The Lawfare Podcast: Patreon Edition
- Épisodes
- 1 890
- Parution
- quotidienne
- Dernier épisode
- 14 Nov 2026
À propos du podcast
The Lawfare Podcast features discussions with experts, policymakers, and opinion leaders at the nexus of national security, law, and policy. On issues from foreign policy, homeland security, intelligence, and cybersecurity to governance and law, we have doubled down on seriousness at a time when others are running away from it. Visit us at www.lawfaremedia.org.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Épisodes 1 890
Lawfare Archive: Keith Whittington on the Law, Politics, and Purpose of the Impeachment Power
From November 12, 2024: Jack Goldsmith sits down with Keith Whittington, David Boies Professor of Law at Yale Law School, to discuss his new book, “The Impeachment Power: The Law, Politics, and Purpose of an …
Notes de l’épisode
From November 12, 2024: Jack Goldsmith sits down with Keith Whittington, David Boies Professor of Law at Yale Law School, to discuss his new book, “The Impeachment Power: The Law, Politics, and Purpose of an Extraordinary Constitutional Tool.”
They discuss what the Constitution says about the impeachment power, how we should think about high crimes and misdemeanors, why impeachment shows that Congress is the preeminent branch of government, and the goals and values of impeachment. They also discuss the abuse of the impeachment power given current politics and what can be done about it, as well as whether Trump should have been convicted and disqualified in the second impeachment.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rational Security: The “Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue” Edition
This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Benjamin Wittes, Roger Parloff, and Julia Curlee to talk through the week’s big national security news stories, including: “Two Huangs Don’t Make a Right.” …
Notes de l’épisode
This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Benjamin Wittes, Roger Parloff, and Julia Curlee to talk through the week’s big national security news stories, including:
- “Two Huangs Don’t Make a Right.” This past weekend, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a former executive at a Singapore-based Nvidia customer whom U.S. intelligence has reportedly concluded was working for China’s Ministry of State Security—and whose company has been scrutinized for allegedly funneling Nvidia chips to China in violation of U.S. export controls. Nvidia’s board has launched an independent investigation, the FBI is reportedly looking into the matter, and incoming Democratic majorities are promising congressional inquiries. But the scandal is also raising hard questions for the White House, as reporting now indicates that President Trump was warned about the relationship before personally inviting Huang along on his May trip to Beijing—all while Huang was pressing the administration to loosen restrictions on chip sales to China. What does this mean for Nvidia, for U.S. export control policies, and for the AI industry that Nvidia’s chips play an indispensable part in?
- “Massie Destruction.” This week, lame-duck Republican Rep. Thomas Massie forced the House forced a vote on eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of waging an unlawful war in Iran, pursuing extrajudicial killings through the administration’s ongoing boat strikes, and “kidnapping” Nicolás Maduro, among other charges. House Republicans rallied to successfully kill the measure through a procedural vote on Tuesday evening, but both Massie and House Democrats have suggested this might not be the last we see of this effort. Is impeachment the right tool for holding Hegseth—and the administration—accountable? And what does this effort foreshadow for the next Congress?
- “Arch Nemesis.” Last Thursday, the National Capital Planning Commission—chaired by a White House official and stacked with Trump appointees—voted 8-4 to give final approval to President Trump’s 250-foot “triumphal arch,” which is to be located between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery and has been framed as an object central to the military defense of Washington, D.C. But barely an hour later, Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a temporary restraining order blocking construction, finding that D.C. and Virginia—who have both sued to stop the project—are likely to succeed in arguing that it requires congressional authorization under the Commemorative Works Act. Will Trump’s monument to American greatness—or, by his own account, to himself—ever get built? And what does this fight tell us about the limits on the president’s ability to remake the nation’s capital?
