What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law
What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law
Roman Mars
Professor Elizabeth Joh teaches Intro to Constitutional Law and most of the time this is a pretty straight forward job. But when Trump came into office, everything changed. During the four years of the Trump presidency, Professor Joh would check Twitter five minutes before each class to find out what the 45th President had said and how it jibes with 200 years of the judicial branch interpreting and ruling on the Constitution. Acclaimed podcaster Roman Mars (99% Invisible) was so anxious about all the norms and laws being tested in the Trump era that he asked his neighbor, Elizabeth, to explain what was going on in the world from a Constitutional law perspective. Even after Trump left office, there is still so much for Roman to learn. What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law is a weekly, fun, casual Con Law 101 class that uses the tumultuous activities of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to teach us all about the US Constitution. All music for the show comes from Doomtree, an independent hip-hop collective and record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Bad Faith President
The United States generally does not allow a standing army to be used against civilians. But Trump has been exploiting an exception to keep troops in Los Angeles to protect ICE agents, with terrifying implications.
Jul 25
33 min
The Return of Con Law
Announcing The 99% Invisible Breakdown: The Constitution and the return of What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law.
Jun 10
57 min
Election Lawsuits
No matter what happens on Election Day, Trump and his allies have already put legal challenges in motion. Here’s what a nerdy agency, hanging chads, and zombie lawsuits can tell us about how all this could play out.
Nov 4, 2024
34 min
Enemy Aliens
Falsely claiming there is a wave of violence perpetrated by migrants, Trump has threatened mass deportations under the broad and terrifying powers of the Alien Enemies Act.
Oct 29, 2024
32 min
Faithless Electors and Wrong Winners
The United States has a strange way of electing presidents.
Oct 8, 2024
32 min
Deepfakes and Lying Liars
Election deepfakes have the potential to change people's opinions about a presidential election in ways that can be harmful to democracy and the truth itself. But what does the Constitution say about regulating these manipulated images? One place to look: Hustler Magazine.
Sep 24, 2024
31 min
Whose Speech, Whose Campus
As students go back to school, colleges and universities across the country are preparing for the continuation of protests against the Israel-Hamas war—and claims by other students that the protests are violating their own civil rights. Institutions and courts are now weighing the question: whose free speech matters more?
Sep 10, 2024
31 min
Fishy Deep State
What’s the connection between former President Donald Trump's attacks on the so-called “Deep State" and a tiny silvery fish? The Supreme Court, of course.
Aug 27, 2024
32 min
Preview: Not Built For This
Preview: Not Built For This from 99% Invisible
Aug 14, 2024
2 min
Cruel and Unusual
What does it mean for punishment to be cruel and unusual?
Aug 14, 2024
34 min
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