Best Opening Arguments Media LLC Podcasts (2025)

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Epstein files reveal he was BFFs with Steve Bannon and offered him USE OF THE ISLAND. and his house. 1:23:03

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1d ago1:23:03

1:23:03

VR14 - Part 2 of the Epstein files We continue our first look at some highlights from last week's massive release of more than 20,000 pages of material from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein released by the House Oversight Committee, including Steve Bannon and ASU professor Lawrence Krauss among others. We also consider Megyn Kelly's appalling response…

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Emails reveal Larry Summers went to Epstein for advice on women. He STILL teaches at Harvard. 1:11:54

3d ago1:11:54

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OA1208 - We go beyond the Trump-related content in the latest round of Epstein disclosures by the House Oversight Committee to explore what we can learn from the many people in Jeffrey Epstein's orbit who flattered, patronized, and enabled him. Part 1 of 2. Searchable database of Epstein records released by Courier Falling Upward: The Surprising Su…

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Reminder to Congress: Impeachment Exists. And It's the Only Acceptable Response to the Epstein Cover-up 1:00:40

7d ago1:00:40

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OA1207 - We record a late-breaking reaction to the recent massive round of documents released from Jeffrey Epstein's estate and discuss how Trump may have just reached his most impeachable moment so far. Matt then shares some incredible news about how the end of Chevron deference has allowed federal judges to frustrate the administration's detentio…

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Kat Abughazaleh - Indicted by Trump's DoJ for Protesting ICE while running for Congress 1:04:19

8d ago1:04:19

1:04:19

Kat Abughazaleh spent years reporting on right-wing media and movements, and she is now running to represent Illinois's 9th District in Congress on an explicitly anti-authoritarian platform. Kat joins to talk about her uniquely candid platform and community-based campaign, the state of the Democratic Party, how ICE is terrorizing Chicago during the…

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Turns Out Our Civil Rights Come From... A Parking Garage in Wilmington, Delaware? 57:17

9h ago57:17

57:17

In our continuing Still Good Law series, Jenessa explains how a dispute arising from a parking garage in Wilmington, Delaware became the foundation for one of the most important concepts in civil rights: determining that a private or quasi-public individual or entity is operating "under color of law." How does this concept help to hold law enforcem…

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GOOD THINGS HAPPENS! 100% GOOD NEWS OA DAY! 50:32

1d ago50:32

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OA1205 - It's another good news Friday! Voting rights expert Jenessa runs down some of the highlights of the off-year blue sweep in this week's elections, as well as some recent unsung national victories for voting and disability rights. Matt then checks in on the Supreme Court's oral arguments from the challenge to Trump's unprecedented tariffs an…

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Night of the Living Op-Ed! (A Belated Spooktacular) 58:53

16d ago58:53

58:53

VR12 - Yes, we absolutely thought this was coming out pre-Halloween. Halloween may be over, but NEVERTHELESS THE SPOOKTACULAR PERSISTED! In this Vapid Response double feature, Thomas, Matt, and Lydia are haunted by two ghoulish takes from the past: FEATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON: Politico's insanely longform access journalism piece from August 2024 …

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What Happens When the House Refuses to Swear in a New Member? 54:02

18d ago54:02

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OA1204 - As House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to pretend that he doesn’t have to seat Democrat Adelita Grijalva well over a month after she was elected to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional district, we take a closer look at the last time that Congress refused to swear someone in and what the Warren Court had to say about it. Who was Harlem C…

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COURTHOUSE OF HORROR 56:42

6d ago56:42

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OA1203 - Happy Halloween! We take shelter from a year of ghoulish legal news in the COURTHOUSE OF HORROR, a cabinet of macabre legal curiosities including: "SO I TRADEMARKED AN AXE MURDERER": The historic Lizzie Borden House takes a whack at a nearby coffee shop "THE BONE DETECTOR": Recent patent bar survivor Jenessa Seymour brings us the unbelieva…

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Trump's All Out Assault on Immigrants Continues in Incompetent but Horrifying Fashion 1:01:37

25d ago1:01:37

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OA1202 - We are pleased to welcome American Immigration Council Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick for this unique conversation between a practitioner and a policy expert. The AIC is one of the country's leading sources of information and advocacy on US immigration matters, and Aaron watches and comments on these issues like no one else out there…

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Trump’s All Out Assault on Immigrants Continues in Incompetent but Horrifying Fashion 1:01:37

10d ago1:01:37

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OA1202 - We are pleased to welcome American Immigration Council Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick for this unique conversation between a practitioner and a policy expert. The AIC is one of the country's leading sources of information and advocacy on US immigration matters, and Aaron watches and comments on these issues like no one else out there…

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Trump Says DOJ Should Pay Him $230 Million Because Why the F*** Not at This Point 57:43

28d ago57:43

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OA1201 - This Rapid Response Friday, Matt and Jenessa play a few rounds of "Can They REALLY Do That?", with topics including: The legal mechanism and filings behind Trump's $230 million demand for DOJ having the audacity for investigating him for crimes that he did Arizona's lawsuit against House Speaker Mike Johnson asking a DC federal court to re…

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We need a sensible compromise between "no kings" and "Trump is king" 1:03:55

30d ago1:03:55

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VR11 - Today on Vapid Response Wednesday: Thomas, Lydia, and Matt review some of the worst takes to last weekend's 2700+ "No Kings" events around the U.S. But first, we savor an instant classic of an amuse douche: a recent video of a real-life encounter between a drunk-driving ICE officer and actual law enforcement. We then learn why the National R…

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Polygraphs and the Limits of Scientific Evidence in Court 48:25