In object lessons, Julia pulls out an old lesson on the psychology of military incompetence. Roger takes a stroll through the history of Foggy Bottom. Scott calls out an instant children’s classic that really gets kids cooking. And Ben regrets how he answered the conundrum of whether to walk to Lichtenstein. Plus, stay tuned for a bonus object lesson from producer Noam!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: Aya Ibrahim on Progressive Priorities for the New Democratic Congress
Aya Ibrahim is a rising progressive thought leader and advocate in Democratic national security and economic circles. Aya is currently a Senior Fellow at the AI Now Institute, where she focuses on AI's impacts …
Notes de l’épisode
Aya Ibrahim is a rising progressive thought leader and advocate in Democratic national security and economic circles. Aya is currently a Senior Fellow at the AI Now Institute, where she focuses on AI's impacts on national security. She previously worked in government on Capitol Hill, where she served as Rep. Ayanna Pressley's (D-Mass.) senior economic adviser, and in the Executive Branch. In the Biden Administration, Aya served on the National Economic Council, at the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where she was the lead author of the Administration's "Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights," and on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff.
Aya joins Lawfare Contributing Editor and host of the Security Economics podcast Peter Harrell to talk about a progressive agenda for the next Congress, about AI regulation, and about U.S.-China policy. Aya and Peter also look back at things that the Biden Administration got right—and wrong—about U.S.-China competition, and they close by talking about how to balance security economics with the domestic economy.
This episode is part of the Security Economics podcast series, in which Peter Harrell and guests explore the intersection of economics and national security, how countries manage their economies to support national security, and how they deploy economic tools in support of geopolitical objectives.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: ‘The Russian General Staff’ with Oscar Jonsson
Oscar Jonsson, author of the new book “The Russian General Staff,” and an associate senior lecturer at Swedish Defence University, joins Lawfare Contributing Editor Justin Sherman to discuss the origins and …
Notes de l’épisode
Oscar Jonsson, author of the new book “The Russian General Staff,” and an associate senior lecturer at Swedish Defence University, joins Lawfare Contributing Editor Justin Sherman to discuss the origins and evolution of the Russian General Staff, its role in the early Putin system amid reforms and power consolidation, and the General Staff’s role (or lack thereof) in Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014. They also discuss the General Staff’s nominal command of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU; Russia’s full-scale 2022 war on Ukraine; Russia’s evolving lessons from the war and what the General Staff gets right and wrong about modern warfare; and the future of Russian military thought and planning.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Archive: Congressional Oversight, Post-Trump
From August 18, 2023: Listeners of this podcast are probably familiar with Molly Reynolds’s work on Congress. She’s a Senior Fellow at Brookings and a Senior Editor at Lawfare—and she has a new report out at …
Notes de l’épisode
From August 18, 2023: Listeners of this podcast are probably familiar with Molly Reynolds’s work on Congress. She’s a Senior Fellow at Brookings and a Senior Editor at Lawfare—and she has a new report out at Brookings, with Naomi Maehr, on “How partisan and policy dynamics shape congressional oversight in the post-Trump era.” Molly and her team have collected an enormous amount of data over the years about how Congress conducts oversight, and the report is a thought-provoking overview of what the legislature got up to during the 117th Congress.
Today on the show, Lawfare Senior Editor Quinta Jurecic talked with Molly about her report and what patterns she’s found in oversight from the 116th Congress through today. For fans of the Jan. 6 Committee’s work, they also discussed that committee’s investigation and what it does and doesn’t tell us about congressional investigations going forward.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: Anthropic’s Safety Mission vs. Public-Company Pressure
Kevin Frazier, Director of the AI Innovation and Law Program at the University of Texas School of Law and a senior editor at Lawfare, speaks with Roberto Tallarita, assistant professor at Harvard Law School …
Notes de l’épisode
Kevin Frazier, Director of the AI Innovation and Law Program at the University of Texas School of Law and a senior editor at Lawfare, speaks with Roberto Tallarita, assistant professor at Harvard Law School, about Anthropic's recently filed s-1 and its experiment in corporate governance. They discuss its current status as a public benefit corporation, its decision to create and empower a body of financially disinterested trustees, and its current unique class structure. Drawing on Tallarita’s research on stakeholder governance and unequal voting rights, the two also discuss what would make a commitment to safety precautions durable even when in stark tension with profit.
