The Lawfare Podcast

From March 4, 2024: As the 2024 presidential election approaches, a vital question is whether the legal architecture governing the election is well crafted to prevent corruption and abuse. In their new book, “How to Steal a Presidential Election,” Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman argue that despite the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022, serious abuse of the presidential election rules remains a live possibility. Jack Goldsmith sat down with Lessig to learn why. They discussed the continuing possibility of vice presidential mischief, the complex role of faithless electors, strategic behavior related to recounts, and the threat of rogue governors. They also pondered whether any system of rules can regulate elections in the face of widespread bad faith by the actors involved.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Dreeben, legendary Supreme Court advocate who argued landmark Fourth Amendment and ECPA cases, reflects on four decades of electronic privacy law. He traces the law’s origins, key Supreme Court shifts like Katz and Carpenter, and why statutes may better address modern digital gaps. Short takes on rulings from Kyllo to Riley and the push for a modernized Stored Communications Act.

Kate Klonick, technology scholar and editor who studies platforms and content moderation. Kevin Frazier, national security and tech editor focused on policy and supply chains. Anna Bower, legal editor specializing in national security law. They unpack the Anthropic litigation, global supply chain shocks from the Iran conflict, and the Artemis II launch and private-sector reshaping of space.

John Ghazvinian, historian and author of America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present, traces three centuries of U.S.–Iran interaction. He recounts early American fascination with Persia, shifting perceptions before 1979, the 1953 coup, the 1979 revolution and hostage crisis, Cold War and post-9/11 tensions, the JCPOA saga, and recurring missed chances for rapprochement.

Joel Braunold, Managing Director of the Center Project and Israeli-Palestinian analyst, breaks down rising West Bank violence, settler-state dynamics, and Israel’s new offensive in southern Lebanon. He outlines military and political tensions, legal changes affecting Palestinians, risks of a Lebanon ground campaign, and how these conflicts intersect with Gaza, Iran, and upcoming Israeli elections.

Philine Widmer, economist at the Paris School of Economics who studied X's feed algorithm, and Nathaniel Lubin, founder of Insight Studio and researcher on creators, discuss algorithmic curation and creator-driven persuasion. They compare randomized feed tests and creator interventions. Conversations cover follow dynamics, parasocial trust, platform architecture, and what shapes political exposure online.

Anna Bauer, an on-the-ground legal correspondent who covered the Fulton County courtroom, gives vivid firsthand courtroom reporting. She walks through the March 27 hearing over seized 2020 ballots and the judge’s skeptical stance. Short updates touch on related hearings, evidentiary fights, and where the matter may head next.

From March 25, 2025: Tom Kent ran Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is a longtime Russia watcher. He talks to Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes about President Trump’s executive order dismantling Voice of America and Radio Free Europe.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institutSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steven Heydemann, director of Smith College’s Middle East Studies Program and longtime analyst, offers a brisk tour of Syria’s sudden political transition. He breaks down Ahmed al-Shara’s power grab and comparisons to Erdogan-style rule. He discusses deadly communal violence, the al-Shara-Kurd deal, Turkey’s aims in the north, Israeli interventions, and the U.S. sanctions dilemma.

Aaron Faust, former State Department INR Iran-Iraq division chief and commentator, and Chip Usher, 32-year CIA veteran and Middle East intelligence analyst, discuss Iran’s threats, limits of U.S. military options, risks of wider escalation, gaps in missile and drone defenses, the difficulty of seizing territory or uranium, and the economic and diplomatic fallout of prolonged conflict.