Best Democracy Docket Podcasts (2025)

1
Lawfare Daily: The Crisis in Kashmir 34:14

2h ago34:14

34:14

For today's episode, Lawfare Foreign Policy Editor Daniel Byman interviewed Tanvi Madan, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, to discuss the April 22 terrorist attack in Kashmir. Madan explains how the crisis has evolved, the escalation options available to India, and the limited influence of the United States, China, and other powers to c…

1
Rational Security: The “Keeping It 100” Edition 1:12:48

19h ago1:12:48

1:12:48

This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Molly Reynolds and James Pearce to talk through the week’s big national security news, including: “Rounding the ‘Feels Like It’s Been a Century’ Mark.” As President Trump comes to the end of his second first 100 days in office, he and his supporters are laying claim to FDR’s mantle as the presid…

1
Lawfare Daily: Andrew Bakaj on Whistleblowing and DOGE’s Activities at the NLRB 34:07

1d ago34:07

34:07

Andrew Bakaj, Chief Legal Counsel at Whistleblower Aid, joins Kevin Frazier, AI Innovation and Law Fellow at Texas Law and Contributing Editor at Lawfare, to discuss a declaration by a National Labor Relations Board employee Daniel Berulis that DOGE facilitated the exfiltration of potentially sensitive information to external sources. The two also …

1
Lawfare Daily: The President, Congress, and the Power of the Purse 48:25

2d ago48:25

48:25

In today’s episode, Molly Reynolds, Senior Fellow at Brookings and Senior Editor at Lawfare, sits down with Matt Lawrence, Associate Professor of Law at Emory; Eloise Pasachoff, Professor of Law at Georgetown; and Zach Price, Professor of Law at UC Law San Francisco to discuss a new paper on “Appropriations Presidentialism,” or how the executive br…

1
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, April 25 1:34:17

3d ago1:34:17

1:34:17

In a live conversation on April 25, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes sat down with Lawfare Senior Editors Anna Bower, Scott Anderson, and Roger Parloff, Lawfare Legal Fellow James Pearce, and Lawfare Contributor Preston Marquis to discuss the status of the civil litigation against President Trump’s executive actions, including the arrest of …

1
Lawfare Archive: The Legislative Dog That Hasn’t Barked 48:01

4d ago48:01

48:01

From April 11, 2022: The period after Watergate and President Nixon's resignation saw an unprecedented barrage of congressional efforts at reforming the executive branch. The period after Donald Trump's departure from office has seen no comparable spree of legislative action—at least not yet. In a recent Lawfare article, Quinta Jurecic and Andrew K…

1
Lawfare Archive: The Spymasters with Chris Whipple 52:02

5d ago52:02

52:02

From September 16, 2020: What is the proper relationship between the CIA director and the president? How should directors handle arguably illegal orders? How important is the director's role as the nation's honest broker of information during times of crisis? To get at these questions, David Priess sat down with Chris Whipple, a documentary filmmak…

1
Lawfare Daily: Cybersecurity Challenges and Opportunities 32:03

6d ago32:03

32:03

For today's episode, Lawfare Foreign Policy Editor Daniel Byman interviewed Michael Sulmeyer, who was the top Defense official for all aspects of cyber policy in the Biden administration. Sulmeyer discusses the cyber threat landscape, different roles and missions, how Artificial Intelligence might be leveraged, and the key role of allies in cyberde…

1
Lawfare Daily: Ideological Exclusions and Deportations with Julia Rose Kraut 52:40

7d ago52:40

52:40

On today’s episode, Julia Rose Kraut, author of the book “Threat of Dissent: A History of Ideological Exclusion and Deportation in the United States,” joins Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien to talk about that book, originally published in 2020, and how it can help us make sense of the Trump administration’s recent immigration and deportation p…

1
Rational Security: “The More You DOGE” Edition 1:22:19

8d ago1:22:19

1:22:19

This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Anna Bower, Tyler McBrien, and Kevin Frazier to talk through the week’s big national security news, including: “Aliens vs. Predators.” Despite forceful legal pushback—including by the U.S. Supreme Court—the Trump administration is working hard to continue its campaign to remove foreign aliens it…

