The Lawfare Podcast

Anastasiia Lapatina, Kyiv-based Ukraine Fellow reporting on humanitarian and energy crises. Benjamin Wittes, Editor in Chief who recently toured Ukraine and offers on-the-ground analysis. They discuss Russia’s winter strikes on energy infrastructure and resulting civilian hardships. They examine stalled negotiations and prisoner exchanges. They explore rapid drone warfare innovation, countermeasures, and how tech is reshaping the front lines.

Justin Curl, a Harvard J.D. student and law researcher, and Arvind Narayanan, Princeton CS professor focused on tech policy, discuss why AI may not cut legal costs soon. They explore AI diffusion versus capability, law’s unique structural barriers, litigation arms-races, human oversight limits, and regulatory reforms like sandboxes and markets.

Seamus Hughes, NCITE researcher and Court Watch founder, studies counterterrorism and court transparency. Peter Beck, Lawfare associate editor and Court Watch reporter, monitors overlooked federal dockets. They discuss news deserts in the Middle District of Georgia, how dwindling local coverage hides important court activity, concrete case examples, and whether reporting tools and reforms can restore transparency.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council who analyzes U.S. immigration enforcement, joins to unpack funding surges for ICE and DHS. He breaks down staffing shifts, risks of rapid mass hiring, and how new personnel could reshape arrests and worksite raids. He also outlines detention expansion plans and looming high court battles.

They cover legal battles over searches and sealed filings tied to the Fulton County probe. Removal doctrine fights and efforts to shift state prosecutions to federal courts get attention. Rights challenges to ICE and CBP use of force, congressional oversight, and access to detainees are discussed. Several high‑profile procedural skirmishes and litigation developments are highlighted.

Steve Meili, professor of international human rights law and refugee law expert, breaks down the EU Migration Pact and its roots. He discusses safe-third-country rules and offshore detention. He warns about rapid vetting, detention, and crisis clauses that could restrict access to asylum. He compares EU measures to U.S., UK, and Australian approaches and considers burdens on neighboring states.

Anna Bower, Fulton County correspondent who live-blogged Judge McBurney’s hearing. She walks through legal distinctions about special grand jury reports. They discuss the district attorney’s secrecy arguments, media requests for access, and McBurney’s lean toward public access with possible short delays and redactions.

Iria Puyosa, a tech researcher on internet shutdowns, explains how Iran throttled and severed connectivity and the limits of solutions like satellites. Nate Swanson, an Iran policy expert, analyzes how protests spread, the security forces' harsh crackdown, and realistic U.S. response options. They discuss national intranets, elite access, and practical steps to restore communications.

Molly Roberts, Lawfare senior editor who covers national security and election-warrant issues; Michael Feinberg, former federal/state law enforcement attorney with intelligence and investigative expertise; Troy Edwards, former federal prosecutor with courtroom and national-security perspective. They walk through three high-profile warrant stories: the Fulton County search, ICE’s push for administrative warrants, and the seizure of a reporter’s devices. Short, sharp conversations on legal basis, norms, and risks.

Scott R. Anderson, Senior Editor at Lawfare and national security law expert, breaks down the U.S. plan to seize and sell Venezuelan oil and park proceeds in Qatar. He explains the two-part mechanism, legal shields like IEEPA and FSIA carve-outs, why Qatar was chosen, and the major attachment, recognition, and oversight risks that make the plan legally and politically fraught.