Tallarita lays out some of his thoughts on what could come next for Anthropic in his recent article “Profit and Mission in Anthropic’s IPO.” Frazier also has recently written an analysis of Anthropic’s post-IPO governance.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Live: Seduction, Intelligence Gathering, and the Allegations Against Nvidia CEO
On Monday, Nov. 9, at 3:30 p.m. ET, in light of explosive allegations about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Lawfare Senior Editors Kate Klonick and Michael Feinberg sat down on Substack Live to discuss the role of …
Notes de l’épisode
On Monday, Nov. 9, at 3:30 p.m. ET, in light of explosive allegations about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Lawfare Senior Editors Kate Klonick and Michael Feinberg sat down on Substack Live to discuss the role of seduction in intelligence gathering and how the public should think about the growing scandal.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, November 6
In a conversation on YouTube, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes will sit down with Senior Editors Molly Roberts, Roger Parloff, Anna Bower, and Eric Columbus to discuss the latest litigation over Trump …
Notes de l’épisode
In a conversation on YouTube, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes will sit down with Senior Editors Molly Roberts, Roger Parloff, Anna Bower, and Eric Columbus to discuss the latest litigation over Trump administration policies. Topics include D.C. and Virginia’s suit to block construction of the triumphal arch, the Ahmed Soliman case, the politicization of the Justice Department, election litigation in California and Alaska, Trump’s defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal, and more.
Find Lawfare’s litigation tracker here.
You can find information on legal challenges to Trump administration actions here. And check out Lawfare’s new homepage on the litigation, new Bluesky account, and new WITOAD merch.
To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Archive: Jed Purdy on Democratic Renewal
From November 17, 2022: American democracy might look healthier in light of last week's midterms, but there's still a lot of skepticism across the political spectrum about how it's doing. From the right …
Notes de l’épisode
From November 17, 2022: American democracy might look healthier in light of last week's midterms, but there's still a lot of skepticism across the political spectrum about how it's doing. From the right, would-be authoritarians cast doubt on elections and on the very idea of liberal democracy. But even those who reject this authoritarian impulse are frequently uncomfortable with the messiness of democratic politics, instead preferring an anti-politics of technocratic decision-making.
Jedediah Purdy, a law professor at Duke Law School, wants to defend democracy from its critics and its skeptics. In his new book, “Two Cheers for Politics: Why Democracy Is Flawed, Frightening—and Our Best Hope,” he argues that democratic renewal is both desirable and, most importantly, possible. Lawfare senior editor Alan Rozenshtein sat down with Jed to talk about the book, get his thoughts about the state of American democracy, and chart the path toward a healthier democratic future.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Archive: Congressional Power and the Confirmation Process, with Mike Stern and Donald Sherman
From November 27, 2024: Molly Reynolds, Senior Fellow at Brookings and Senior Editor at Lawfare, sits down with Mike Stern, a lawyer specializing in congressional legal issues and former Senior Counsel to the …
Notes de l’épisode
From November 27, 2024: Molly Reynolds, Senior Fellow at Brookings and Senior Editor at Lawfare, sits down with Mike Stern, a lawyer specializing in congressional legal issues and former Senior Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, and Donald Sherman, Executive Director and Chief Counsel at CREW, to discuss the Senate confirmation process and expectations for congressional oversight in the 119th Congress. They discuss the tools available to the Senate now and after the start of the new Congress in January, legal questions related to President-elect Trump’s potential plans for recess appointments, and what issues related to congressional oversight to watch next year.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: The President’s Hand in Russia’s Covert Action
In this episode, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes sits down with Lawfare Public Service Fellow Julia Curlee to discuss her new essay, “The Unhidden Hand.” The essay judges Russia’s 2016 election …
Notes de l’épisode
In this episode, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes sits down with Lawfare Public Service Fellow Julia Curlee to discuss her new essay, “The Unhidden Hand.” The essay judges Russia’s 2016 election interference by the standards the intelligence profession uses for covert action.
Covert operations usually pay off early and then fade. They discuss why this one did the opposite: It was exposed before the votes were counted, yet Moscow’s gains have grown over the decade since, largely because of the man Russia helped elect. They also cover the dismantling of U.S. defenses against foreign election interference, the purge of the analysts and investigators who exposed the operation, and what Congress could do to build election defenses that no president can switch off.
