What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law

Roman Mars

Professor Elizabeth Joh teaches Intro to Constitutional Law and most of the time this is a pretty straight forward job. But when Trump came into office, everything changed. During the four years of the Trump presidency, Professor Joh would check Twitter five minutes before each class to find out what the 45th President had said and how it jibes with 200 years of the judicial branch interpreting and ruling on the Constitution. Acclaimed podcaster Roman Mars (99% Invisible) was so anxious about all the norms and laws being tested in the Trump era that he asked his neighbor, Elizabeth, to explain what was going on in the world from a Constitutional law perspective. Even after Trump left office, there is still so much for Roman to learn. What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law is a weekly, fun, casual Con Law 101 class that uses the tumultuous activities of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to teach us all about the US Constitution. All music for the show comes from Doomtree, an independent hip-hop collective and record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

  • 36 minutes 18 seconds
    What Is a War?

    The Trump administration’s attacks on Venezuelan boats defy even the broadest interpretation of the president's war powers.


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    28 November 2025, 5:00 pm
  • 32 minutes 43 seconds
    Smoot, Hawley, and Trump

    A Senate fight over Lady Chatterley’s Lover paved the way for Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Now the Supreme Court will decide if presidents can use emergency powers to sidestep Congress on trade.


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    27 September 2025, 3:54 am
  • 33 minutes 24 seconds
    Bad Faith President

    The United States generally does not allow a standing army to be used against civilians. But Trump has been exploiting an exception to keep troops in Los Angeles to protect ICE agents, with terrifying implications.

    Bad Faith President


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    25 July 2025, 5:30 pm
  • 57 minutes 34 seconds
    The Return of Con Law

    We heard you. The chorus of voices asking “where is Con Law? Where is Professor Elizabeth Joh to guide us through this madness? We need it now more than ever!” Well, here it is. We’re back with a special extra-long episode about Trump’s perverted use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport people without due process and how judges are trying to hold the administration accountable to the Constitution.

    Plus, we announce the launch of The 99% Invisible Breakdown: The Constitution, where Elizabeth and Roman will tackle a different section of this 7600-word document each month, treating the Constitution as a text to be analyzed.

    The second half of each Breakdown episode will be an installment of What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law. That portion will continue to be available here, in this feed.


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    10 June 2025, 8:34 pm
  • 34 minutes 8 seconds
    Election Lawsuits

    No matter what happens on Election Day, Trump and his allies have already put legal challenges in motion. Here’s what a nerdy agency, hanging chads, and zombie lawsuits can tell us about how all this could play out.


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    4 November 2024, 6:25 pm
  • 32 minutes 16 seconds
    Enemy Aliens

    Falsely claiming there is a wave of violence perpetrated by migrants, Trump has threatened mass deportations under the broad and terrifying powers of the Alien Enemies Act.


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    29 October 2024, 6:39 pm
  • 32 minutes 38 seconds
    Faithless Electors and Wrong Winners

    The United States has a strange way of electing presidents.


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    8 October 2024, 8:53 pm
  • 31 minutes 58 seconds
    Deepfakes and Lying Liars

    Election deepfakes have the potential to change people's opinions about a presidential election in ways that can be harmful to democracy and the truth itself. But what does the Constitution say about regulating these manipulated images? One place to look: Hustler Magazine.


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    24 September 2024, 4:08 pm
  • 31 minutes 29 seconds
    Whose Speech, Whose Campus

    As students go back to school, colleges and universities across the country are preparing for the continuation of protests against the Israel-Hamas war—and claims by other students that the protests are violating their own civil rights. Institutions and courts are now weighing the question: whose free speech matters more?


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    10 September 2024, 8:43 pm
  • 32 minutes 23 seconds
    Fishy Deep State

    What’s the connection between former President Donald Trump's attacks on the so-called “Deep State" and a tiny silvery fish? The Supreme Court, of course.


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    27 August 2024, 4:17 pm
  • 2 minutes 49 seconds
    Preview: Not Built For This

    We’ve got a preview of a new miniseries for you called Not Built for This, created and hosted by Emmett FitzGerald. It’s a show about climate change, but not in the way you might think. It’s about how the complex systems that govern our lives are not designed for the tectonic changes that are coming our way. Because right now we’re all living in a world that was just Not Built for This

    You can find Not Built for This in the 99% Invisible feed starting August 20th on SiriusXM, Pandora, or wherever you get your podcasts.


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    14 August 2024, 10:26 pm
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