1
Lawfare Daily: Mikhail Zygar on Putin, the Russia-Ukraine War, and Press Freedom 50:18

8d ago50:18

50:18

On today's episode, Mikhail Zygar, a renowned Russian journalist living in exile in the U.S., the author of multiple books on Vladimir Putin, and the author of The Last Pioneer substack, joined Lawfare Associate Editor Olivia Manes to discuss his experience as the founder of one of the last independent Russian media channels, TV Rain. They talked a…

1
Lawfare Daily: Chris Hughes on His New Book, ‘Marketcrafters’ 41:44

9d ago41:44

41:44

Chris Hughes, author of “Marketcrafters” and co-founder of the Economic Security Project, joins Kevin Frazier, AI Innovation and Law Fellow at Texas Law and Contributing Editor at Lawfare, to discuss his book and its implications at a time of immense economic uncertainty and political upheaval. The duo explore several important historical case stud…

1
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, April 18 1:34:29

10d ago1:34:29

1:34:29

On April 18 at 4 pm ET, Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes sits down with Lawfare Senior Editors Anna Bower, Quinta Jurecic, and Roger Parloff and Lawfare Legal Fellow James Pearce to discuss the status of the civil litigation against President Trump’s executive actions, including Judge Boasberg's finding of probable cause for contempt in the …

1
Lawfare Archive: 'The President Who Would Not Be King' 55:06

11d ago55:06

55:06

From January 26, 2021: Jack Goldsmith sat down with Michael McConnell, the Richard and Frances Mallery Professor and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author of the new book, "The President Who Would Not Be King: Executive Power Under the Constitution." They discussed…

1
Lawfare Archive: The Israeli Judicial System on the Brink 52:40

12d ago52:40

52:40

From March 6, 2023: Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shany are both Israeli legal scholars and longtime Lawfare contributors. Shany is a professor of international law at the Hebrew University Law School in Jerusalem. Cohen is a professor at Ono Academic College. They are both scholars at the Israel Democracy Institute, and together they are also co-authors…

1
Lawfare Daily: Trump's Attack on Law Firms 50:01

13d ago50:01

50:01

In recent weeks, President Trump has embarked on a campaign of extortion against law firms, pushing major firms to either reach agreements with the White House or face executive orders in retribution. A number of major firms have chosen to negotiate—agreeing to deals that are already under pressure as the White House seeks to extract more. Four fir…

1
Lawfare Daily: Roger Parloff and Anna Bower Talk Abrego Garcia 43:05

14d ago43:05

43:05

On April 15, Judge Paula Xinis held a hearing in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man deported by accident to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Lawfare Senior Editors Roger Parloff and Anna Bower covered the hearing live and debriefed on it with Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes immediately afterwards. To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawf…

1
Lawfare Daily: Mexican Cartels and American Guns 47:22

15d ago47:22

47:22

The Supreme Court recently held oral arguments in the case of Mexico v. Smith & Wesson, a groundbreaking case brought by the government of Mexico that seeks to hold U.S. gun manufacturers accountable for cartels' use of American weapons to perpetrate violence in Mexico. On today's episode, Executive Editor Natalie Orpett talked with Jonathan Lowy, …

1
Lawfare Daily: Daniel Kokotajlo and Eli Lifland on Their AI 2027 Report 37:41

16d ago37:41

37:41

Daniel Kokotajlo, former OpenAI researcher and Executive Director of the AI Futures Project, and Eli Lifland, a researcher with the AI Futures Project, join Kevin Frazier, AI Innovation and Law Fellow at Texas Law and Contributing Editor at Lawfare, to discuss what AI may look like in 2027. The trio explore a report co-authored by Daniel that dives…