For further reading, see:
To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rational Security: The “Riding the Blue Wave Special Election" Edition
This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Managing Editor Tyler McBrien and Senior Editor Eric Columbus; and Contributing Editor and Vice President of Research, Security and Defense at the Chicago …
Notes de l’épisode
This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Managing Editor Tyler McBrien and Senior Editor Eric Columbus; and Contributing Editor and Vice President of Research, Security and Defense at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Ariane Tabatabai to talk through the week’s big international news stories, including:
- “The Subpoena Is Coming From Inside the House.” Democrats scored a historic victory in yesterday’s midterm elections, securing control of both the House and Senate by a healthy (but not filibuster-proof) margin that is widely seen as a direct rebuke of the Trump administration. How will a Democratic agenda impact President Trump’s policy agenda over his last two years in office? Which topics are likely to be the clearest targets of oversight and other measures? And how effective are these measures likely to be in pressuring him to change his tack?
- “Lame Duck and Cover.” The most significant issue in this week’s elections was undoubtedly President Trump’s decision to initiate the Iran War, and the subsequent impact it has had on the global economy. Yet Trump and his advisors have not been shy about their intent to escalate the war with Iran once again after the election, and have arguably already done so through a series of secret strikes that only became public the day of the midterm elections. What limits does a Democratic congress put on Trump’s war-fighting capabilities? And how much further will Trump be able to pursue the war now that he will no longer have a compliant Congress?
- “2028 Days Later.” With the midterms over, the race for 2028 is about to begin in earnest. Does this most recent election give any insight into which national security issues are likely to be a major concern in the next presidential race? And what do the dynamics of the midterms tell us about how those issues will shape – and be shaped by – the primaries and general election to follow?
In object lessons, Tyler recommends the new album, "No Bad Memories," by The Avalanches. Ari is blown away by the set design and acting in the stage play, "Stranger Things: The First Shadow." Scott is listening to the new revival of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, called "Still Counting." And Eric has discovered the classical music streaming service IDAGIO.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: The Midterms and What's Next
For today's podcast, we're bringing you audio from yesterday's livestream event, Lawfare Live: Midterm 2026 Debrief. Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes was joined by Contributing Editor Molly Reynolds; Public …
Notes de l’épisode
For today's podcast, we're bringing you audio from yesterday's livestream event, Lawfare Live: Midterm 2026 Debrief. Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes was joined by Contributing Editor Molly Reynolds; Public Service Fellow Julia Curlee; and Senior Editors Scott R. Anderson, Eric Columbus, Michael Feinberg, and Loren Voss. They discussed how the new composition of Congress will shape many of the key national security issues we've been tracking, including the appropriations process and presidential war powers. They discussed what tools may be available to exercise oversight and pursue accountability. And they discussed what priorities the new Congress should consider to remedy the Trump Administration's damage to the national security apparatus.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: ‘Little Blue Dot’ and GPS in War and the World with Katherine Dunn
Katherine Dunn, author of the new book “Little Blue Dot: How GPS Shaped the Modern World,” and a business reporter and editor based in London, joins Lawfare Contributor Justin Sherman to discuss navigation …
Notes de l’épisode
Katherine Dunn, author of the new book “Little Blue Dot: How GPS Shaped the Modern World,” and a business reporter and editor based in London, joins Lawfare Contributor Justin Sherman to discuss navigation technologies and bombing in World War II, satellites and the Cold War, and the birth and evolution of the U.S. government’s GPS program. They also discuss GPS as a combination of ideas and technologies, how the U.S. defense establishment initially tried to balance tech advancement and security in the GPS capabilities it made public, GPS and navigation in Russia-Ukraine and modern war, and the future of global navigation.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: Why Kyiv Is So Vulnerable to Russian Energy Strikes
In this episode, Lawfare’s Ukraine Fellow Anastasiia Lapatina sits down with with Anton Antonenko, the vice president of a Ukrainian energy think tank, DiXi Group, to discuss the energy infrastructure in Kyiv …
Notes de l’épisode
In this episode, Lawfare’s Ukraine Fellow Anastasiia Lapatina sits down with with Anton Antonenko, the vice president of a Ukrainian energy think tank, DiXi Group, to discuss the energy infrastructure in Kyiv, and why the upcoming winter may be the toughest yet for the Ukrainian capital.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, October 30
In a conversation on YouTube, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes will sit down with Senior Editors Molly Roberts, Roger Parloff, and Eric Columbus to discuss developments in litigation against Trump …
Notes de l’épisode
In a conversation on YouTube, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes will sit down with Senior Editors Molly Roberts, Roger Parloff, and Eric Columbus to discuss developments in litigation against Trump administration’s policies, including former FBI Director James Comey being charged for a third time, a judge ruling that Maureen Comey was unlawfully fired as an assistant U.S. attorney, updates in the Kennedy Center litigation, and more.
