Sen. Cory Booker's Record
Did you know that James Madison, a principal drafter of the Constitution and our third president, specifically warned against filibuster: "the fundamental principle of free government would be reversed. It would be no longer the majority that would rule: the power would be transferred to the minority."
How America's Presidents Dared & Defied America's Highest Court
Pres. Trump is not the first U.S. president to have strained relations with America's courts, including our Highest Court - the Supreme Court of the United States. In fact, more than one U.S. president has openly expressed his personal animosity toward one or more Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Musk Compared To Other Business Tycoons
Trump's Speaking Style Compared to Other Presidents
Did you know that Carnegie had a hard time retiring? No, it's not because he loved working. He actually did want to retire. It's just that there was no one and no institution with enough money to buy his company shares. He was the richest man in the world. And he wielded awesome power - in business and politics.
Trump's Speaking Style Compared to Other Presidents
Trump's Speaking Style Compared to Other Presidents
Trump's Speaking Style Compared to Other Presidents
Presidential words = action, because presidents have power.
Defeated Vice Presidents on January 6th
Trump's Speaking Style Compared to Other Presidents
Jan. 6 Electoral Vote Count: Congress & Crises
Of the three, which one is the oldest on their respective Jan. 6th?
Jan. 6 Electoral Vote Count: Congress & Crises
Trump's Speaking Style Compared to Other Presidents
Jan. 6 Electoral Vote Count: Congress & Crises
Did you know that on this January 6th, Congress will count the Electoral votes under a new statute - a law that improves how Congress operated on January 6, 2021?
Political Importance of Why New Congress Convenes On January 3
Political Importance of Why New Congress Convenes On January 3
Political Importance of Why New Congress Convenes On January 3
Did you know that Congress's first day on the job used to be March 4th, not January 3rd? And that caused huge issues for our nation.
S4E1: Hypermasculine Trumpism & Politainment - A Review of 2023
HbN Guest: Dr. David Schultz
Author of: Trumpism: American Politics In The Age of Politainment
About Our Guest: Dr. Schultz is a Distinguished University Professor in the Departments of Political Science, Environmental Studies, and Legal Studies at Hamline University. He is also an adjunct professor of Law at the University of Minnesota and at the University of St. Thomas. He is a four-time Fulbright scholar who has taught extensively in Europe and Asia, and the winner of the Leslie A. Whittington National Award for excellence in public affairs teaching. Dr. Schultz is the author of more than 200 articles and 45 books on various aspects of American politics, election law, and the media and politics.
In the news: an election year that follows a historically chaotic year for the US Congress
In this episode (Dec. 6, 2023), we uncover the history behind:
- What stood out for him in the political chaos of 2023?
- What period of American history resembles our current moment
- Whatever happened to decorum and statesmanship in Congress?
- What does he mean by the hyper-masculine nature of Trumpism?
- How does Taylor Swift's music relate to current politics?
- What is Politainment?
- What do Europeans think of America's politics now?
- Because Dr. Schultz has correctly projected every US presidential election for more than two decades, I ask him: who is going to win?
S3E26: Does the Supreme Court function as intended by our Founders?
HbN Guest: Dr. Michael Klarman, Harvard Law School
Author of: The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution
About Our Guest: Dr. Klarman is the Charles Warren Professor of Legal History at Harvard Law School. He has won numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship, which are primarily in the areas of Constitutional Law and Constitutional History. In 2009 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In 2020, he authored the Foreword to the Harvard Law Review’s annual Supreme Court issue, which is titled “The Degradation of American Democracy—and the Court.” He is the author of many books, including The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution, a book that was a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize.
In the news: The US Supreme Court ended is term last week with some big decisions, e.g., on affirmative action, student loans and gay rights. And also, the High Court is buffeted by allegations of potential misconduct.
In this episode (Jul. 7, 2023), we uncover the history behind:
- What did our Framers have in mind for SCOTUS? Did they think 'philosopher kings'?
- Why do justices disagree? Is it because of their political views or principles of jurisprudence?
- Should Justice Marshall have recused himself in Marbury v. Madison?
- What can SCOTUS do if the President or Congress doesn't comply with its decisions? What if states ignore its decisions?
- Does the Supreme Court set national trends or does it follow it?
- How much power do interest groups exert on SCOTUS?
- What happened in FDR's court-packing saga? How was it resolved? Did Hitler endorse court-packing?
- The Bush v. Gore decision.
- the Dobbs case.
- "You are not supposed to be able to own a Supreme Court Justice".
- How did Nixon deal with SCOTUS ethical issues?
