The no-show of America’s attorney-general in Congress is just the latest example of the White House’s broad stonewalling policy; we look at the constitutional crisis that may be brewing. Facebook’s blocking of extremists yesterday is just one front the social-media behemoth is fighting. Mark Zuckerberg’s bid to remake the platform will probably ape its Chinese rival, WeChat. And, we check into the Czech Republic and Poland, finding one immigrant group being embraced in a notoriously anti-migrant region.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper talks with Jon Favreau about his life as a brewpub owner, his strategy for winning over Republicans, his plans to combat climate change and deal with automation, and what it’s like to govern in times of tragedy and crisis.
Today's episode covers everything you need to know about Bill Barr's testimony before the Senate Judiciary committee (and his refusal to testify before the House). Has he perjured himself? (Yes.) Is there a reasonable defense of Barr? (No.) What's next? Listen and find out!
Also, don't forget to show up for our monthly LIVE Q&A on our YouTube channel this Sunday, May 5th at 6 pm Eastern / 3 pm Pacific!
We begin today's show, however, with a few Andrew Was Wrongs and one Andrew Was Right. Wrong? Andrew used "fulcrum" when he should have used "center of gravity," and it led to this amazing listener graphic explaining the difference. Also, Andrew relied upon a mislabeled graph in a complaint in Episode 273; technically, that's someone else who was wrong first, but hey.
But Andrew was definitely RIGHT about the RNC platform, and now we have even more evidence to confirm it -- this time in the form of the testimony of J.D. Gordon to Mueller's team of investigators. And we break that down for you (because of course we do!).
Then, it's time to delve into everything we know about Bill Barr's perjure-tastic trip before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Find out why Andrew thinks Barr isn't going to last, and why he definitely committed perjury. Oh, and figure out what Rule 6(e) is -- and why Barr is lying about that, too.
After all that, it's time for a brand-new Thomas Takes the Bar Exam #124... this time about Decomposing Snail Cola. Decomposing Snail Cola: It's the Only One With Decomposing Snails!
Amanda Holmes reads Philip Larkin’s poem, “Aubade.” Have a suggestion for a poem? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you’ll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman.
This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch.
On The Gist, how many people have declared they’re running for president?
In the interview, breaking a record doesn’t always mean going home a winner. Adam Levin learned that in his recent run on Jeopardy!, where he banked more money than any runner-up in the history of the game show (thus walking away with just $2,000). He tells Mike, a fellow Jeopardy! alumnus, about his tactics—and the fact that he has no regrets. Levin is sports information director of Brandeis University’s athletics program.
William Barr lies to Congress and angers Bob Mueller, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer decide to play along with the latest Infrastructure Week, and Democrats are in need of Senate candidates for 2020. Then Senator Bernie Sanders talks to Tommy about the Senate vote to end America's support for the war in Yemen, and activist Ady Barkan talks to Jon about his appearance at the first-ever Congressional hearing on Medicare for All. Also – Pod Save America is going on tour! Get your tickets now: crooked.com/events.
On March 18, 2019, the Supreme Court heard argument in Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, a case considering racial gerrymandering claims in the the redistricting of Virginia House of Delegates districts. In 2011, the Virginia House of Delegates redrew the 100 Virginia House of Delegates districts. Under the plan, each district was required to have 80,000 residents. Under the 2001 plan, there were twelve districts with a majority black voting age population (BVAP). These districts did not meet the 80,000 resident requirement for the 2011 plan, which meant that “any new plan required moving significant numbers of new voters into these districts in order to comply with the principle one person, one vote.” Title 52 U.S.C. § 10304--section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA)--required that any new plan not “diminish the number of districts in which minority groups can ‘elect their preferred candidates of choice.’” To ensure that at least twelve districts remained, the House of Delegates proposed that the twelve majority-minority districts were required to have a minimum 55% BVAP in the 2011 plan. The bill was passed and signed into law. In 2014, registered voters in the twelve majority-minority districts filed suit against the Virginia State Board of Elections, claiming racial gerrymandering in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In 2015 the three-judge district court ruled that race was not a predominant factor in the construction of 11 of the 12 challenged districts, but did predominate in one district, (District 75), though in that situation strict scrutiny was satisfied. In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s judgment with respect to District 75 but vacated the judgment as to the other 11 districts and remanded the case, concluding that the district court had relied on a flawed standard when assessing whether race predominated. On remand, the three-judge district court concluded that race predominated in the drawing of all 11 districts and that none satisfied strict scrutiny. The Virginia House of Delegates appealed to the Supreme Court for further review, raising various concerns regarding the district court’s predominance and strict scrutiny analyses, as well evidentiary issues. For their part the appellees sought dismissal of the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, and the Court directed the parties to address whether the House of Delegates lacked standing to bring this appeal. To the discuss the case, we have Scott Keller, Partner at Baker Botts.
Ten years ago, “Move fast and break things” was the clarion call of the world’s tech giants. Well, they moved fast and broke stuff, alright. Lots of stuff. Whether it’s Facebook privacy scandals, YouTube’s radicalization of the far right, or China’s brutal use of surveillance gadgetry, digital technology seems to be a relentless force for greed, bad faith, and tyranny these days. Let’s talk about it.
“Unbreak the Internet” is the theme for the third season of Crazy/Genius, The Atlantic’s podcast on tech and culture. Over the course of eight weeks, we’ll expose the surveillance states in both western China and East New York, ask if digital platforms are an accelerant for right-wing nationalism, tell you why privacy is the climate-change crisis of the internet, and more.
The third season of Crazy/Genius returns on May 9.