You can find information on legal challenges to Trump administration actions here. And check out Lawfare’s new homepage on the litigation, new Bluesky account, and new WITOAD merch.
To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Archive: Natan Sachs on the Latest Israeli Political Crisis
From June 12, 2024: Natan Sachs is the Director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. He joined Lawfare's Editor in Chief, Benjamin Wittes, to discuss the resignation of Israeli war …
Notes de l’épisode
From June 12, 2024: Natan Sachs is the Director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. He joined Lawfare's Editor in Chief, Benjamin Wittes, to discuss the resignation of Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, the fate of Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government, and Israeli perceptions of the Gaza war.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Archive: What Impact did Facebook Have on the 2020 Elections?
From September 11, 2023: How much influence do social media platforms have on American politics and society? It’s a tough question for researchers to answer—not just because it’s so big, but also because …
Notes de l’épisode
From September 11, 2023: How much influence do social media platforms have on American politics and society? It’s a tough question for researchers to answer—not just because it’s so big, but also because platforms rarely if ever provide all the data that would be needed to address the problem.
A new batch of papers released in the journals Science and Nature marks the latest attempt to tackle this question, with access to data provided by Facebook’s parent company Meta. The 2020 Facebook & Instagram Research Election Study, a partnership between Meta researchers and outside academics, studied the platforms’ impact on the 2020 election—and uncovered some nuanced findings, suggesting that these impacts might be less than you’d expect.
Today on Arbiters of Truth, our series on the information ecosystem, Lawfare Senior Editors Alan Rozenshtein and Quinta Jurecic are joined by the project’s co-leaders, Talia Stroud of the University of Texas at Austin and Joshua A. Tucker of NYU. They discussed their findings, what it was like to work with Meta, and whether or not this is a model for independent academic research on platforms going forward.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: Sander Tordoir on Europe's Strategic Choices
Sander Tordoir is the Chief Economist of the Center for European Reform (CEPR) and a prominent European voice in the E.U.'s debate over its economic and technological relationship with China. With European …
Notes de l’épisode
Sander Tordoir is the Chief Economist of the Center for European Reform (CEPR) and a prominent European voice in the E.U.'s debate over its economic and technological relationship with China. With European trade policy toward China shifting over the past two years from integration towards managed trade, Sander joins Lawfare Contributing Editor and host of the Security Economics podcast Peter Harrell to unpack the recent E.U.-China deal involving quotas on hybrid cars and the apparent pause in what Sander refers to as "supply chain warfare."
Sander also explains the new trade instruments the European Union is developing to make itself more nimble in pushing back against Chinese trade issues and whether Europe might one day use those instruments against the U.S. as well. Harrell also answers some of Sander's questions about shifting views of trade in the U.S.
