Presenting The Alabama Murders from Revisionist History
After releasing Harry’s conversation with Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis two days early to sync up with the publication of their new book—Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department—Talking Feds is hosting a special preview of another podcast that’s exploring the consequential issues that impact, and define, American culture: The Alabama Murders, a new series by bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast. Entangled in an affair with a parishioner, a Northwest Alabama minister makes a devastating choice. Rather than face the shame of divorce, he arranges for three men to kill his wife. One of the men convicted in her murder, Kenny Smith, spent decades on death row, only for his execution to go horribly wrong. Eventually, the consequences lead to the center of a hot national debate on who should be allowed to live, who should die, and how the state should kill them. On The Alabama Murders, Malcolm asks: why, in our efforts to alleviate suffering, do we so often make it worse? If you want to hear the full story, find Revisionist History wherever you get podcasts.
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How Trump Demolished the DOJ
The Department of Justice has been at the epicenter of both Trump's efforts to subvert the rule of law and the attempts to hold him accountable during his years out of the White House. Now two of the country's most prominent investigative journalists—Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis—have authored an authoritative account of these tumultuous years at DOJ. Their book is Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department. Leonnig and Davis join Harry for an in-depth discussion: their first interview about their tour-de-force new volume, which is full of revelations about the existential battles within the Department, built on interviews with more than 250 people who witnessed them first hand.
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Democracy on ICE
Harry sits down with David A. Graham, Katie Phang, and Maya Wiley to discuss federal agents' on-the-ground escalations and the courts' efforts to rein them in. They then move to the early warnings that Trump may interfere in next year’s midterms before ending with a quick look at some of tomorrow's critical elections. The overlapping question that criss-crosses all 3 topics: how can Americans band together to protect the democracy, and especially to blunt the threat of a far more systematic attempt by Trump than the last time around to interfere in the elections.
Mentioned in this episode:
Amie Barrodale’s Supreme Court satire: https://www.theparisreview.org/fiction/8383/crystal-palace-amie-barrodale
David’s piece in the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/12/2026-midterms-trump-threat/684615/
Maya’s MSNBC piece:
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-election-monitors-california-new-jersey-legal-rcna240313
Katie’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@katiephangnews
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A Legendary Congressman's Advice for Today's Democrats
We are living through what feels like unprecedentedly dark days, which can cause us to lose sight of context, history, and all the hard moments that the nation has faced before. This week, Harry turns to legendary Congressman Barney Frank for his perspective of the Trump era through a more long-term lens. Rep. Frank, who won landmark achievements on issues from banking reform to civil rights, speaks to Harry about what Democrats need to do now, his forthcoming book, and whether Donald Trump's outrages have any parallel in American history.
The two spoke by phone, so this conversation will sound slightly different from most Talking Feds episodes.
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The Costs of Chaos
A trio of superb economic analysts—Paul Krugman, Stephanie Ruhle, and Justin Wolfers—join Harry to break down how Trump is reshaping the U.S. economy. They weigh in on how long the shutdown can go on without major economic consequences, where tariffs are beginning to bite, and the future shape of the AI spike. Then, the whole panel joins in a big picture analysis of how Trump’s trademark chaotic, self-serving approach—combined with his attacks on institutions, immigration, and the rule of law—risks tearing up the foundations of American prosperity.
Mentioned in this episode:
Paul’s Substack: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/
Stephanie’s show: https://www.msnbc.com/11th-hour
Justin’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JustinWolfers
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Talking Feds is a roundtable discussion that brings together prominent former government officials, journalists, and special guests for a dynamic and in-depth analysis of the most pressing questions in law and politics.
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