S3E4: America's Democratic Presidents
HbN guest: Dr. Thomas J. Balcerski
Author of: The Greatest Party Ever Known (forthcoming)
About our guest: Dr. Balcerski is a visiting professor in US History at Occidental College, AKA Oxy, where he teaches courses on U.S. Presidents and First Ladies as well as the history of the Democratic Party, from Thomas Jefferson to Joe Biden. In addition to Oxy, Dr. Balcerski is a professor of American history at Eastern Connecticut State University. Dr. Balcerski is also a Long-Term Fellow at the Huntington Library and he is conducting research for his forthcoming book, The Greatest Party Ever Known, which we discussed.
In the news: President Biden's age at his half-term.
In this episode (Jan. 27, 2023):
- Why Congress passed the Presidential Record Act.
- Secrets and records during Nixon's administration.
- Why the Freedom of Information Act was passed.
- Pres. Johnson's handling of classified documents compared to Pres. Trump.
- Our two oldest presidents - Biden & Trump.
- Other aged presidents.
- The Greatest Party Ever Known... why the Democratic Party labeled as such?
S3E1: Republican Party's History & Founding Principles
HbN guest: Prof. Joel Richard Paul
Author of: Indivisible - Daniel Webster And the Birth of American Nationalism
About our guest: Prof. Paul is a legal scholar and historian and he teaches Constitutional Law and other subjects at UC Law San Francisco. He has advised the Clinton presidential campaign on trade policy, challenged the military’s exclusion of gay service members and brought other First Amendment cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has testified before Congress, managed political campaigns, and worked on affordable housing policies. In 1991 Professor Paul corroborated the testimony of Professor Anita Hill before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas. He has written many books. In this conversation, we discussed his latest book, Indivisible - Daniel Webster And the Birth of American Nationalism.
In the news: Chaos in the People's House. Rep. McCarthy was finally voted in as the Speaker after 15 rounds.
In this episode (Jan. 6, 2023):
- Republican Party was a reaction to the French Revolution, from where the Party got its name.
- How Thomas Jefferson secretly conspired with Citizen Genet.
- Why Republicans believed John Quincy Adams is a monarchist.
- How Jackson splintered from the Republican Party and created the Democratic Party
- The Whig Party and its demise.
- Andrew Jackson's populism.
- Ascendance of Constitutionalism as a unifying force in America.
- Originally, the Republican Party was a progressive conservative party.
- Parallels between Donald Trump and Andrew Jackson.
- Why Trump hung Jackson's portrait in the Oval Office, and not Lincoln's?
- Declaration of Independence versus the U.S. Constitution.
S2E41: Comparing Trump to Other Comeback Presidents
HbN guest: Prof. Michael J. Gerhardt
Author of: The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy
About our guest: Prof. Gerhardt is a legal scholar and historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, where he is a Burton Craig Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence. He is the author of seven books, including The Forgotten Presidents and Lincoln's Mentors. His forthcoming book is FDR's Mentors. Professor Gerhardt has testified more than 20 times before Congress, including as the only joint witness in the Clinton impeachment proceedings in the House; speaking behind closed doors to the entire House of Representatives about the history of impeachment in 1998.
He also testified as one of the four constitutional scholars called by the House Judiciary Committee during President Trump’s impeachment proceedings.
In the news: Trump's announces his candidacy for 2024.
In this episode (Dec. 9, 2022):
- Pres. Grover Cleveland's two non-consecutive terms.
- Comparing Cleveland to Trump, especially in the interim four years.
- Andrew Jackson's 1824 election loss - the Corrupt Bargain!
- Comparing Jackson to Trump - populism and mobocracy.
- Richard Nixon's near-loss in the 1960 election.
- How Nixon managed not to be perceived as a loser.
- Comparing Nixon to Trump.
- Prof. Gerhardt's personal stories of testifying in Congress - a conversation with Mike Pence.
S2E39: Polarization of America's Politics
HbN guest: Dr. David Schultz
Author of: Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter
About our guest: Dr. Schultz is a Distinguished Hamline University Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies, where he teaches across a wide range of American politics classes including public policy and administration, campaigns and elections, and government ethics. He is also a professor of law at Hamline as well as the University of Minnesota Schools of Law, where he teaches election law.
In the news: 2022 Midterm Elections. The Republican red tsunami didn't happen.
In this episode (Nov. 18, 2022):
- What real power does the President possess?
- Truman re Eisenhower: poor Ike, he is going to order everyone around, and no one is going to listen.
- Why U.S. Congress is not a national legislature?
- We are so polarized that Democrats and Republicans don’t like to live in the same neighborhoods.
- How in American politics, the fringe gets to wag the dog!
- How Citizens United has frighteningly changed American politics.
- Only 200 political donors in the US really matter for election outcomes.
- Voter ID disengranchisement.
- How America's polarization will end in 5-10 years.
