Professor Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and one of the nation's leading authorities on the Constitution, offers weekly in-depth discussions on the most urgent and fascinating constitutional issues of our day. He is joined by co-host Andy Lipka and guests drawn from other top experts including Bob Woodward, Nina Totenberg, Neal Katyal, Lawrence Lessig, Michael Gerhardt, and many more.
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This is the webpage for my new podcast. Each week this summer, I'll talk with a celebrity guest about an important historical Court case, describing its significance and implications. nealkatyal.substack.com
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America at a Crossroads is proud to present an esteemed roster of guests and moderators to discuss the state of American democracy and the very real challenges facing it today. Past guests and moderators have included Congressman Adam Schiff, Congresswoman Karen Bass, House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, Congressman Adam Kinzinger, George F. Will, Patt Morrison, Warren Olney, Madeleine Brand, Bill Kristol, David Axelrod, James Carville, Jonathan Greenblatt, and many more.
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Richard Haass with Patt Morrison | Defining Success in Ukraine and Gaza
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Resignation Realities and Bullets Dodged (Part 4)
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President Biden is hearing calls from many quarters to step down as a candidate. Donald Trump is shot. Questions of presidential succession and/or resignation abound. While it may seem these are unique and strange situations which the American republic has never faced, in fact, resignation has been a key American issue for centuries. Episodes well-…
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Steve Zipperstein with Madeleine Brand | Legal Aspects of the War Against Israel
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The Court’s opinion in the presidential immunity case Trump v. US, has sunk in. On reflection it is even worse that on first impression, and that is saying something. But just to condemn the opinion is not enough. Professor Amar distills the Court’s argument to its essence and explains why it completely collapses under any kind of rigorous scrutiny…
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In an exhausting week, the Court released a number of long-awaited cases, and we had a consequential presidential debate. We look at several cases that many believe have profound implications for the administrative state; the opinions in SEC v. Jarkesy, and Loper Bright v. Raimondo clearly have the effect of increasing the role of courts and juries…
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Lynn Vavreck and Peter Baker with Larry Mantle | A Post Presidential Debate Debrief
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Andrew Weissmann with Patt Morrison | The Quest for Accountability: An Expert Analysis of Trump's Liabilities
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As the end of the term approaches the deluge of major cases has begun. Two big cases - the eagerly awaited sequel to the Bruen case - Rahimi - features an orgy of originalist theorizing and opining. Meanwhile, in Moore v. US - a case where Professor Amar and his team had an amicus brief - the tax power was upheld, but reading the opinion one might …
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Noah Feldman with Larry Mantle | How Oct. 7 Has Forced Jews to Reckon with Israel
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Protests, Mifepristone, and Bump Stocks
1:39:28
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Akhil is in Boston this week and reminds us that the history of the American Revolution, where Boston is so pivotal, contains myriad lessons that provide insight into the student protests of today - so we look at this subject in some detail. Meanwhile, the Court issued opinions in two prominent cases, and Akhil seems to be reluctant to take “yes” f…
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Amb. James F. Jeffrey and Tom Warrick with Warren Olney | After the War: A Plausible Proposal for Life in Gaza
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Franklin Foer with Madeleine Brand | Has the Golden Age of American Jewry Ended?
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The Court is taking its time on major opinion, which gives us a moment to turn to other matters. Ethics remain in the news; the Court’s annual financial disclosures contain a number of surprises - maybe not so surprising. There’s a lot to say there, and we have some proposals to improve the situation. President Biden takes a position on a pardon, a…
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The verdict is in: guilty x 34. A jury of Trump’s peers had its say, but the ex-president couldn’t leave it at that, of course. On the legitimate side, the appeals are expected to begin soon. On the Trump bombastic side, he blasted every institution in the legal system for having the audacity to do their duty. Particularly in the case of the ordina…
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Erwin Chemerinsky with Warren Olney | Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism on College Campuses: Part II
1:27:59
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Jacob Heilbrunn with Warren Olney | The Right's Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators
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The nation has been riled by campus unrest surrounding events in the Middle East. Terms like “freedom of speech,” “academic freedom,” “right to protest,” “conduct vs. speech,” and issues of hate speech, offensive speech, safety, and more have arisen. We start our look at this situation where we always begin: with the Constitution. This episode aims…
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Neal Katyal with Madeleine Brand | Trump, the Courts, and the Election
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57:49
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More than three years after the January 6, 2021 disastrous events, we remarkably are just now first learning of a complex series of events with profound ethical implications for Justice Alito. Like his fellow justice, Clarence Thomas, Justice Alito’s wife’s actions, possibly political in nature, have placed the Justice in a position where his own a…
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Janet Napolitano with Patt Morrison | How safe are we? A frank assessment of the condition of our homeland security.
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Janet Napolitano with Patt Morrison | How safe are we? A frank assessment of the condition of our homeland security.
