Talking Feds

Jake 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
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In 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
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As 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
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Nearly 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.
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In 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/
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