XXceedingly Persuasive

This week, the impeachment process officially began, so we're buckling in and discussing the executive branch, interactions with Ukraine, and some procedural nonsense. We also commit ourselves to the cause of defending climate activist & wunderkind Greta Thunberg at all costs; and, after Jonathan Van Ness' announcement about being HIV+, we debunk some HIV stereotypes n stigma.

We talk about the history of money in politics & Citizens United; on this first anniversary of Dr. Blasey-Ford's testimony, we also discuss the new book about accusations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Elizabeth Warren's standing in the polls...!

(Things move pretty quickly: This episode was recorded on 9/20/19)

THE EMOLUMENTS CLAUSES. They seem remote & unsexy, but this is probably why Trump is able to flagrantly violate them with such ease. This week, we go through what the clauses mean, their honorable and elephant-heavy history, and who can challenge the Trump Administration's violations thereto. Happy 13th episode (and recent Friday)!

Opioids have truly become the opiate the people, from big cities to Mayberry, over the last decade; despite the fervor, we haven’t yet developed a workable plan. This week we discuss new liability for pharmaceutical companies—and panic legislation that has burdened healthcare professionals without distinguishing different patients’ needs or making alternative pain management accessible. We contrast these ham-fisted solutions with more effective & nuanced strategies like weaning schedules, research and healthcare funding, supervised injection& test strips.

We continue our conversation about gun violence and how the Second Amendment intersects with other rights and limitations-- Due Process, private online platforms, and when First Amendment speech meets extremism, hate speech, and threats.

We’re tackling the right to bear arms in the wake of the most recent spate of shootings—we go through the Second Amendment, proclaimed “Original Intent,” and how changes in the NRA and Supreme Court have shifted interpretation. We also look at some proposed solutions to the gun violence epidemic (all, of course, after bidding adieu to Jeffrey Epstein).

See also: The Gun Show, Radiolab Presents: More Perfect (October 12, 2017) (accessible on iTunes); Terry Brennan, Natural Rights and the Constitution: The Original “Original Intent,” 15 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 965-1029 (1992).

We talk about some pros and cons of a few of the Democratic presidential candidates, particularly in light of recent polling number and everyone's performance at the last debate. We also read reactions to Brexit and Boris Johnson from our UK listeners!

Polling information from August 2-4 polls from The Economist, Real Clear Politics, and Quinnipiac University

We fact-check those ICE interaction guides circulating online with a couple caveats, recap Puerto Rico and Mueller, and discuss Al Franken: Love 'im or hate 'im?

See also: Jane Mayer, "The Case of Al Franken," The New Yorker, July 22, 2019, available at https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/29/the-case-of-al-franken

We discuss the moon landing, the 50th anniversary of Mary Jo Kopechne's death at Chappaquiddick, the death of Justice John Paul Stevens and give a preliminary rundown of Boris Johnson's takeover as UK Prime Minister and Robert Mueller's testimony before Congress.

Audio of President Kennedy, Sept. 12, 1962, Rice Stadium, courtesy of the JFK Presidential Library online, https://www.jfklibrary.org/node/345581; see also "'Kennedy Passenger Dies in Car Plunge': How Chappaquidick was Covered by the Washington Post," The Washington Post, July 18, 1969 & July 18, 2019, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/18/kennedy-passenger-dies-car-plunge-how-chappaquiddick-was-covered-by-washington-post/

We break down the history of sexual assault accusations against Jeffrey Epstein, cover-ups, the notorious 2008 plea deal and his connections to powerful people including President Trump, President Clinton, current members of the Trump Administration and... mono? Where does the case go from here? MacKenzie makes a modest proposal.