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Donald Trump’s New York trial - where a conviction would be federal pardon-proof - has proceeded apace. we are pleased to bring a report to you from the trial itself, introducing you to one of Professor Amar’s star students in the process. Are there constitutional issues stemming from the trial? You bet, and we address some of them. Meanwhile, a nu…
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Celina Lake and Paul Maslin with Warren Olney | Political Polling: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
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This week we continue with clips from the oral argument in the immunity case (Trump v. United States). Most of this week’s clips come from attorney Dreeben (representing the Special Counsel, and therefore the people of the United States), and some of the Justices have at him, sometimes in way Professor Amar finds wrong-headed or worse. Our own argu…
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Amb. Dennis Ross with Patt Morrison | Israel in Crisis Briefing #13
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Norm Ornstein with Larry Mantle | Trump & The GOP: A Guide for the Perplexed
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The nine Justices heard arguments on ex-president Trump’s attempt to claim a sweeping immunity from criminal liability and prosecution. We present clips from the argument and our commentary, including some historical analysis of claims that Benjamin Franklin spoke in favor of such a thing (spoiler: NO), and many other claims which we had predicted …
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Yaroslav Trofimov in conversation with Max Boot | Russia's War on Ukraine: An Update from Two Leading Journalists
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As we close in on oral argument in the Trump v. United States case wherein Trump asserts some sort of permanent presidential immunity, we close out our preparatory analysis. Impeachment’s relationship to criminal prosecution is explored. Some founding-era conversations involving, for example, John Adams, inform our discussion. Does the concept of d…
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Barbara McQuade with Henry Weinstein | Attack From Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America
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As oral argument in the Trump immunity case draws closer, we continue our discussion of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. Do so-called “official acts” during a president’s tenure in office raise special considerations? Constitutional text seems to offer an easy way out of the case - but does it, really - and historical precedents ent…
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Amb. Michael Oren with Larry Mantle | Israel In Crisis Briefing #12
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Ruy Teixeira with Madeline Brand | Political Demography: Where have all the Democrats gone?
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Former President Trump is making an extraordinary claim to the Supreme Court: that he is immune from criminal prosecution for crimes he may have committed while president. The Court has agreed to hear arguments on this proposition on April 25. We begin the preparation by posing the questions and taking them on. Professor Amar is an expert on Presid…
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Aluf Benn with Patt Morrison | Israel in Crisis Briefing #11
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Martin Baron with Patt Morrison | Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos and the Washington Post
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The Supreme Court heard the case on the legality of FDA regulation of Mifepristone. Issues of standing seemed to dominate, so Professor Amar treats us to a master class on standing - in this case, and its recent evolution. He also suggests that at least one Justice might benefit by attending. In a wide-ranging episode, we also share excitement and …
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Amb. Dennis Ross with Larry Mantle | Israel in Crisis Briefing #10
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Jennifer Rubin with Warren Olney | Four Years of America at a Crossroads: Then, Now, and Where Are We Headed?
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We round up our analysis of the opinion in Trump v. Anderson with Justice Barrett’s concurrence. All of this has raised many questions, particularly in light of the Court’s errant reasoning and other shenanigans. And it turns out that many of the best questions come from you, our audience! So we turn to those as well, both about Section 3, and othe…
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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with Larry Mantle
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Jonathan Greenblatt with Larry Mantle | Antisemitism, Bigotry and Hate in America Today: An Update.
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The Trump v. Anderson lead balloon continues to smolder. This episode looks at the areas wherein the concurring Justices took issue with the per curiam, and they are many. Indeed, the three Justices who concurred only in the judgment disagree with the scope of the per curiam as well as its particulars, and their concurrence reads more like a dissen…
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David Frum with Warren Olney | Politics, Elections, Wars, & America's Standing
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What the Concurrences Should Have Said
1:16:55
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The concurrence by three Justices (as opposed to that of Justice Barrett) in Trump v. Anderson concurs only in the judgment. We look at different types of concurrences and why a Justice might choose one type or the other; and as for this one, we find much to dissent with. We dissect the arguments and now with the benefit of a week since the opinion…
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Yossi Klein Halevi with Patt Morrison | Israel in Crisis: Briefing #9
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Rabbi Sharon Brous with Madeleine Brand | The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World
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Happy Anniversary Mr. Lincoln from the Court
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The Court has ruled in Trump v. Anderson, and a strange day it was. An announcement on a Sunday of opinion on Monday; no justices present; metadata weirdness, and worst of all, a unanimous opinion that is unanimously wrong. Concurrences that are dissents. A nearly 250 year old electoral college system that somehow escaped the Justices. Notorious ca…
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Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy with Patt Morrison | 2024 Election Year Update: It's Anything But Business As Usual
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We’re back, and still waiting for the opinion in Trump v. Anderson, which gives us a chance to highlight important new evidence that has come to light - thanks in large part to Professor Amar’s great law student team. It fatally undermines what seemed likely to be the reasoning the opinion was going to take. Will it matter? This is related to the r…
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Rick Hasen with Larry Mantle | A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy
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