The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
The Lawfare Podcast features discussions with experts, policymakers, and opinion leaders at the nexus of national security, law, and policy. On issues from foreign policy, homeland security, intelligence, and cybersecurity to governance and law, we have doubled down on seriousness at a time when others are running away from it. Visit us at www.lawfaremedia.org.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 27, 2026 • 42min
Lawfare Daily: Patronage Pardons: A Conversation with Prof. Lee Kovarsky about a Novel Feature of the Trump Administration
Lee Kovarsky, an endowed chair professor at UT Law and constitutional scholar, discusses his research on 'patronage pardons.' He defines pardons that reward or induce supporters' criminality. He contrasts traditional clemency with transactional, public pardons, explores real-world examples, and considers legal and prosecutorial responses without offering policy prescriptions.
Feb 26, 2026 • 28min
Lawfare Live: Unpacking the Kilmar Abrego Garcia Hearing with Anna Bower
Anna Bower, senior editor who covers national security litigation, breaks down the Kilmar Abrego Garcia evidentiary hearing. She walks through the vindictiveness motion, the presumption of vindictiveness and how the government tried to rebut it. She outlines key witness testimony, timing and communications that shaped the courtroom drama.
Feb 26, 2026 • 1h 17min
Rational Security: The “Off the Rails” Edition
Paul Stephan, University of Virginia law professor known for his work on international economic powers, offers crisp legal analysis. He breaks down the Supreme Court ruling limiting IEEPA tariff authority. He analyzes whether tariffs can be reimposed under other statutes. He also discusses the legal and diplomatic fallout from Mexico’s strike on El Mencho and the cartel retaliation.
12 snips
Feb 26, 2026 • 21min
Lawfare Daily: The State of IHL
Stuart Casey Maslen, head of IHL in Focus at the Geneva Academy and IHL scholar, outlines worrying global trends. He discusses two decades of IHL erosion, the spread and dangers of armed and autonomous drones, rising sexual violence, enforcement and accountability gaps, and whether new treaty rules are needed. Short, urgent takes on law, technology, and civilian protection.
Feb 25, 2026 • 49min
Lawfare Daily: Are We Going to War in Iran?
Eric Brewer, nuclear security expert at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and Ariane Tabatabai, Iran specialist and policy fellow, break down the looming U.S. confrontation with Iran. They explore military buildup versus diplomacy. They debate goals—nuclear rollback or responding to protest massacres. They examine strike value, the need for clear objectives, and risks of escalation and regime instability.
Feb 24, 2026 • 51min
Lawfare Daily: Ideology, Action, and Terrorism in the 1970s
Jason Burke, Guardian journalist and author of The Revolutionists, traces how 1960s–70s revolutionary currents birthed transnational militant networks. He highlights iconic attacks and figures, the crossover between leftist and Islamist vocabularies, state responses and evolving counterterror policies, and why the era still captivates culture and media.
Feb 23, 2026 • 1h 39min
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, Feb. 20
Troy Edwards, former DOJ attorney focused on Justice Department independence and career staff impacts. Peter Harrell, trade-law scholar who analyzes the Supreme Court’s IEPA tariff ruling. They unpack the Court’s reasoning on tariff authority, limits on presidential trade power, alternative statutes like Sections 122 and 301, and the practical fallout for refunds, enforcement, and future litigation.
Feb 22, 2026 • 1h 6min
Lawfare Archive: Nick Bednar on Trump's Civil Service Executive Orders
Nick Bednar, University of Minnesota law professor who analyzes civil service rules, breaks down Trump’s Day 1 civil service orders. He explains Schedule F, hiring and firing changes, who decides classifications, and likely legal fights. They also cover DOGE, telework and DEI rollbacks, revoked offers, and how these moves could politicize and reshape the federal workforce.
Feb 21, 2026 • 48min
Lawfare Archive: Are the Courts Ready for a Trump Presidency?
Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare Editor-in-Chief and national security legal commentator. He discusses the courts' capacity to handle a flood of litigation after a presidential blitz of executive actions. They cover TROs and injunction strain, circuit-by-circuit appeal dynamics, enforcement limits against presidential defiance, and when matters may land at the Supreme Court.
20 snips
Feb 20, 2026 • 48min
Scaling Laws: Claude's Constitution, with Amanda Askell
Amanda Askell, head of personality alignment at Anthropic and primary author of Claude's Constitution, explains the 20,000-word framework that shapes Claude's values and behavior. She describes how the constitution guides training and reward signals. The conversation covers fidelity to text versus spirit, virtue ethics over rigid rules, cultural universality, decision hierarchies, and implications for moral patienthood and specialized domains.