This episode is part of the Security Economics podcast series, in which Peter Harrell and guests explore the intersection of economics and national security, how countries manage their economies to support national security, and how they deploy economic tools in support of geopolitical objectives.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Live: Ex-FBI Agents Charged Over Lying to Congress Hearing Dispatch
Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes sat down with Senior Editors Anna Bower and Roger Parloff to discuss three-day preliminary hearing before magistrate Judge Faruqui in the criminal case of former FBI …
Notes de l’épisode
Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes sat down with Senior Editors Anna Bower and Roger Parloff to discuss three-day preliminary hearing before magistrate Judge Faruqui in the criminal case of former FBI analysts charged with false statements to Congress and obstruction.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rational Security: The “Not So Super Tuesday” Edition
This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Executive Editor Natalie Orpett and Senior Editors Michael Feinberg and Molly Roberts to talk through the week’s big international news stories …
Notes de l’épisode
This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Executive Editor Natalie Orpett and Senior Editors Michael Feinberg and Molly Roberts to talk through the week’s big international news stories, including:
- “Full Metal Ballot.” For more than 160 years, federal law has made it a crime to bring “troops or armed men” to any place where an election is being held. But with President Trump refusing to rule out invoking the Insurrection Act, National Guard troops still on the streets of Washington, and the Justice Department preparing to send roughly 1,000 election monitors to polling sites across the country, many are worried about what voters will encounter on Tuesday. Military leaders say they have no plans to send troops to the polls, and a federal judge just reined in armed Homeland Security agents who had been going door to door questioning suspected noncitizen voters. What does the law actually allow federal personnel to do on Election Day? And what happens if the administration decides to test those limits anyway?
- “Certifiable.” With Election Day less than a week away, the Justice Department has moved from warning about election fraud to actively trying to shape how votes get counted and certified. Last week, in Alaska, the Justice Department—acting on President Trump’s personal orders—sued to block certification of the U.S. Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, citing possible voter confusion caused by a second candidate on the ballot named Daniel J. Sullivan. In California, DOJ has sued to stop officials from counting more than 20,000 mail ballots from voters it claims are “likely noncitizens,” threatened election officials in all 58 counties with prosecution, and even tried to leapfrog the trial judge by running straight to the Ninth Circuit, which promptly sent it back. Attorney General Todd Blanche insists DOJ isn’t trying to overturn anything. So what are these lawsuits really for? And what do they tell us about what the administration may have planned for after Nov. 3?
- “Deepfake in the Heart of Texas.” Russia is back—assuming it ever left. Last week, researchers attributed a pair of AI-generated videos falsely accusing Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of sexual abuse to Storm-1516, a Kremlin-linked influence operation that ran a similar play against Tim Walz in 2024. That same week, the top Democrats on the congressional intelligence committees, Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, said a classified briefing showed Russia targeting Democrats and other supporters of Ukraine, with China and Iran running more targeted efforts of their own. All this comes after the Trump administration dismantled much of the federal apparatus for countering foreign election influence. How worried should we be about foreign meddling in the final days of the midterms? And what happens if the administration itself starts invoking foreign interference to cast doubt on the results?
In object lessons, Molly is keeping cozy with a surprisingly delicious parmesan cabbage soup. Scott is catching up on the historical horror book, "Between Two Fires." And for any The Velvet Underground fans, Michael recommends "Rock*: A Mainstream Alternative History of Alternative Mainstream Music."
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: The Israeli Elections—What Does it All Mean?
For today's podcast, Executive Editor Natalie Orpett is joined by Natan Sachs of the Center for Middle East Policy, Joel Braunold of the Center Project, and Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes to talk about …
Notes de l’épisode
For today's podcast, Executive Editor Natalie Orpett is joined by Natan Sachs of the Center for Middle East Policy, Joel Braunold of the Center Project, and Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes to talk about the Oct. 27 elections in Israel. After record turnout by Israeli voters, especially Arab Israelis, we have an outcome—but the implications are far from clear. They unpack what happened and the questions that remain: Whether longtime Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has a path to staying in power, whether opposition parties can stay unified, and whether there’s any prospect of a governing coalition or if we’re heading toward another round of elections. The future of Israeli politics is still very uncertain. They explain why.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October Minipod: What Can Be Done Now to Secure the 2028 Elections?