1
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, April 11 1:29:55

17d ago1:29:55

1:29:55

In a live conversation on April 11, Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes sat down with Lawfare Senior Editors Anna Bower, Quinta Jurecic, and Roger Parloff, Lawfare Legal Fellow James Pearce, and Lawfare contributor James Pearce to discuss the status of the civil litigation against President Trump’s executive actions, including the April 11 hear…

1
Lawfare Archive: The Shadow Docket 1:07:55

18d ago1:07:55

1:07:55

From May 16, 2023: In recent years, the Supreme Court's non-merits “shadow docket” has become a topic of contestation and controversy, especially the Court's emergency orders rulings on issues ranging from immigration to abortion to Covid-19 restrictions. To discuss these issues, Jack Goldsmith sat down with Stephen Vladeck, the Charles Alan Wright…

1
Lawfare Archive: The Hidden Alliance Between Tech and Government 38:52

19d ago38:52

38:52

From March 8, 2024: The practice of surveillance capitalism—the widespread private collection and commodification of personal data—is well understood. Less well understood is the extent to which the U.S. government purchases this data in the commercial marketplace to use it for intelligence and law enforcement purposes. Byron Tau, when he was a rep…

1
Lawfare Daily: The Golden Dome Missile Defense Program 28:34

20d ago28:34

28:34

For today's episode, Lawfare Foreign Policy Editor Daniel Byman interviewed Tom Karako, the Director of the Missile Defense Program at CSIS, to discuss the Trump administration's missile defense proposals known as "Golden Dome." Karako explains the purpose of Golden Dome, its feasibility and cost, the likely reactions of China and Russia, and what …

1
Rational Security: The "Humphrey's Executor's Executor" Edition 1:17:19

21d ago1:17:19

1:17:19

This week, Scott sat down with co-hosts emeritus Benjamin Wittes, Quinta Jurecic and Lawfare's new senior legal fellow James Pearce to talk through the week's biggest national security news stories, including: “Midnight Planes Going Anywhere.” The Supreme Court has weighed in on the Trump administration’s decision to quickly fly dozens of Venezuela…

1
Lawfare Daily: What French Politics Means for Europe and the United States 59:22

21d ago59:22

59:22

On today's episode, Executive Editor Natalie Orpett spoke with Tara Varma, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, about the latest in French politics. On March 31, far-right leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement and banned from politics, though polling showed her in the lead for the 2027 presidential elections. In the last few weeks, c…

1
Lawfare Daily: Climate Security During the Trump Administration 30:31

22d ago30:31

30:31

Lawfare Associate Editor for Communications Anna Hickey spoke to Director of the Center for Climate Security Erin Sikorsky about the omission of climate change from the Annual Threat Assessment, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s testimony in front of Congress, and the national security risks of climate change. Read Sikorsky’s articl…

1
Lawfare Daily: Trump’s New Global Tariffs and the Court Fights to Come, with Peter Harrell and Jennifer Hillman 1:02:49

23d ago1:02:49

1:02:49

For today’s episode, Lawfare General Counsel and Senior Editor Scott R. Anderson sat down with Lawfare Contributing Editor Peter Harrell, who was previously Senior Director for International Economics on the National Security Council, and Professor Jennifer Hillman of the Georgetown University Law Center, a former member of the WTO’s appellate body…

1
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, April 6 1:25:13

24d ago1:25:13

1:25:13

In a live conversation on April 4, Lawfare Senior Editor Scott R. Anderson sat down with Lawfare Senior Editors Anna Bower and Roger Parloff, Lawfare Legal Fellow James Pearce, and Georgetown professor Steve Vladeck to discuss the status of the civil litigation against President Trump’s executive actions, including the deportation of individuals to…

1
Lawfare Archive: Government Use of Open-Source Information 56:22

25d ago56:22

56:22

From January 26, 2024: In front of a live audience at the Knight Foundation's INFORMED conference in Miami, Florida, Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes spoke with Hon. Kenneth L. Wainstein, Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security; Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Insti…

