Mike and Jay open with a look at the various efforts by the Trump administration to pull back on political prosecutions or political figures, including the very controversial decision to not pursue charges (for now) against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Neither Mike nor Jay agree with the Adams decision, but Jay is more willing to consider a political motive by the Biden DOJ for bringing the charges in the first place. They also discuss the wider implications of Trump’s actions. Mike’s main concern is that it will result in more public corruption, though he agrees with Jay that there’s something to be said for not unduly constraining American businesses in international competition.

Then they turn to the issue of constitutional crises – what the term means, if we’re in (or near) one, and the last time we’ve seen an unquestionable constitutional crisis.

They close with a discussion of the latest Trump cabinet confirmations: Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, and RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Mike’s New (free) Substack: What Fresh Hell is This?

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Trey and Ken continue working through the U.S. Constitution with the 16th Amendment. Why and how did we allow direct taxes? What was the reason for not having direct taxes in the original constitution?

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Trey and Ken begin with a detailed look at DOGE, specifically focusing on what it is and its connection to Treasury Department Data. That leads to an extended debate between the hosts on Presidential power. Trey argues that scholars have long pointed to the danger of each President taking new and unique powers via unprecedented unilateral action. In this view, the long-term health of our Republic is reigned in primarily not by separation of powers, but by norms Presidents are not willing to violate. All it takes is for President Trump to ignore those norms to jeopardize the system. Ken disagrees and argues the American system is fine; the problem is solely a president who takes his orders from Putin (about which Trey also disagrees).

After that, they turned to an extended discussion on tariffs. Trey puts tariffs in historic and political-economic terms. Ken turns to the legality- or illegality- of the proposed tariff scheme. They finish the show with a brief conversation on Trump's comments, both in person and online, concerning Gaza.

Mike’s New (free) Substack: What Fresh Hell is This?

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Mike and Justin open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of the Laken Riley Act, the first bill signed into law in the Trump administration. Justin has some serious problems with it, and while Mike shares many of those concerns, he thinks it wouldn’t be such a bad law with a few changes. They also consider President Trump’s ending the Biden-era rule that restricted ICE from entering schools, churches, shelters, and hospitals.

That’s followed by a look at some of the major initiatives targeting the federal workforce, including a rule that would make it easier to fire tens of thousands of federal workers, and a ‘buyout offer’ that’s actually not a buyout offer (despite what Elon Musk might say).

Mike’s New (free) Substack: What Fresh Hell is This?

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Mike and Justin open with a discussion of the wild pace of events since Donald Trump’s inauguration. They give Trump credit for shaking things up (for better or worse) but think that “move fast and break things” might not get even Trump supporters the results they ultimately want. Justin thinks Trump did a poor job as “national comforter” following the worst US air disaster in over 20 years by choosing to use the moment to make unsubstituted claims about DEI policies and to attack previous administrations.

Following that they turn to the confirmation hearings for Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr., and Kash Patel. Mike is sticking with his prediction that every Trump nominee coming before the Senate will be confirmed, but he’s at least somewhat optimistic that at least four GOP Senators will reject the nominations of Gabbard and RFK Jr. Justin points out that RFK Jr. is a walking red flag, with issues involving his judgment, competence, experience, and personal life.

Next they discuss the short-lived (for now) federal funding freeze, considering its legality as well as whether the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which would seem to disallow the freeze, is itself unconstitutional.

They close with a listener question concerning racism, fascism, and the Republican Party.

Mike’s New (free) Substack: What Fresh Hell is This?

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Mike and Trey open the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode with a look at the many executive actions President Trump has taken on DEI-related issues. Trey points out the bad biology in the order recognizing only two sexes at conception. Mike is somewhat receptive to the idea of ending preferences based on race, gender, or ethnicity, but feels that well-implemented DEI is not just a good idea, but important to the continued functioning of a multi-ethnic, multi-racial country like the United States.

Next, they turn to executive actions on energy and climate, including the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, ‘drill baby drill’, and wind energy.

They close by addressing listener questions on hostage releases and where Reagan Republicans fit in the GOP of Donald Trump.

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Mike talks with Kurt Gray, a Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. They talk about his recently released book, Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground.

Topics Mike and Kurt discuss include:

- what Jonathan Haidt gets wrong

- myths of human nature

- dehumanization and moral conflict

- social media as a Godzilla movie

- why people only want ‘their’ facts

- the importance of perceived harm

- how to connect, invite, and validate

Kurt Gray on X

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Mike and Trey open with their thoughts on Donald Trump’s inauguration and inaugural address. Trey considers Trump’s rhetoric, while Mike points out the typical Trumpian exaggerations and compares the speech to Trump’s 2017 “American Carnage” address.

Then they turn to pardons. Mike is sympathetic to President Biden’s use of preemptive pardons for his family and officials subject to potential political prosecution, but Trey can’t get behind them because of the bad precedent they set. They both agree that President Trump’s pardons of essentially everyone involved in the January 6th Capitol insurrection are unconscionable and that President Trump should have at least made the effort to sort out those who committed violence from non-violent offenders.

They close with a look at President Trump’s many executive actions on immigration and birthright citizenship, an issue that Mike argues is clearly settled law. Trey disagrees, pointing to a number of legal scholars who argue for a different interpretation of the 14th Amendment that might potentially convince enough members of the Court to allow his order to stand.

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In the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode, Justin and Jay weigh in on several big tech cases in front of the Supreme Court. First, the 9-0 ruling on the TikTok ban, and whether there will be some resolution from the Trump administration. Next, they discuss the Texas adult website age verification case that was heard this week, a conversation that covers the balance between privacy, safety, and technical capabilities, as well as their reminiscences of John Updike and 2 Live Crew (and the difference between pornography and obscenity). Finally, they take up President Biden's declaration that the ERA has been added to the constitution as the 28th amendment (to be clear, it hasn't).

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