On this month’s minipod, Lawfare Associate Editor for Communications Anna Hickey talked to Lawfare Senior Editor and German Marshall Fund Senior Fellow Loren Voss about what actions people can be taking now to …
Notes de l’épisode
On this month’s minipod, Lawfare Associate Editor for Communications Anna Hickey talked to Lawfare Senior Editor and German Marshall Fund Senior Fellow Loren Voss about what actions people can be taking now to ensure the 2028 election is not subverted or interfered with.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: FCC’s Bad Labs Rulemaking with FCC’s Andy Hendrickson and Alice Jou
Andy Hendrickson, the chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET), and Alice Jou, the chief of staff and deputy chief of OET, join Lawfare Contributor Justin Sherman to discuss the process for …
Notes de l’épisode
Andy Hendrickson, the chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET), and Alice Jou, the chief of staff and deputy chief of OET, join Lawfare Contributor Justin Sherman to discuss the process for testing and certifying devices in the United States, the offshoring of that apparatus, and how some countries do not allow foreign bodies to certify equipment sold in their borders. They also discuss the national security risks of certain offshoring or foreign-owned or -based testing and certification bodies, a “Minnesota” lab that was actually based in China, the FCC’s “Bad Labs” rulemaking on the problem, and the future of the supply chain and risk space.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: Escalate to What End? Trump's Plan for the Iran War After the Midterms
Former NSC staffers Cole Bucy and Nate Swanson join Lawfare Contributing Editor and Vice President of Research, Security and Defense at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Ari Tabatabai and Lawfare Public …
Notes de l’épisode
Former NSC staffers Cole Bucy and Nate Swanson join Lawfare Contributing Editor and Vice President of Research, Security and Defense at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Ari Tabatabai and Lawfare Public Service Fellow Julia Curlee to discuss the Iran war eight months in and the administration's likely approach after the midterms.
Cole and Nate's new piece in Foreign Policy, "Trump Unleashed" outlines why the president might escalate against Iran and why none of his options is likely to get him what he wants. Ari and Julia also discuss their piece in Foreign Policy, "How Could Iran Happen? An Autopsy," examining how the president's war on the "Deep State" led to this debacle in the Middle East.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, October 23
In a conversation on YouTube, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes sat down with Senior Editors Loren Voss, Anna Bower, Eric Columbus, Molly Roberts, and Roger Parloff to discuss developments in the …
Notes de l’épisode
In a conversation on YouTube, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes sat down with Senior Editors Loren Voss, Anna Bower, Eric Columbus, Molly Roberts, and Roger Parloff to discuss developments in the litigation over the Trump administration’s plan for the East Potomac Park and Arch, the 9th Circuit ruling that President Trump exceeded his authority in the deployment of the National Guard in L.A., legal challenges to the Trump administration’s various actions surrounding the election, and more.
You can find information on legal challenges to Trump administration actions here. And check out Lawfare’s new homepage on the litigation, new Bluesky account, and new WITOAD merch.
To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Archive: Bribery and the Second Trump Administration with John Keller
From July 11, 2025: John Keller, now a partner at Walden, Macht, Haran, & Williams, channeled his experience as the former chief of the Public Integrity Section at the Department of Justice to talk about …
Notes de l’épisode
From July 11, 2025: John Keller, now a partner at Walden, Macht, Haran, & Williams, channeled his experience as the former chief of the Public Integrity Section at the Department of Justice to talk about bribery with James Pearce, Lawfare Legal Fellow. After explaining the basics of bribery law and whether a current or former president could face a bribery prosecution, Keller analyzed whether three episodes from the first six months of the second Trump administration could plausibly be characterized as bribery: Paramount’s $16 million settlement of Trump’s lawsuit while Paramount awaits federal approval of a merger, law firms agreeing to provide pro bono legal services to causes favored by the administration to rescind or avoid targeted executive orders, and the dismissal of the criminal indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams in exchange for Adams’s agreeing to further the administration’s immigration agenda.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Archive: Ukraine, ATACMS, and Putin’s Nuclear Threats
From November 22, 2024: After more than a year of pleas from Kyiv, the U.S. finally let Ukraine use Western long-range weapons for attacks inside Russia. Lawfare Ukraine Fellow Anastasiia Lapatina sits down …
Notes de l’épisode
From November 22, 2024: After more than a year of pleas from Kyiv, the U.S. finally let Ukraine use Western long-range weapons for attacks inside Russia. Lawfare Ukraine Fellow Anastasiia Lapatina sits down with Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo, to talk about the strategic and tactical effects of such attacks, what’s behind the timing of this decision, and why it took so long for the U.S. to finally change course.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lawfare Daily: What We're Worried About for the Elections
