Talking Feds

As casualties mount and gas prices rise, the White House knows it may be losing its chance to resolve its war with Iran in time to prevent a midterms wipe-out for Republicans. To plumb the depth of the political damage and assess the decisive races, Harry talks with Susan Glasser, Astead Herndon, and Juliette Kayyem. The group breaks down Trump’s decision to go back to war, Hegseth’s worrying obfuscations about American casualties, the transformed Maine Senate race, and the no-holds-barred fight for the future of the Democratic party playing out in Michigan.Mentioned in this episode:

Susan’s analysis: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/susan-b-glasserAstead’s show America, Actually: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/america-actually-with-astead-herndon/id1890552134Juliette’s Substack: https://substack.com/@juliettekayyemAstead’s interview with Abdul El-Sayed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE9quwCWKuYNew Yorker reporting on former Biden administration officials and Gaza: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/27/how-biden-emboldened-israels-aggression-toward-gaza-and-iran
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Maggie Haberman has been on the Trump beat for decades. Now she has written—with co-author Jonathan Swan—a tour de force on how the president is remaking our government in his image. Haberman gives Harry an inside look at a White House in thrall to a president who’s never been so uninhibited. She shares a swath of insights about Trump’s health, his reluctance to help Republicans in the midterms, just how close he came to invoking the Insurrection Act, and more.

Mentioned in this episode:

Haberman and Swan’s book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Regime-Change/Maggie-Haberman/9781668067246Haberman’s reporting: https://www.nytimes.com/by/maggie-haberman#latest
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Aaron Blake, Conor Lamb, and Mimi Rocah join Harry to break down Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing, two new ICE killings, and a primetime election rant. Did Todd Blanche manage to persuade senators that he's a traditional do-the-right-thing prosecutor? Why is Trump suddenly embracing ICE’s abuses again, and could that cost him the midterms? Finally: was Trump’s big speech a prelude to a declaration of war on fair midterms, or a de facto admission that his endless claims of fraud are all baseless?

Mentioned in this episode:

Aaron’s reporting: https://www.cnn.com/profiles/aaron-blakeConor’s Substack: https://conorlambpa.substack.com/Mimi’s Substack: https://substack.com/@mimirocah1
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Over the next two days, would-be Attorney General Todd Blanche will get a grilling from the Senate about how he and the Department of Justice handled transparency regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. Julie K. Brown—the reporter who has done the most to expose and explain the Epstein saga—knows what senators need to ask. She joins Harry to lay out how the DOJ continues to fail Epstein’s victims, why she thinks Trump will pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, and all the ways Epstein worked to manipulate the federal prosecutors tasked with delivering justice.

Mentioned in this episode:

Julie’s reporting: https://www.miamiherald.com/profile/218644665/

Julie’s Substack: https://jkbjournalist.substack.com/

Harry’s column about Katie Phang’s Epstein transparency suit: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/cutting-edge-legal-argument-could
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Stellar economic analysts Dean Baker, Paul Krugman, and Stephanie Ruhle join Harry for his periodic deep dive into the ways Trump is reshaping the U.S. economy. The panel weighs the immediate and long-term economic effects of Trump’s on-again, off-again war with Iran. Next, they take stock of Trump's record-breaking self-enrichment, and of how the Supreme Court has opened the door to more chaos and self-dealing. They close with a look at Kevin Warsh, Trump’s hand-picked new Fed Chair, tasked with keeping a fragile economy on track.

Mentioned in this episode:

Dean’s column: https://cepr.net/series/dean-bakers-beat-the-press/Paul’s Substack: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/Stephanie’s new show: https://www.ms.now/money-power-politics
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