Congress.

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The Many Investigations of Joe Biden

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Mike & Jay open with a discussion of what we know so far about President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and how this case compares to former President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents. After that, they consider Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s pledge to remove three prominent Democrats from House committees, the prospects for the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, and the House Oversight Committee’s Biden Family Investigation.

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Trump’s Taxes & The IRS, 2023 Predictions, GOP Lies, Enlarging the House

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In this midweek supporters’ episode, Mike & Jay discuss Donald Trump’s tax returns and IRS authority, our political predictions for 2023, George Santos and the importance of lies in the Republican Party, and the crazy idea of enlarging the House of Representatives.

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Speaker McCarthy, Roberts’ Report, Biden’s Judges

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In this first episode of 2023, Mike & Jay discuss the 15 rounds of voting required to elect Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House, Chief Justice Roberts’ report on the federal judiciary and the MIA Supreme Court leak investigation, and the impact President Biden has had on the judicial branch two years into his term.

Mike’s Recommendation
Year of the Rabbit

Jay’s Recommendation
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic. Alfred Lansing

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Judge Pierre Bergeron on State Courts, Criminal Sentencing, and Trial by Jury

Mike talks with Pierre Bergeron, a judge on Ohio’s 1st District Court of Appeals about judicial elections, state constitutional interpretation & abortion rights, the lack of good sentencing data & why it matters, and Judge Bergeron’s concerns about how few cases result in trials by jury.

Measures for Justice

How a Spreadsheet Could Change the Criminal Justice System. Pierre Bergeron and Michael Donnelly. The Atlantic, December 14, 2020.

The Missing American Jury. Suja Thomas

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Santos’ Lies, 1/6 Report, Trump’s Taxes, FY23 Budget, Zelensky, Immigration

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Mike & Ken discuss the many lies of Rep-elect George Santos, the final report of the House January 6th Committee, whether the House Ways & Means committee should have released Donald Trump’s taxes and IRS audits of high-income taxpayers, important non-budget items in the recently passed federal budget, Ukrainian President Zelensky’s address to a joint session of Congress – minus a majority of House Republicans, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott busing migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ DC residence on Christmas Eve.

Ken’s Recommendation
Needles & Plastic: Flying Nun Records, 1981-1988. Matthew Goody

Mike’s Recommendation
Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason. Justin E. H. Smith

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