Why did an ad urging U.S. troops not to break the law make President Donald Trump so angry that he practically called for Senator Mark Kelly's head? The retired Navy captain can't answer that. Instead, the senator is focused on investigating the controversies that have gripped the military in the past month. Harry and the senator dig into what makes Pete Hegseth such an unfit Defense Secretary, the dangers the potentially illegal U.S. strikes in the Caribbean pose for American service members, and why the fallout looks like it might bring some genuine accountability for the administration.

Mentioned in this episode:

Harry's latest Substack on the boat strikes: ⁠ https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-investigation-not-the-dems-video⁠

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Harry turns to Mimi Rocah, Tara Setmayer, and Jacob Weisberg to delve into the DoJ’s latest humiliations, the furor over strikes in the Caribbean, and Trump’s racist outbursts. What will it take for Attorney General Pam Bondi to give up the case against Letitia James? Did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth oversee a criminal missile attack, in addition to risking troops with his Signal messages? And why are Trump’s immigration crackdown and hate-filled outbursts prompting so little pushback?

Mentioned in this episode: 

Harry's latest column on the boat strikes: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-investigation-not-the-dems-video 

Tara's Tedx Talk:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DUzqIrpHR8

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Harry talks with journalist Jerusalem Demsas about her case for a robust, combative liberalism capable of taking the fight to the current political power structure. Demsas has just launched a new publication—The Argument—dedicated to renewing and improving the kind of politics that helped fostered many of the country's best achievements. Harry asks Demsas about the shape of that revived liberalism, how she plans to persuade MAGA and other skeptics, and why she feels so optimistic in such a difficult time

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Harry talks with a prophet of our moment of democratic decline: Steven Levitsky. The Harvard scholar explains why Trump’s grip on power is both unequaled in a century of American history and, at the same time, deeply fragile. The pair think through why Trump has targeted universities, how the president’s own incompetence has undermined his drive for power, and what role the American people can still play in defending their democracy.

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For his latest periodic deep dive on the Department of Justice, Harry talks to DOJ veterans Paul Fishman and Amy Jeffress as well as reporter Anna Bower to assess an institution that looks to be coming apart at the seams. The panel digs into the political and legal flashpoints facing the Department, including its response to the embarrassing dismissals of the prosecutions against James Comey and Letitia James, the revival of possible contempt sanctions against the department, and the prospect that Pam Bondi may act as Trump’s firewall for the Epstein files. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Anna's reporting:  https://www.lawfaremedia.org/contributors/abower 

Judge Currie's ruling:  https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vaed.583342/gov.uscourts.vaed.583342.140.0_2.pdf 

Harry's Substack on the ruling: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/after-the-shipwreck

Harry's conversation with Emily Bazelon about her reporting on the department:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PDKeMe1mXU&pp=0gcJCRUKAYcqIYzv

Harry's conversation with Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis about their book on the department:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klVToztR8u0

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Three of the most insightful observers of American politics—Jason Kander, Mara Liasson, and Josh Marshall—join Harry to analyze a week in which President Donald Trump was knocked on his heels, and lashed out viciously in response. The panelists talk through the big questions: Will Republicans keep up the pressure for transparency about Jeffrey Epstein? Why have Trump's recent outbursts been so vile even by his standards? Were Democrats aiming to further provoke him when they warned troops against following illegal orders? And, is the weakened president already entering a lame duck period?

Mentioned in this episode: 

Jason’s podcast Majority 54: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-54/id1309354521 

Mara’s reporting: https://www.npr.org/people/1930401/mara-liasson

Josh’s writing: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/author/josh_m

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Journalist and Talking Feds regular Emily Bazelon joins Harry to share her reporting on the stories of the rank-and-file Department of Justice staff who’ve weathered Trump’s takeover. Emily spoke with 60 different attorneys who served in the department, and she tells Harry their stories of a department in ruin. What have the key moments looked like from the inside? How have career attorneys handled the wrenching choice of whether to stay on, or quit and risk replacement by a Trump loyalist? And how hard will it be for any new future to pick up the pieces?

Mentioned in this episode:

Emily's article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/16/magazine/trump-justice-department-staff-attorneys.html

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For Talking Feds’ latest Contrarian episode, Harry speaks with Norm Eisen, Jen Rubin, and Neera Tanden about the reopening, revelations, and reprisals that dominated the week’s news. They break down where the Democrats went wrong in the shutdown fight and whether the cases against James Comey and Letitia James are collapsing. But, of course, with newly released documents exposing some of Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to Donald Trump, the panel takes a hard look at what can be surmised from the cryptic messages. The question on everyone’s minds: what in the world did Epstein mean when he called Trump the dog that hasn’t barked? 

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Harry talks to Marty Lederman, the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General who authored an amicus brief with a legal discovery that has shaken the Administration's attempt to deploy the National Guard to Chicago and other Democrat-led cities. Marty and Harry explain the critical oversight in the administration's reasoning, and they think through what a bruising legal defeat would mean for the effort to put boots on the ground in American cities. It's a possible game changer in a case Harry has called a "moment of truth for the High Court."

Mentioned in this episode: 

Harry's Substack about the stakes of this case: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/moment-of-truth-for-the-high-court

The Supreme Court's request for briefs on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/102925zr_hgci.pdf

Marty Lederman's expanded brief on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A443/384148/20251110232925983_25A443.Lederman.Supplemental.Amicus.Brief.1110.pdf

Illinois and Chicago's expanded brief on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A443/384145/20251110210604383_Illinois%20Supplemental%20Letter%20Brief%20Master%20Final%20To%20File%20PDFA.pdf 

The administration's expanded brief on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A443/384115/20251110170907870_25a443%20Trump%20v.%20Illinois%20-%20Supp.%20Letter%20Br.pdf

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In the aftermath of Tuesday’s sweeping nationwide Democratic wins, Harry calls in a trio of some of the country’s sharpest political thinkers—Emily Bazelon, Dave Weigel, and Rick Wilson—to unpack the meaning of the results. Was the increasingly painful government shutdown a decisive factor? Why are the voters who swung to Trump last year deserting him? And, crucially, how might Democrats keep their momentum going? 

Mentioned in this episode: 

David’s reporting:  https://www.semafor.com/author/david-weigel
Emily’s reporting:  https://www.nytimes.com/by/emily-bazelon#latest
This week’s episode of Slate’s Political Gabfest:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spectacular-night-for-democrats/id158004641?i=1000735632723
Rick’s Substack:  https://therickwilson.substack.com/
Rick’s Talking San Diego appearance:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFN88EW3Znw

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After releasing Harry’s conversation with Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis two days early to sync up with the publication of their new book—Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department—Talking Feds is hosting a special preview of another podcast that’s exploring the consequential issues that impact, and define, American culture: The Alabama Murders, a new series by bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast. Entangled in an affair with a parishioner, a Northwest Alabama minister makes a devastating choice. Rather than face the shame of divorce, he arranges for three men to kill his wife. One of the men convicted in her murder, Kenny Smith, spent decades on death row, only for his execution to go horribly wrong. Eventually, the consequences lead to the center of a hot national debate on who should be allowed to live, who should die, and how the state should kill them. On The Alabama Murders, Malcolm asks: why, in our efforts to alleviate suffering, do we so often make it worse? If you want to hear the full story, find Revisionist History wherever you get podcasts.

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