Washington Monthly

Now that the Supreme Court has made racial preferences in college admissions illegal, can class-based affirmative action promote equity? Washington Monthly Editor-in-Chief Paul Glastris and Contributing Editor Anne Kim speak with Richard Kahlenberg, the nation's most prominent advocate of economic affirmative action.

In this week's livestream, Washington Monthly Politics Editor Bill Scher and Executive Editor for Digital Matt Cooper chat with host Anne Kim about the political fallout from SignalGate and Donald Trump's reckless imposition of tariffs. "Incompetence" may be the political weapon Democrats need to turn around their political fortunes. Plus, a preview of Tuesday's special elections in Florida and Wisconsin, and Matt's take as a veteran of numerous White House Correspondents' Association dinners on what it means for the WHCA to cancel its headliner comedian.

Donald Trump's abandonment of Ukraine in favor of Russia and Vladimir Putin threatens to upend the global order. Will Europe emerge as a unified force to defend Western democracies in the absence of American leadership? Washington Monthly editor-in-chief Paul Glastris speaks with Tamar Jacoby, Director of the New Ukraine Project at the Progressive Policy Institute; and Mike Lofgren, author, historian and a leading expert on military weapons systems.

Two themes have animated the last week of Trump's presidency: defiance and revenge. Washington Monthly ediitors Matt Cooper and Bill Scher and contributing editor Anne Kim discuss the potential political fallout of Trump's call to impeach judges who disagree with him. They also talk about the rise of Bernie Sanders and AOC as the face of Democratic resistance and the fate of Sen. Chuck Schumer as minority leader. Bill also shares a bright spot: JD Vance's terrible poll numbers and what that means for the future of Trumpism without Trump.

"Abundance liberalism" is catching fire among Democrats as an economic theory that could revive the progressive left and, with it, the Democratic Party's brand. Its major focus is regulatory reforms to free up bottlenecks in the construction of new housing, infrastructure and sources of energy. But is it enough? Washington Monthly Editor-in-Chief Paul Glastris and Editor Nate Weisberg think not. They share their critique with contributing editor Anne Kim.

Colleges and universities potentially face unprecedented financial strain under the Trump administration. While the most significant threat is cuts to funding for research, schools also potentially face cuts in financial aid and higher taxes on endowment.

Washington Monthly Editor in Chief Paul Glastris and contributing editor Anne Kim speak with higher education finance expert Robert Kelchen, who leads the Departmentof Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Washington Monthly politics editor and Washington Monthly Editor-in-Chief Paul Glastris join contributing editor Anne Kim for the Monthly's first ever politics livestream, the morning after Donald Trump's first speech to a joint session of Congress.

In his speech, Trump doubled down on tariffs and taking Greenland. He demonized immigrants and trans Americans. And by his own account, he's just getting started.

In this episode, Anne Kim and Garrett Epps discuss the foundational concepts of U.S. democracy, focusing on the separation of powers and the emerging threat of the "unitary executive" theory. They also discuss the implications of Trump's power grab, including threats to public health, safety and the rule of law.

Key moments:

00:00 Foundations of Democracy and Constitutional Challenges

05:05 Separation of Powers: The Structure of Government

09:43 The Unitary Executive Theory: Implications and Origins

12:44 Practical Implications of Power Grabs

17:46 The Role of the Supreme Court in Executive Power

22:27 Looking Ahead: The Future of Constitutional Law

26:15 Introduction and Overview

26:17 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Co-hosts Anne Kim and Garrett Epps speak with Tamar Jacoby, who is living and working in Kyiv as Director of the Progressive Policy Institute's New Ukraine Project. She speaks about the future of Ukraine, the changing face of warfare, and Vladimir Putin's potential ambitions in Europe.

#elections #votersrights #trump #2026 #2028 #elections President Donald Trump has promised drastic changes to election laws, such as requiring proof of citizenship and paper ballots, that could disenfranchise thousands, if not millions, of voters. How serious are these threats?Co-hosts Anne Kim and Garrett Epp speak with Joshua A. Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law. He is the author of The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights and Vote for US: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change the Future of Voting. He is also the host of the Democracy Optimist podcast and writes the Democracy Optimist Substack. Find him at www.joshuaadouglas.com and follow him on Twitter @JoshuaADouglas.About the co-hosts:Anne Kim is a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly and the author of Poverty for Profit: How Corporations Get Rich Off America's Poor (The New Press, 2024) and Abandoned: America's Lost Youth and the Crisis of Disconnection (The New Press, 2020). Garrett Epps is Professor of Law Emeritus at University of Baltimore, Professor of Practice at the University of Oregon and Legal Affairs Editor at the Washington Monthly.Both Anne and Garrett are alums of the Duke University School of Law and proud Blue Devils.