On today's podcast, Executive Editor Natalie K. Orpett talks with Lawfare Senior Editors Molly Roberts and Loren Voss, Contributing Editor Renée DiResta, and Public Service Fellow Julia Curlee about what …
Notes de l’épisode
On today's podcast, Executive Editor Natalie K. Orpett talks with Lawfare Senior Editors Molly Roberts and Loren Voss, Contributing Editor Renée DiResta, and Public Service Fellow Julia Curlee about what they're watching in the run-up to the midterm elections. Each of them is focused on different potential threats to election security and integrity—from what’s being challenged in the courts to what’s happening in the online information ecosystem, from concerns over physical security at the polls to concerns over the health of government institutions. They talk about how they are identifying and evaluating the threats, what impact they might have, and what, if anything, can be done about it.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rational Security: The "Snifting Up to Boston" Edition
This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes; Contributing Editor and Vice President of Research, Security and Defense at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Ariane …
Notes de l’épisode
This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes; Contributing Editor and Vice President of Research, Security and Defense at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Ariane Tabatabai; and Contributing Editor and Managing Director of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace Joel Braunold, to talk through the week’s big international news stories, including:
- “Pick Me, Bibi, One More Time.” Israelis head to the polls next Tuesday, October 27, in an election widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—held just weeks after the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks, which Netanyahu has steadfastly refused to submit to an independent state commission of inquiry. Polls show his Likud trailing former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot’s new Yashar party, with neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition anywhere near the 61 seats needed to govern. Netanyahu has scrambled for a late boost, including by securing a “Complete and Total Endorsement” from President Trump, who suggested that if Israelis choose anyone else, he may not be inclined to “finish the job” against Iran. Is this finally the end of the Netanyahu era? And what would a new government—or a hung Knesset—mean for Israel’s wars and its relationship with Washington?
- “Crude Awakening.” U.S.-Ukraine relations have hit perhaps their lowest point of the second Trump administration. In the aftermath of President Trump’s deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin easing U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel exports, Trump told Ukraine it had “better damn well stop” striking Russian oil refineries and even called on Ukrainians to replace President Volodymyr Zelensky. Kyiv, meanwhile, says U.S. intelligence sharing was briefly cut off and its Starlink access throttled—just as Russia launched some of its largest drone barrages of the war. Ukraine initially respected Trump’s call to pause attacks on Russia’s diesel refineries but, after Russia did not reciprocate, resumed long-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. Now Putin is reportedly floating a summit next month with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to decide Ukraine’s fate—without Zelensky at the table. Is Trump actively switching sides? And can Ukraine sustain its momentum on the battlefield if Washington keeps pulling the rug out from under it?
- “French Toast.” France is reeling after a weekend of some of the worst unrest it has seen in years. What began in mid-September as student protests over overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages has snowballed into a nationwide movement against the rising cost of living, joined by unions, farmers, and veterans of the “Yellow Vest” movement. On Saturday, more than half a million people marched across the country—before the day degenerated into rioting, looting, and arson, with roughly 1,800 people ultimately getting arrested. President Emmanuel Macron has blamed far-left “insurrectionist elements,” while his would-be successors are already trading blame with an eye on next spring’s presidential election – one in which Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally is currently the frontrunner. What’s driving the unrest? And who stands to benefit politically as France heads toward 2027?
In object lessons, Ben issues an enlightened apology to our neighbors to the north. Ari is sailing through her free time with Sleeping Gods. Scott is teaching his kids how to kick it old school in a new way. And Joel, somehow, in a way only Joel can, finds a patriotic message in this age-old battle for devotees and how you spend your weekends.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Voici les 40 derniers épisodes sur 1 890. Les épisodes plus anciens se trouvent dans le flux du podcast.
C’est votre podcast ?
Confirmez-le avec une entrée dans votre flux : vous recevez ici un code, vous l’ajoutez comme podcast:txt dans le canal de votre flux, et nous le vérifions. Votre podcast apparaît ensuite comme « vérifié » sur SoundNode.