1
Lawfare Archive: Weaponizing the Dollar with Saleha Mohsin 54:04

26d ago54:04

54:04

From March 20, 2024: Since World War II, the United States and its currency, the dollar, have come to play a central role in the broader global economy. And in recent decades, policymakers have used this role as a weapon, cutting off access to malign actors and punishing those who act contrary to U.S. national security interests. But cultivating su…

1
The GOP is Full of "Cowards" and "Crazies" | Sen. Andy Kim 34:33

27d ago34:33

34:33

New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim hosted a series of town halls in Republican congressional districts after the local representatives refused to do so. Sen. Kim joins Marc Elias to discuss what he heard from voters at these events, his co-Senator Cory Booker's historic speech and why he believes the GOP is no longer a political party. -Sign up for our free …

1
Lawfare Daily: Hillary Hartley and David Eaves on 18F, Its Origin, Legacy, and Lesson 42:10

27d ago42:10

42:10

Hillary Hartley, the former Chief Digital Officer of Ontario and former Co-Founder and Deputy Executive Director at 18F, and David Eaves, Associate Professor of Digital Government and Co-Deputy Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London, join Kevin Frazier, AI Innovation and Law Fellow at Texas Law and …

1
Lawfare Daily: Escalation, Episode One: Chicken Kyiv 38:36

28d ago38:36

38:36

For today’s episode, we’re bringing you the opening episode of our podcast Escalation. Escalation is a multi-part narrative podcast hosted by Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien and Ukraine Fellow Anastasiia Lapatina. Escalation lays bare the stakes of the Russo-Ukrainian War through powerful storytelling and compelling voices. It reveals forgott…

1
Rational Security: The “Space Base Oddity” Edition 1:14:40

29d ago1:14:40

1:14:40

This week, Scott joined his Lawfare colleagues Natalie Orpett and Eric Ciaramella to talk through the week’s big national security news, including: “In Mother Russia, Sometimes Bear Poke You.” Discussions over a possible broader ceasefire in Ukraine—beyond the temporary (and limited) energy and Black Sea ceasefire agreements last week—appear to hav…

1
Lawfare Daily: Why Public Health is Critical to National Security 55:47

29d ago55:47

55:47

Atul Gawande is a surgeon and a public health expert. He's also the former head of global health at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), an agency that the Trump administration has prioritized for dismantling since its first day in office. On today's episode, Executive Editor Natalie Orpett sat down with Gawande to discuss what US…

1
Lawfare Daily: Adam Thierer on the AI Regulatory Landscape 38:03

1M ago38:03

38:03

Adam Thierer, Senior Fellow for the Technology & Innovation team at R Street, joins Kevin Frazier, the AI Innovation and Law Fellow at the UT Austin School of Law and a Contributing Editor at Lawfare, to review public comments submitted in response to the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Request for Information on the AI Action Plan. The p…

1
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, March 28 1:29:56

1M ago1:29:56

1:29:56

On March 28, Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes will sit down with Lawfare Senior Editors Scott Anderson, Anna Bower, and Roger Parloff, Lawfare Contributing Editor James Pearce, and former ACLU National Legal Director David Cole to discuss the status of the civil litigation against President Trump’s executive actions, including the deportatio…

1
Lawfare Archive: War Powers and the Latest U.S. Intervention in Yemen with Brian Finucane, Jack Goldsmith, and Matt Gluck 1:04:43

1M ago1:04:43

1:04:43

From January 30, 2024: U.S. military operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen have escalated rapidly in recent weeks, culminating in a number of major strikes aimed at degrading their ability to threaten Red Sea shipping traffic. But the war powers reports the Biden administration has provided to Congress are raising questions about how it is lega…

1
Lawfare Archive: 'National Security, Leaks and Freedom of the Press' 52:41

1M ago52:41

52:41

From April 22, 2021: Jack Goldsmith sat down with Lee Bollinger, the president of Columbia University, and Geoffrey Stone, the Edward H. Levy Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago Law School, to discuss their new book, "National Security, Leaks and Freedom of the Press: The Pentagon Papers Fifty Years On." They discussed the …

