Mike talks with LeahDowney,  a junior research fellow at St. John’s College, Cambridge. They discuss her book, Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters.

Topics Mike & Leah Cover Include:

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Mike and Sam open this supporters’ midweek episode with a look at President Trump’s increasing frustration with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and a recent deal in which the US will sell arms to NATO allies who will then give those weapons to Ukraine. Sam sees Trump as a realist and a deal maker who hasn’t changed his mind, but who is simply adjusting to new facts on the ground. Mike’s less certain of that, but he’s pleased that, at present, it doesn’t seem like Trump has plans to cut and run in Ukraine - especially now that the US stands to gain billions in additional arms sales.

Next, they take a look at the economy and President Trump’s overall record at the six-month mark of his presidency. Mike sees plenty of economic danger signs, which he attributes mainly to Trump’s tariff and deportation policies, but which Sam sees as having more to do with the Fed not lowering interest rates. They also discuss what they see as the biggest achievements (for better or worse) in Trump’s first six months.

They close with Sam answering a supporter's question about what he’s changed his mind on, what Democrats get right, areas in which he’s disappointed with President Trump, and a Republican idea he wishes Democrats understood. (Mike wasn’t asked this question, but he also answers it.)

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Mike and Sam open with a discussion of the ongoing controversy in MAGAworld about the Epstein files. Mike thought it wouldn’t have the staying power that it has, while Sam isn’t at all surprised that the poor handling of the matter and lack of transparency by the Trump administration have resulted in plenty of anger on the right.

Next, they turn to a rarity in Congress - a successful rescissions bill. Mike points out that the $9.4 billion cut is a drop in the bucket and that NPR, in particular, might be better off without the small amount of government funding that this will deny them. Sam feels that while it might not be much,  it’s a step in the right direction.

They close with a look at a recent Supreme Court decision that allowed mass firings and reorganization at the Department of Education to go forward. Mike believes that the administration ignored a clear legal provision in carrying out the firings, though Sam doesn’t see things that way. He does agree with Mike that at some point, an ostensible restructuring/efficiency measure becomes a de facto illegal agency closure, but that we’re not there yet.

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Trey and Justin are joined by Mike and begin by discussing the Supreme Court’s unsigned opinion on federal workforce reductions. The trio dissects the contrasting views of Justices Jackson and Sotomayor. Next is a look into Trump’s executive order aiming to end subsidies and tax credits for clean energy. The trio discusses the policy’s potential effects on renewable energy and Congress’ reaction, along with the future of U.S. energy policy.  The show ends with a discussion of the Columbia University hack and the attack on Zohar’s Mamdani by Christopher Rufo.

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Trey and Justin are joined by Mike! In this episode, the trio start by asking if Musk is serious about the America Party. Then they discuss the newest no-client list from the Epstein files along with a longer conversation about conspiracy culture. After that, it is a look at the legal limbo of birthright citizenship, refiled as a class-action lawsuit. Finally, the question of tariffs and trade and the newest extension and rhetoric from Trump’s tariff letters.

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Trey & Ken continue through the U.S. Constitution, covering the 23rd and 24th Amendments. Topics covered include:

The history of the U.S. Capital

The origin of the District of Columbia

The reasons for granting the District of Columbia electors but not Congresspersons

The origin and history of poll taxes

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Happy 4th of July: Trey and Ken are back! They open the show by reading a portion of the Declaration of Independence and commenting on the past and future of the United States on its 249th anniversary. After that, they turn to the biggest news item this week: the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill Act. Because of the complexity of the law, the hosts take this on in two sections. First, they look at the politics of the Big Beautiful Bill, including the end of the Republican Party as the party of deficit reduction. Second, they turn to the actual policies of the bill, including a deep rundown of most of its provisions and possible effects. 

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Mike talks with Greg Lukianoff, attorney, New York Times bestselling author, and President and CEO of FIRE: the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. They discuss Greg’s latest book,  The War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech - And Why They Fail, with Nadine Strossen.

Topics Mike & Greg discuss include:

- Why calling words “violence” leads to actual violence

- The case against hate speech laws

- Free speech lessons from Nazi Germany and Rwanda

- Shoutdowns as mob censorship on campus

- Whether the internet makes speech protections obsolete

- Mill’s trident and the case for truth through debate

- Who really benefits from free speech protections

- The limits of regulating misinformation and disinformation

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Trey and Justin continue with two more Supreme Court cases from the end of the term. They begin with Mahmoud v. Taylor, which allows parents to opt out their children from pre-K LGBTQ+ books. Here, Trey argues that education is value-driven, and the public sphere can never do what is necessary for education. Justin agrees but believes there is a space in which universal values can be applied.

The hosts then turn to Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton and the upholding of a Texas law requiring age verification for certain types of pornographic websites. Justin believes the majority is largely correct, but Trey thinks that the exclusion of certain types of social media websites means that it is not truly content-neutral. The pair also discuss teens in the age of a ubiquitous digital life.

The show closes with a brief overview of the New York City primary election for Mayor and Justin’s take on the future of the Democratic Party.

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Trey and Justin open this week with the United States bombing of Iran. In this sweeping conversation, the hosts look at not only the legal aspect of President Trump’s bombing order but also the political. This includes conversations about the growing potential rift in MAGA, the debate between Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz, and an examination of the power of the U.S. President as it relates to war.

Next, the pair discuss the first of three major cases released at the end of the United States Supreme Court’s term: Trump’s v. CASA. Here, the Supreme Court sidestepped looking at the issue of the 14th Amendment and instead restrained its own power in terms of universal injunctions. Trey overviews the history and scholarship of nationwide injunctions. Then, both hosts discuss the possibility of class action lawsuits as a means to continue the practice. However, as Trey points out, the court seems reluctant, given the concurrences, to allow that to occur. 

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