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  • Could Facebook Have Stopped January 6? With Frances Haugen

    Could Facebook Have Stopped January 6? With Frances Haugen
    Oct 29 2026
    Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, the subject and hero of the new film The Social Reckoning, joins Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang for an in-depth conversation about Facebook’s responsibility for January 6. How did its systems help fuel the attack? Could the company have prevented it? And how did that day shape her decision to blow the whistle? Corey also shares his reaction to the film and a story about Hillary Clinton at Brown University that raises questions about political belonging and why she lost to Trump.

    Before that, Corey and John discuss the misogyny of Vivek Ramaswamy and Donald Trump, and whether Obama’s “Cheesecake Factory” mockery offers an effective response to a politics where extremism has become mainstream. They also examine the Trump administration’s California election crackdown, including arrests over alleged voting-related offenses and an effort to block the counting of ballots from roughly 20,000 voters whose citizenship it disputes.
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    1 Std. und 17 Min.
  • Report the News, Risk Deportation? Stanford Students Take On Trump

    Report the News, Risk Deportation? Stanford Students Take On Trump
    Oct 22 2026
    Can writing an article put you at risk of deportation? The Stanford Daily editor George Porteous joins Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang to explain how deportation fears are silencing student journalists—and why his newspaper took the Trump administration to court. After a major district-court victory, the administration is appealing. At stake: freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of noncitizens.

    Plus: Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation fight, harassment of Rep. Ilhan Omar, the revolving door in the Trump administration, the golf-course controversy involving Judge Reyes, and the battle over Russian sanctions.
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    53 Min.
  • Impeach Trump? Rep. Al Green Makes the Case

    Impeach Trump? Rep. Al Green Makes the Case
    Oct 15 2026
    Congress has the power to impeach Trump. Will it use it?

    John Fugelsang and Corey Brettschneider discuss the attack on Ilhan Omar, calls to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Elon Musk’s DOGE assault on USAID and Congress’s constitutional powers. Why should accountability stop with the president’s subordinates?

    Then Congressman Al Green joins the show to make his case for impeaching Trump. From Nixon to Trump, we examine Congress’s responsibility to confront presidential abuses—and the danger of treating any president as above the law.


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    1 Std. und 10 Min.
  • Jack Smith Fights Back—and Why the Midterms Matter (with Rep. Ted Lieu)

    Jack Smith Fights Back—and Why the Midterms Matter (with Rep. Ted Lieu)
    Oct 8 2026
    Jack Smith turns the tables on his congressional questioners and doubles down on why he indicted Donald Trump. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down the fiery hearing, the threats of prosecution against Smith, and what this battle over accountability reveals about the upcoming midterms. Plus: Can Democrats win in red states, and what would taking back Congress actually accomplish?

    Then, Congressman Ted Lieu joins Corey to discuss his proposed AI “kill switch” legislation, the dangers of unchecked artificial intelligence, and federal efforts to stop the sale of presidential pardons.


    Learn more about our sponsor, Americans United for Separation of Church and State: https://www.au.org/tenc/

    Timestamps:
    00:52 – Intro

    05:02 – Jack Smith is Grilled in the Senate
    23:32 – Which States We’re Watching in the Midterms
    46:07 – Congressman Lieu on AI Regulation
    55:31 – What Legislation Do We Need to Restrain the Pardon Power?
    01:01:16 – How Congress Can Keep Trump in Line
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    1 Std. und 15 Min.
  • Deported to Torture? The Supreme Court Greenlights Trump

    Deported to Torture? The Supreme Court Greenlights Trump
    Oct 1 2026
    What if the government sends you to a country you've never known—where you fear persecution or torture—and you never get a real chance to challenge it?

    The Supreme Court has allowed Trump's third-country deportations to continue while the case is pending. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang examine the human stakes, and what it means when the government acts first and the courts decide later.

    Also this week: taxpayer-funded ads pushing Trump's political message, the fight over a federal voter database, and the White House's ongoing restrictions on the press.

    Learn more about our sponsor, Americans United for Separation of Church and State: https://www.au.org/tenc/

    00:51 – Third-Party Removals

    17:06 – Donald Trump’s Taxpayer-Funded Campaign Ads
    31:41 – SCOTUS is Letting States Use the SAVE Databases
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    48 Min.
  • Trump’s White House Press Ban & Religious Coercion (with Mickey Dollens)

    Trump’s White House Press Ban & Religious Coercion (with Mickey Dollens)
    Sep 24 2026
    Can a president shut out reporters because he doesn’t like their coverage? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang take on Donald Trump’s sudden ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. They explore the constitutional stakes of revoking press credentials, why press freedom protects the public as well as journalists, and whether federal courts will hold the line against a president determined to punish his critics.

    Then, Oklahoma state representative and Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) official Mickey Dollens joins the conversation to examine the spreading threat of religious coercion and Christian nationalism, from coaches pressuring student athletes to pray to government sponsorship of prayer in statehouses. When does an invitation to participate become pressure to conform? And what happens to freedom of conscience when those in power expect you to share their faith?

    Two fights over the First Amendment, connected by one critical question: Can those in authority force the rest of us to fall in line?
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    1 Std. und 11 Min.
  • Bonus Episode: Is Bipartisanship Still Possible? With Governors Bill Haslam and Phil Bredesen

    Bonus Episode: Is Bipartisanship Still Possible? With Governors Bill Haslam and Phil Bredesen
    Sep 22 2026
    One Republican. One Democrat. Two former governors asking whether Americans can still find common ground.In this special bonus episode of The Oath and the Office, Corey Brettschneider welcomes former Tennessee governors Bill Haslam and Phil Bredesen, hosts of You Might Be Right, for a conversation about political division, democratic principles, and the possibilities and limits of bipartisan cooperation.

    What brought these two governors together? What can Americans accomplish across party lines? And where should compromise end when fundamental principles are at stake? We explore what it means to listen to political opponents, reconsider your own assumptions, and stand firm when democracy demands it.
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    34 Min.
  • Did the Supreme Court Just Save the Election? With Skye Perryman

    Did the Supreme Court Just Save the Election? With Skye Perryman
    Sep 17 2026
    Can Trump use the Postal Service to control how Americans vote by mail? And when does a campaign promise cross the line into an attempted bribe? Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman joins Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang to discuss the Supreme Court’s order keeping Trump’s Postal Service restrictions on mail voting blocked ahead of the midterms. She also provides an update on her organization’s challenge to Trump’s slush fund and discusses her new book, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times. Before the interview, Corey and John break down the news:
    • The Postal Ruling: What the Supreme Court’s decision means for voters this November.
    • Pardons & Bribes: Trump’s promise of $5,000 checks if Republicans keep Congress and the big business of pardon lobbying. Does calling the pardon power “plenary” excuse corrupt use?
    • AI & Autocracy: Mike Johnson’s hands-off approach to AI safety, and what Hungary’s fight against corruption can teach us about defeating authoritarianism.
    Timestamps:
    7:18 – The $5,000 Dividend

    14:32 – Trump is Selling Pardons
    23:52 – The Call to Slow AI Progress
    32:37 – An AFD Victory in Germany: What Does This Mean for Us?
    40:14 – The Courts Kept Trump’s Mail-In Ballot Interference At Bay (With Skye Perryman)
    51:11 – Democracy Forward’s Suit Against Trump’s Slush Fund & A Peek Into Skye’s New Book


    Support our sponsor today at https://FFRF.us/office

    Skye Perryman’s book: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times
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    1 Std. und 10 Min.