S2E37: History of Classified Documents and Espionage Act
HbN guest: Prof. Heidi Kitrosser
Author of: Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution
About our guest: Prof. Kitrosser is a legal scholar at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. She is an expert on the constitutional law of federal government secrecy and on separation of powers and free speech law more broadly. She is the author of Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution, which was awarded the 2014 Chicago-Kent College of Law / Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize. She is on the steering committee of a new initiative – the Free Expression Legal Network (FELN) spearheaded by Yale’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic and the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press
In the news: Investigation of former Pres. Trump's documents in Mar-a-Lago.
In this episode (Nov. 4, 2022):
- History of Presidential Executive Orders that define the scope of classified information.
- The irony of Nixon's Executive Order as being a model for future executive orders.
- How many Americans have access to classified information?
- Freedom of Information Act's impact on obtaining classified information.
- The Espionage Act from the First Amendment perspective.
- Why the Espionage Act is an example of secrecy gone too far.
- Prosecution of information leaks by the Obama and Trump administrations
- How US courts and Congress are complicit in relinquishing control over classified information to the President.
S2E27: History of America's Election Disputes and Violence
HbN guest: Prof. Edward Foley
Author of: Ballot Battles: The History of Disputed Elections in the United States
About our guest: Prof. Foley holds the Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law at The Ohio State University, where he also directs its election law program. He is a contributing opinion columnist for The Washington Post, and for the 2020 election season, he served as an NBC News election law analyst. He is the author of Presidential Elections and Majority Rule, and Ballot Battles: The History of Disputed Elections in the United States, which was named a Finalist for the David J. Langum Prize in American Legal History and listed as one of 100 “must-read books about law and social justice".
In the news: Congresswoman Liz Cheney lost her re-election bid because, unlike 66% of House Republicans, she did not deny the 2020 election results.
In this episode (Aug. 26, 2022):
- Comparing how Alexander Hamilton and James Madison dealt with election loss.
- The 1876 election dispute almost caused a second civil war.
- In 1877, America didn't know who would become president even two days prior to inauguration.
- Why Prof. Foley didn't at all expect the Jan. 6th insurrection in 2022.
- America is regressing to the 19th century's violent ways of resolving election disputes.
- How America has become a nation of numerical minority rule.
- Our electoral college is not the original electoral college envisioned by our Founders.
- History of minority presidents.
S2E24: PROHIBITION'S HISTORY. AN IGNORED U.S. CENSUS?!?
HbN guest: Mr. Daniel Okrent
Author of: Last Call, The Rise And Fall of Prohibition
About our guest: Mr. Okrent is the author of the Last Call, The Rise And Fall of Prohibition, which won the Albert J. Beveridge prize, awarded by the American Historical Association to the year's best book of American history, and was used as a major source for the PBS miniseries Prohibition, which was directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. Mr. Okrent served as the first public editor of The New York Times , and he has also been the editor of prestigious publishing companies, as well as the Esquire Magazine, Life Magazine, and Time, among others. He also served on the board of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery for 12 years, including a four-year term as chairman, and remains a board member of the Skyscraper Museum and the Authors Guild.
In the news: controversy over the 2020 U.S. census continues in Congress. That controvery involved President Trump's interference in the census, and lawsuits that went t othe Supreme Court.
In this episode (Aug. 5, 2022):
- The 1910s was a big decade of major Constitutional amendments that profoundly changed American society.
- The 16th Amendment authorized income tax, which in turn enabled the 18th Amendment that prohibited alcohol.
- Millions of Catholic and Jewish immigrants poured into the US from 1900 to 1920.
- Most of these immigrants lived in big cities, and some were notoriously involved in the illgeal sales of alcohol.
- Rural members of Congress, who were mostly dry, realized that a reapportionment of Congress based on the 1920 census would tilt Congress toward urban America.
- So, they decided to ignore the 1920 census, which was a gross violation of the US Constitution.
- But prohibition did not represent the will of the majority.
- This story is a lesson of a determined minority can change American politics and society.
S2E18: Florida's History - The Battle Between DeSantis and Disney
HbN guest: Dr. James C. Clark
Author of: Hidden History of Florida
About our guest: Dr. Clark lives in Orlando and is an award-winning journalist, and a history lecturer at the University of Central Florida.
He is the author of 9 books, including Hidden History of Florida, A Concise History of Florida, Orlando Florida - A Brief History, and Presidents in Florida.
In the news: Just a couple of weeks ago, Florida’s Governor, Mr. Ron DeSantis, signed a bill that revoked Disney’s special district status in his state.
In this episode (May 13, 2022):
- What are special districts?
- Why would anyone in their right mind tax themselves?
- How special is Disney's special district?
- Mr. Disney's secret land purhcases in Florida.
- Why did Mr. Diseny insists on having a special district?
- What dreams did Mr. Disney have for his special district in Florida?
- When and how did Florida become a Republican state?
- DeSantis is the most powerful Southern governor since the Civil War.
- What was Mr. Diseny's vision for a Utopian city?
- Why did this city need nuclear power?