Executive Functions Chat
by Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith
Latest episode
Caleb Nelson on Slaughter and the “Dictatorial Presidency”
Caleb Nelson on Slaughter and the “Dictatorial Presidency”
About this podcast
Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith discuss news about the presidency.
www.execfunctions.org
Episodes
The newest 20 of 71 episodes
- Caleb Nelson on Slaughter and the “Dictatorial Presidency” · 38 minJack interviews Caleb Nelson, the Emerson G. Spies Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, about his working paper, “Against the Dictatorial…
- The Politics of Tit-for-Tat · 20 minBob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith discuss Jack’s October 19 piece on Senator Elissa Slotkin’s recent viral remarks at the University of Chicago, where she said she wanted…
- Francis Fukuyama Reflects on His Career and the Challenges Facing Liberal Democracy · 25 minBob Bauer interviews Francis Fukuyama, the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and author of The End of History and…
- Scrambling to Regulate a Sensitive Dual-Use Technology · 22 minJack interviews attorney and historian Catherine Grace Katz about her new book, Shadow Before the Flame: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Prelude to War. They discuss how a 1925…
- AI, Elections, and the Liar’s Dividend · 26 minBob interviews Nate Persily, the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and co-director of the Stanford Law AI Initiative, about artificial intelligence and…
- Election Administration Under Pressure · 26 minBob Bauer interviews Tammy Patrick, Chief Executive Officer for Programs at the Election Center and former Federal Compliance Officer for the Maricopa County Elections…
- Advertising the President on the Taxpayer’s Dime · 11 minJack and Bob discuss the legality of the three advertisements praising President Trump that have recently aired with the tag “Paid for by the U.S. Government” and were reportedly…
- Is Trump Media’s Early-Access Feed Lawful? · 16 minJack Goldsmith interviews John Coates, the John F. Cogan, Jr. Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard Law School and former general counsel of the Securities and Exchange…
- SCOTUS Leaves the Ballot-Mail Rule Blocked · 5 minBob Bauer discusses the Supreme Court’s order declining to stay the injunction against the Postal Service’s ballot-mail rule, issued the previous evening over a brief concurrence…
- Republican Pushback on the Administration's Election Program · 12 minBob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith cover three sites of Republican pushback against the administration's election interventions: the Missouri dispute over which congressional map…
- Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall on Bioweapons in the Age of AI · 31 minJack interviews Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, the Ashton B. Carter Visiting Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and formerly Assistant to the President for Homeland Security…
- The Postal Service and the 2026 Elections · 20 minJack and Bob discuss litigation over the Trump administration’s executive order on the Postal Service and election integrity, and the recent final rule that the Postal Service…
- States’ Protection of Their Elections · 23 minBob speaks with Danielle Friedman, Legal Director of the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School, about the Initiatives’ recently published…
- Jeh Johnson on Presidential War Powers and Congressional Retreat · 31 minJack Goldsmith interviews former Homeland Security Secretary and Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson about the article he co-authored in the Journal of National Security Law and…
- Trump and the Midterms · 32 minAs the 2026 midterms approach, Jack and Bob give a big-picture overview of the Trump administration’s efforts to use federal law enforcement and executive power to influence the…
- Sai Prakash on Slaughter and Cook · 45 minJack speaks with University of Virginia School of Law Professor Saikrishna Prakash about the implications of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v…
- The God Test · 1 h 0 minJack chats with Robert Wright about his forthcoming book, The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning. They discuss why Wright views AI through an…
- Attorney General Todd Blanche? · 16 minBob and Jack discuss President Trump’s nomination of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the current acting attorney general, to become Attorney General. They review Blanche’s…
- What Exactly is Bill Pulte’s New Job as Acting Director of National Intelligence? · 23 minFollowing President Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence, Bob Bauer asks Avril Haines, who held the position during the Biden…
- The Anti-Weaponization Fund and Tax Immunity Gambits · 17 minBob and Jack discuss the Justice Department and IRS “settlement” with President Trump and his family, which created a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for Trump allies…
