Opening Arguments

OA1227 - Come play the worst ever round of the Connections game and figure out what on earth Tuskegee Alabama, the CDC, Southern Denmark University, and the West African country of Guinea-Bissau all have in common, as RFK Jr. continues his campaign of “just asking questions” that we already have the answer to.
Black men untreated in Tuskegee syphilis study. Heller, J. (July 25, 1972; republished May 10, 2017). Associated Press.

The untreated syphilis study at Tuskegee timeline. Centers for Disease Control. (September 4, 2024).

45 CFR 46 Protection of Human Subjects. (Department of Health and Human Services regulations to implement the National Research Act and create Institutional Review Board policies).

Hepatitis B. World Health Organization (July 23, 2025).

Should the U.S. model its vaccine policy on Denmark’s? Experts say we’re nothing alike. Godoy, M. (December 26, 2025). NPR.

RFK Jr. overhauls childhood vaccine schedule to resemble Denmark’s in unprecedented move. Lovelace Jr., B., Edwards, E., Fattah, M., & Bendix, A. (January 5, 2026). NBC News.

What is actually the emerging evidence about non-specific vaccine effects in randomized trials from the Bandim Health Project? Støvring, H., Ekstrøm, C.T., Schneider, J.W., & Strøm, C. (2025). Vaccine, 68, 1-4.

Notice of award of a single source unsolicited grant to fund University of Southern Denmark (SDU). Department of Health and Human Services. (December 15, 2025).

U.S. plan for $1.6m hepatitis B vaccine study in Africa called ‘highly unethical’. Schreiber, M. & Lay, K. (December 19, 2025). The Guardian.

CDC awards $1.6 million for hepatitis B vaccine study by controversial Danish researchers. Szabo, L. (December 18, 2025). Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

CDC funds controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns. Offord, C. (December 18, 2025). Science Insider.

Research ethics and compliance support. Southern Denmark University.

Further reading:
Qiao, H. (2018). A brief introduction to institutional review boards in the United States. Pediatric Investigation, 2, 46-51.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. International compilation of human research standards. https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/international/compilation-human-research-standards/index.html

University of North Carolina. Nuremberg Code. https://research.unc.edu/human-research-ethics/resources/ccm3_019064/

Torrance, R.J., Mormina, M., Sayeed, S., Kessel, A., Yoon, C.H., & Cislaghi, B. (2024). Is the U.N. receiving ethical approval for its research with human participants? Journal of Medical Ethics, 51, 1-4.

Barchi, F. & Little, M.T. (2016). National ethics guidance in Sub-Saharan Africa on the collection and use of human biological specimens: A systematic review. BMC Medical Ethics, 17, 1-25.

Salhia, B. & Olaiya, V. (2020). Historical perspectives on ethical and regulatory aspects of human participants research: Implications for oncology clinical trials in Africa. JCO Global Oncology, 6, 959-965.

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OA1226 - We begin with a review of the unprecedented lawsuit that Minnesota has filed against ICE with the extreme leftist radical demand that they obey the law and U.S. Constitution. How much power do states have to limit federal operations, and what are the chances a court order might put some guardrails on the largest enforcement operation in ICE history? We then consider the legal and political merits of articles of impeachment filed against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Finally: we honor the passing of civil rights hero Claudette Colvin, whose bravery as a 15-year-old on a Montgomery, Alabama bus nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat put the final nail into the “separate but equal” justification for racial segregation established by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson.
State of Minnesota v. Noem, complaint filed 1/12/2026

“House Resolution 935: Impeaching Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense for the United States for high crimes and misdemeanors,” Rep. Shri Thaneder (12/9/2025)

“House Resolution 944: Impeaching Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services  for high crimes and misdemeanors,” Rep. Haley Stevens (12/10/2025)

“House Resolution ___: Impeaching Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, for high crimes and misdemeanors,” Rep. Robin Kelly (1/13/2026)

“Firm Tied to Kristin Noem Secretly Got Money from $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts,” ProPublica (11/14/2025)

“Impeachment: The Constitution’s Fiduciary Meaning of ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors,’” Robert G. Natelson, The Federalist Society (6/19/2018)

“Claudette Colvin, who refused to move seats on a bus at start of civil rights movement, dies” (NPR, 1/13/2026) 

Browder v. Gayle, 142 F.Supp. 707 (1956)(aff’d per curiam by U.S. Supreme Court 12/20/1956)

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E19 - In the wake of Renee Nicole Good's murder, we've seen a terrible number of bad takes: from the events of that day, the overall purpose of I.C.E., and what the law says about where we go from here. Matt, Thomas, and Lydia come together to start with perhaps the biggest douchebag in the United States as part of our amuse douche (TM), followed by a pair of articles touching on why the Left was wrong about ICE in 2018 and is apparently at fault to this day for all horrors committed by ICE (eyeroll). Finally, we finish it up with questions from our amazing patrons!
Watch this episode on YouTube!
"Abolishing ICE is a very bad idea" (Nate Bruggeman & Ben Rohrbaugh, The Philadelphia Inquirer), 3/23/2018

"The Problem Isn't ICE. It's ICE Watch." (Dan McLaughlin, National Review), 1/10/2026

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OA1225 - Jenessa is here to dig deeper into Van Buren v. United States as we explore the implications and meaning when legislative deliverables, legal analysis, work industry, and general common sense push and pull in different directions. We had a lot of questions and comments on the original Van Buren episode from the community, so we thought it would be fun to spend some more time and battle it out!
Reviving Lenity - Daniel Harawa, SCOTUSBlog (Dec 26, 2025)

US v Rodriguez, 628 F.3d 1258 (11th Cir. 2010)

US v Nosal, 676 F.3d 754 (9th Cir. 2012)

US v Nosal, 844 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2016)

Further reading:
W. Cagney McCormick, The Computer Fraud & Abuse Act: Failing to Evolve with the Digital Age, 16 SMU SCI. & TECH. L. REV. 481 (2013).
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OA1224 - In this episode recorded only hours after an ICE officer killed U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis with extreme impunity, we contrast mirror-universe opposite views of immunity and impunity: the Trump administration’s response to this tragedy as opposed to everything that they have done to rewrite the history of January 6, 2021 for this week’s fifth anniversary of the insurrection. And in today’s footnote: will Lindsay Halligan be the first lawyer in US history to have a bar complaint filed against her for lying to a federal court about being a US Attorney?
“How Many People Have Been Shot in ICE Raids?” The Trace, 12/8/2025

Department of Justice’s new J6 website

“At least 33 pardoned insurrectionists face other criminal charges—but many are now going free,” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (12/18/2025) 

Order re:  Lindsay Halligan in USA v. Jefferson, EDVA Judge David J. Novak (1/6/2026)

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