17d ago48:25

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OA1200 - We've got another great law and science episode for ya! Are polygraphs admissible? Do they work? Matt and Jenessa talk about the history, law, and science of polygraphs, and how criminal courts treat scientific testimony in general. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!…

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They’re Going to End the Voting Rights Act. But at Least We Got to Hear KBJ Murder a Guy in Court 1:03:41

1M ago1:03:41

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OA1199 - Voting rights expert Jenessa Seymour takes us through this week’s oral arguments in one of the most important cases before the Supreme Court this term: Louisiana v. Callais, which has the potential to end some of the most important protections in the Voting Rights Act and allow states to openly racially gerrymander their electoral district…

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They're Going to End the Voting Rights Act. But at Least We Got to Hear KBJ Murder a Guy in Court 1:03:41

1M ago1:03:41

1:03:41

OA1199 - Voting rights expert Jenessa Seymour takes us through this week's oral arguments in one of the most important cases before the Supreme Court this term: Louisiana v. Callais, which has the potential to end some of the most important protections in the Voting Rights Act and allow states to openly racially gerrymander their electoral district…

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Atlantic publishes Caitlyn Flanagan's love letter to Bari Weiss for some reason 1:24:56

1M ago1:24:56

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It's Vapid Response Wednesday, and Thomas, Lydia, and Matt are back to take apart more bad-faith nonsense from some of the worst people in public life. First up: The Atlantic's Caitlyn Flanagan on why it is totally fine that her good friend Bari Weiss is taking over one of the most prestigious news organizations in the United States after running a…

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The Supreme Court Case That Stopped School Integration 51:33

28d ago51:33

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OA1198 - In this very special episode, Matt catches up with his Constitutional law professor for the first time in 23 years! We follow up with our closer look at the science behind Brown v Board (OA1186) with University of Michigan Law professor Michelle Adams, who takes us through the fascinating and ultimately tragic story of how the promise of B…

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The National Emergency Continues to Nationally Emerge 59:45

1M ago59:45

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OA1197 - The National Guard is being federalized and sent into cities that the President doesn't like against the explicit will of state governors and local populations. Matt covers as much as we know from the legal developments around this ongoing national emergency, and Jenessa shares some good news which is already coming out of NY's recent rece…

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Jake Tapper on his new book, and the controversy surrounding his last one 1:24:48

1M ago1:24:48

1:24:48

We welcome CNN anchor Jake Tapper to discuss his latest book Race Against Terror, a nonfiction legal thriller set in the long-ago world of 2011 in which the U.S. Department of Justice is dedicated to vigorously defending national security through strict adherence to due process and the rule of law. Also discussed: the current state of the media, wh…

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That Time the Supreme Court BANNED PRAYER in Schools... Except They Didn't 57:21

2M ago57:21

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OA1196 - This week in our continuing Still Good Law series, Matt and Jenessa take on the 1963 Supreme Court case which is still believed to hold the record for angering the most Americans at the same time: 1963's Engel v. Vitale. Find out why a decision which even the Warren Court's conservative justices did not see as particularly controversial to…

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That Time the Supreme Court BANNED PRAYER in Schools... Except They Didn’t 57:21

2M ago57:21

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OA1196 - This week in our continuing Still Good Law series, Matt and Jenessa take on the 1963 Supreme Court case which is still believed to hold the record for angering the most Americans at the same time: 1963’s Engel v. Vitale. Find out why a decision which even the Warren Court’s conservative justices did not see as particularly controversial to…

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Stephen Miller Is Just Having People Killed Now 51:12

1M ago51:12

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OA1195 - How much of the federal government has actually shut down, and why? We explore the truth behind the spin, and Matt breaks the exclusive story of how at least one part of the executive branch appears to be illegally operating at full capacity. We then then connect some of the most fast-moving stories of the past few weeks to bring out the t…

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Take It From Two Defense Attorneys - DO NOT TALK TO THE COPS 50:10

2M ago50:10

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OA1194 - NY defense attorney Liz Skeen joins to talk about the evolution (or devolution?) or our Miranda rights in the past several decades. How does an actual criminal defense attorney who deals with these issues every day think about them?

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Could Tylenol Sue Trump and RFK Jr. for Libel? 55:41

2M ago55:41

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OA1193 - Could Tylenol sue RFK Jr. for libel? Does the pressure the FCC put on Disney/ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel constitute a First Amendment violation? Is the Trump administration really going to charge rural hospitals $100,000 for the privilege of being able to hire foreign doctors? In today’s Rapid Response Friday we answer all of these recent pat…

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HBO released a new Adnan Syed doc episode and it is shockingly dishonest 1:49:05

2M ago1:49:05

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We watched the newly-released final episode of HBO's The Case Against Adnan Syed, and we have questions. Are the producers really trying to pin the murder of Hae Min Lee on a Black man with obvious mental health issues who was already cleared as a suspect--and did they really need to show the world a fully-nude photo of him to make that case? What …

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KATZ RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME 57:18

2M ago57:18

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OA1192 - This week in Still Good Law: Katz v. U.S., the 1967 Warren Court case which on its face decided that the Fourth Amendment may apply to a public phone booth. But that’s hardly all: the federal prosecution of nationally-famous bookie Charles Katz also completely changed the entire framework for how U.S. courts understand and interpret the la…

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The Kirkstag Fire 1:03:07

2M ago1:03:07

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OA1191 - In today's Rapid Response Friday, we examine some of the legal questions raised as the Trump administration throws as much political capital as possible behind the recent assassination of Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk and their implications for the future of the First Amendment rights they claim to revere Kirk for championing. Is t…