This week, President Barack Obama picked Judge Merrick Garland to fill Antonin Scalia's vacant seat on the Supreme Court. But who is Merrick Garland, and why? Answers are coming.Meanwhile, is the Democratic Party still the party of the working class and the little guy? Our guest, Thomas Frank, says this is not the case, and he joins us to talk about it.Finally, Wisconsin Representative Reid Ribble is back with us, talking about his plans to travel to Cuba with President Obama.

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This week, the intensity of the 2016 campaign season ratched up another hundred notches or so. On the Democratic side, a surprise win in Michigan from Bernie Sanders flummoxed the pollsters, boosted the Vermont Senator's chances, and put the Clinton campaign back into arrears. But as life bloomed anew for Sanders, on the Republican side, Florida Senator Marco Rubio looked to be headed to his end, with only one debate left to alter his fortunes in Florida. Full coverage of these races are on the way.Meanwhile, the Flint water crisis has shone a despairing light on what life is like in poorer cities, and the infrastructural problems that need fixing across the nation. But now that the Michigan primary is over and Flint is no longer a campaign talking point, are we poised to forget about our nation's lead pipe problem just as attention is cresting?Finally, the biggest threat to reproductive freedoms in two decades is currently before the Supreme Court, and it comes in the form of some restrictions on...

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This week, we had a Tuesday that some would say was far more super than most other Tuesdays, as voters in eleven states took to the polls to weigh in on who should be the presidential nominees. But beyond the winners and losers, what we learned from Super Tuesday is that big realignments are afoot for both the Republicans and the Democrats.Meanwhile, we put a spotlight on the War on Terror this week. Joining us is Amal Alderat, whose father and brother, both Libyan-American businessmen, were detained by the United Arab Emirates in 2014, jailed, and brutally tortured. Our big question: Why are two Americans being tortured by a US ally, and what does this portend for our ongoing strategy in Libya?Finally, we welcome comedian Anthony Atamaniuk who has been touring the country with James Adomian as the two men offer the nation their take on a Trump vs. Bernie debate. We'll talk about what inspired Tony to take up the task of imitating Donald Trump, and his very real fears of a Trump presidency.

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This week, one of President Barack Obama's oldest campaign promises -- his pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility -- is back in the news after the Pentagon put forth the latest version of a plan to finally fulfill this commitment. Meanwhile, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is coming to Washington to testify about the Flint Water Crisis. We'll talk to one member of that committee about the extent to which Snyder is himself culpable for the poisoning of Flint's citizens.Finally, Alexis Goldstein joins us to talk about a great new plan from DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schutlz that would gut a new rule from Elizabeth Warren's consumer financial protection bureau that would regulate the predators in the payday loan business.

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This week, the passing of Supreme Court Justice has created yet another opportunity for a gigantic political meltdown between President Barack Obama and his opponents in the Senate, as well as a new round of talking points for candidates on the campaign trail. We'll explain where battle lines have been drawn and what's likely to happen next.Meanwhile, our guest this week is Maryland State Senator and law professor Jamie Raskin, who's gotten into the crowded Democratic primary to replace Representative Chris Van Hollen in Maryland's 8th District. He'll make his case for why he belongs getting the nomination over some well funded, but less experienced opponents.Finally, we've been talking on this show about the dangers to the economy posed by Too Big To Fail banks, and we have some good news to report: our overwhelmingly sound arguments have convinced former bailout czar and current president of the Minneapolis Fed Neel Kashkari to join us. This was pretty unexpected, but now we're gonna gloat.

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This week, the 2016 campaign went to New Hampshire for the Granite State's first in the nation primaries, and after all the hoopla, we ended up with the blowout wins for Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders that the polls predicted. Meanwhile, payday lenders are scammy, terrible scourge on this earth, preying on the poor in order to profit from consuming their incomes in a cycle of indebtedness. But in the state of Mississippi, there's new hope for everyone who'd like to see these predators brought to heel. Finally, we circle back to another big story -- the Flint lead-water crisis. This time we're talking about something positive: specifically how Flint's residents and local activists may actually achieve something that's been lacking in other similar lead water crises around the country -- namely, accountability.

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This week, Zephyr Teachout wants in! The Fordham law professor has set her sights on New York's 19th District's House seat.Meanwhile, Reid Ribble wants out! The reform-minded Wisconsin Republican announced that he'd be retiring from the House at the end of the year. We'll chat him up about the 2016 scene, his plans for his last year, and what he hopes life after government is like.And Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy joins us to talk about reforming the U.S. relationship with the brutal and warlike regime in Saudi Arabia.Finally, the presidential race has finished its sojourn in Iowa, and the moveable feast moves on to New Hampshire. We'll discuss everything we learned about voters and the numbers.

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So, that happened. This week, we have interviews galore. First up, Hollywood Director Adam McKay. Next up, award-winning author and Atlantic reporter-slash-essayist Ta-Nehisi Coates is on hand to offer his perspective on about reparations, Reconstruction, and the Democratic primary. Finally, Florida Representative and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has drawn an opponent in her Democratic primary. We talk to her challenger, Tim Canova. You can listen to our show at itunes.com/panoply or itunes.com/sothathappened or by searching for "so that happened" on stitcher.

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So, that happened. The water crisis in Flint, Michigan has reached a fever pitch, as 2016 candidates weigh in and various emergency declarations get made. We're going to step away from the sideshow this week and attempt to figure out how all of this actually came to pass. Joining us to discuss this is a man who was there when the fateful decisions got made, former Flint City Councilman Josh Freeman.Meanwhile, we are mere days away from the Iowa Caucus, and across this land, the geek show is in full effect. The GOP is slowly starting to cotton to the notion that they may have to accept Donald Trump, even as he uses Sarah Palin to rub their faces in their failings. And the Democratic side of the ledger has taken a veer into edgy chaos as well. We go searching for constants in a race where the norms have slipped and the scripts have flipped.Finally, Washington DC played host to the U.S. Conference of Mayors this week, and the scene was more electric than usual. Flint's lead pipes, Baltimore's inequality...

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So, that happened. Another GOP debate is in the books, as the remnants of the Establishment do battle to preserve their bid against the firebrands currently dominating the race. And what of those two firebrands? Will Donald Trump successfully paint Ted Cruz as...Canadian? Your Huffington Post team is in full effect with post-debate analysisMeanwhile, as a wise man once said, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Or something. The point is, President Barack Obama delivered his final State Of The Union this week, and like all States of the Union, it was mostly pageantry. What's the point of these things anyway? We'll talk to one camera shy member of Congress, our pal Wisconsin Representative Reid Ribble, about what these addresses are like when you're in the midst of them.Finally, here's a phrase you might have heard if you'd been tuning in to the Democratic debates: "reinstall Glass Steagall." Is this some home repair tip, where you take your plastic Steagal out and put in a glass...

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