1
Lawfare Daily: Israel: Divided at Home and at War Yet Again 38:49

1M ago38:49

38:49

For today's episode, Lawfare Foreign Policy Editor Daniel Byman interviewed Natan Sachs, the Director of the Middle East Program of the Brookings Institution, to discuss Israel's turbulent domestic situation and the renewal of the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Sachs explains Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political tactics, the controversies …

1
Rational Security: The "New Phone, Houthis?" Edition 1:32:37

1M ago1:32:37

1:32:37

This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Benjamin Wittes and Roger Parloff to talk through the week of the most Rational Security-esque of national security news stories ever, including: “Oopsec.” In a strong contender for the most ridiculous national security story of the year, senior Trump administration officials appear to have plan…

1
Lawfare Daily: Attack Plans Shared on Signal Released by The Atlantic 45:12

1M ago45:12

45:12

In a live recording on March 26, Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes spoke to Shane Harris of The Atlantic to discuss the decision to release the text messages sent by Trump administration officials in the Houthi PC Small Group Signal group chat which accidentally included The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, testimony given in Congre…

1
Lawfare Daily: Shane Harris Talks ‘Houthi PC Small Group’ 39:37

1M ago39:37

39:37

Shane Harris of The Atlantic joins Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes to talk about war planning on Signal, the Trump administration’s remarkable security lapse, and the testimony of the country’s intelligence chiefs that came in its wake. To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also…

1
Lawfare Daily: Tom Kent on the Dismantling of American Government Broadcasting 41:36

1M ago41:36

41:36

Tom Kent ran Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is a longtime Russia watcher. He talks to Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes about President Trump’s executive order dismantling Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by ma…

1
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, March 21 1:28:55

1M ago1:28:55

1:28:55

On March 21, Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes sits down with Lawfare Senior Editors Anna Bower, Quinta Jurecic, and Roger Parloff to discuss the status of the civil litigation against President Trump’s executive actions, including DOGE’s incursions on the U.S. Institute of Peace, the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, and the firing of pro…

1
Lawfare Archive: Charles Dunst on Defeating the Dictators 56:23

1M ago56:23

56:23

From March 21, 2023: By many accounts, the United States is living through a new era of competition—not just between major powers and strategic rivals, but between ideologies. Around the world, many authoritarian governments seem to be on the rise, even as many liberal democracies are facing a crisis of confidence, including, by some accounts, here…

1
Lawfare Archive: El Salvador’s President Cracks Down on Gangs—and Democracy 1:05:43

1M ago1:05:43

1:05:43

From May 9, 2023: Since March 2022, El Salvador has been under a state of exception as its President Nayib Bukele seeks to crack down on the country’s powerful gangs. Bukele, who once described himself on Twitter as the “world’s coolest dictator,” has engaged in a prolonged attack on El Salvador’s democratic institutions. And the crackdown has resu…

1
Lawfare Daily: The U.S. Bombing of Yemen and the Houthi Response 22:16

1M ago22:16

22:16

For today's episode, Lawfare Foreign Policy Editor Daniel Byman interviewed Gregory Johnsen, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, D.C. Johnsen explains the rationale of the Trump administration's decision to bomb Yemen but argues that it will have little effect on the Houthis. Indeed, Johnsen contends that the Hout…

1
Lawfare Daily: Dan Hendrycks on National Security in the Age of Superintelligent AI 40:56

1M ago40:56

40:56

Dan Hendrycks, Director of the Center for AI Safety, joins Kevin Frazier, the AI Innovation and Law Fellow at the UT Austin School of Law and Contributing Editor at Lawfare, to discuss his recent paper (co-authored with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang), “Superintelligence Strategy.” To receive ad-free podcasts, become …

1
Rational Security: The “Berry Boy Blue” Edition 1:23:35

1M ago1:23:35

1:23:35

This week, Scott sat down with Rational Security veterans and Lawfare colleagues Benjamin Wittes and Molly Reynolds to talk through the week’s big national security news, including: “House Odds.” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson scored an unlikely win last week, when he kept the narrow (and notoriously fractious) Republican house majority united e…

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