Podcast
Talking Feds
Hosted by Harry Litman · EN
Talking Feds is a roundtable discussion that brings together prominent former government officials, journalists, and special guests for a dynamic and in-depth analysis of the most pressing questions in law and politics.
123episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Global Aftershocks of Trump’s Blunder in Iran
Apr 3000:33:39Summary readyJake Sullivan helped negotiate the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Now, as he watches Trump try to superglue some version of that deal back together, Sullivan tells Harry the president “has no idea what he is doing because he has no idea quite why he's doing it.” Drawing on his four years of experience as Biden’s national security advisor, Sullivan plumbs the depth of Trump’s strategic catastrophe in Iran and its disastrous consequences everywhere from American gas stations, to the Ukrainian frontline, to the Taiwan strait. Mentioned in this episode: Sullivan's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer/id1850526014 Sullivan and Finer's January opinion piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/opinion/trump-venezuela-force-risk.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryMolly Mashup: ‘Lots of Smoking Guns’
Apr 2700:31:49Summary readyIn their newest mashup, Harry and Molly Jong-Fast swap questions about the scandals swamping Trump’s administration and the chances for real accountability for the culprits. Molly asks Harry what it’ll take to prosecute people like Kristy Noem and how far the Supreme Court might go to rescue Trump in the midterms. Harry fires back with questions about J.D. Vance’s political implosion and what the Democrats need to do to stick the landing in November. Mentioned in this episode: Molly's podcast: https://fastpoliticspod.com/Molly's Substack: https://mollyjongfast.substack.com/ Harry's Substack about the SPLC indictment: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/funding-extremism-please Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryKash Crash
Apr 2400:56:45Summary readyAs scandals shake Trump’s cabinet, Harry sits down with Emily Bazelon, Conor Lamb, and Charlie Sykes to discuss the revelations about Kash Patel, a Democratic redistricting win in Virginia, and the administration’s latest retaliations. Along the way, the trio discuss what it will take to revive the rule of law and whether there’s a path away from endless gerrymandering. They close by digging into the jaw-dropping details from Emily’s reporting about how Trump turned DHS into an agency incompetent at real law enforcement but adept at inflicting suffering. Mentioned in this episode: Harry’s Substack on the SPLC indictment: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/funding-extremism-pleaseEmily’s reporting: https://www.nytimes.com/by/emily-bazelon#latest Charlie’s Substack: https://charliesykes.substack.com/ Emily's DHS article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/14/magazine/trump-dhs-ice-officers-immigration-deportations.html Emily’s conversation with Harry about her oral history of the DOJ under Trump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PDKeMe1mXU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryJersey’s New Governor Knows How to Take On a Don
Apr 2300:32:09Summary readyNearly 100 days into her tenure, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill thinks she’s cracked the code for handling Trump. She tells Harry how she’s used the president’s negotiating tactics against him, why she’s putting in place some of the nation’s most ambitious bulwarks against ICE abuses, and how she ended up in a high-stakes battle with another venal, unpopular entity: FIFA. Plus, Governor Sherrill delivers her thoughts as a former federal prosecutor on the legal wreckage left by ousted U.S. attorney and Trump crony Alina Habba. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryTrump's "Absolute Fiasco"
Apr 2000:58:36Summary readyIn our latest Contrarian episode, Norm Eisen, Norm Ornstein, and Jen Rubin join Harry to assess new flashpoints in Trump's nonstop quest to escape accountability and his hasty efforts to claw free of his war in the Middle East. The group takes stock of Trump's stumbling attempts to find a deal with Iran, which seem likely to leave the U.S. weakened and isolated. The panel also weighs the bombshell state charges against an ICE agent and the odds that Trump could name two new Supreme Court justices before year's end. Mentioned in this episode: The Contrarian: https://contrarian.substack.com/ Norm Ornstein's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dsrs-words-matter/id1420216970 The Robert Kagan article about America's changing place in the world: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/03/trump-national-security-greenland-spheres-of-interest/685673/ The profile of Justice Alito: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/samuel-alito-supreme-court-conservative/686756/ Norm Ornstein's kakistocracy article: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/american-kakistocracy/542391/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryThe 'No Kings' Plan to Make Trump the Next Orbán
Apr 1600:43:26Summary readyHarry talks with Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, the principal force behind the massive and wildly successful No Kings protests. They fill Harry in on the politics and mechanics of building one of the biggest popular mobilizations in American history, and how to harness the popular forces in a concrete way to defeat Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryCarte Blanche and an Inside Strait
Apr 1300:59:59Summary readyWith Trump's two-week ceasefire hanging in the balance, Harry turns to Kristy Greenberg, Jason Kander, and Jasmine Wright to make sense of a week of reversals and u-turns for Donald Trump. What are the new revelations about how Trump decided to strike Iran? And if the status quo stands, will the U.S. have lost its war of choice? Can new Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche do any better than Pam Bondi at sating Trump's appetite for retribution? And what do another pair of Democratic overperformances in off-cycle elections augur for November? Mentioned in this episode: Courtside with Kristy Greenberg: https://www.youtube.com/@CourtsidewithKG Jason's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-54/id1309354521 Jasmine's reporting: https://www.notus.org/jasmine-wright New York Times reporting on Trump's decision to go to war with Iran: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/us/politics/trump-iran-war.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryBondi to Blanche and Bad to Worse
Apr 900:38:56Summary readyMimi Rocah, a veteran federal prosecutor and former colleague of Acting AG Todd Blanche, joins Harry to assess Pam Bondi's legacy at the Department of Justice and what lies ahead for the department now that she's gone. Rocah fills Harry in on Todd Blanche's total transformation into a pro-Trump ideologue—one as devoted, but more canny and probably more dangerous than his predecessor. And Mimi gives Harry some insights from her forthcoming book—Justice Under Siege—about Trump's complete takeover of the DOJ. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryBondi, Bombs, and Birthright
Apr 600:55:26Summary readyAttorney General Pam Bondi is out. Harry talks with all-star journalists Aaron Blake, Liz Landers, and Scott MacFarlane to break down why Trump rewarded Bondi's obsessive loyalty with an abrupt and humiliating firing. Next, the panel tries to make sense of Trump's primetime address about his increasingly opaque goals in the month-old war with Iran. Finally, the group analyzes the arguments in the birthright citizenship case and considers whether Trump has already notched a partial victory, regardless of the final verdict. Mentioned in this episode: Harry's Substack about Bondi's firing: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/out-of-touch-out-of-trust-out-of Harry's Substack about the birthright citizenship case: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-birthright-citizenship-order Aaron's analysis: https://www.cnn.com/profiles/aaron-blake Liz's reporting: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/liz-landers Scott's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ScottMacFarlaneNews Scott's Substack: https://macfarlanenews.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SummaryWill SCOTUS Blow Up Mail-In Voting?
Apr 200:35:14Summary readyHarry mines Marc Elias's unrivaled expertise in election law to dig into the alarming contents of the SAVE Act, the Supreme Court's possible lurch to ban mail-in voting, and the progress of the DOJ's efforts to seize personal information about as many voters as possible. Mentioned in this episode: Democracy Docket: democracydocket.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Summary