275: Watching The Watchers
#SistersInLaw
Politicon
4.9 • 10.2K Ratings
🗓️ 4 February 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Sisters Sidebar, Joyce Vance and Jill Wine-Banks debut the first round of audio questions and cover pressing legal issues raised by listeners. They discuss the surveillance of protestors by federal agents, the effect of sanctuary policies, and the dangers of normalization amid rising authoritarianism. Then, they call for increased congressional oversight of Trump and the executive branch, and look at potential ways to reform the DOJ in order to strengthen democracy and the rule of law.
Start 2026 with style! Get the brand new ReSIStance T-Shirt, Mini Tote, and other #SistersInLaw gear at politicon.com/merch!
Additional #SistersInLaw Projects
Jill’s Politicon YouTube Show: Just The Facts
Kim’s Newsletter: The Gavel
Joyce’s new book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable, is now available, and for a limited time, you have the exclusive opportunity to order a signed copy here.
Pre-order Barb’s new book, The Fix, or her first book, Attack From Within, now in paperback.
Add the #Sisters & your other favorite Politicon podcast hosts on Bluesky
Get your #SistersInLaw MERCH at politicon.com/merch
Email: SISTERSINLAW@POLITICON.COM or Thread to @sistersInLaw.podcast
Get text updates from #SistersInLaw and Politicon.
From the #Sisters
From Joyce - Today Fulton County, Tomorrow???
Get More From The #SistersInLaw
Joyce Vance: Bluesky | Twitter | University of Alabama Law | Civil Discourse Substack | MSNBC | Author of “Giving Up Is Unforgiveable”
Jill Wine-Banks: Bluesky | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Author of The Watergate Girl: My Fight For Truth & Justice Against A Criminal President | Just The Facts YouTube
Kimberly Atkins Stohr: Bluesky | Twitter | Boston Globe | WBUR | The Gavel Newsletter | Justice By Design Podcast
Barb McQuade: barbaramcquade.com | Bluesky | Twitter | University of Michigan Law | Just Security | MSNBC | Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of Sister Sidebar with Jill Wine Banks and me, Joyce fans. |
| 0:06.6 | You know, we get so many fantastic questions from our listeners here at the hashtag Sisters in-law podcast |
| 0:12.1 | that we don't have enough time to cover all of them in the main show. And on Sister's Sidebar, |
| 0:18.1 | we can dive deeper into the topics you care about the most. |
| 0:22.0 | Every Wednesday, we'll have a new episode with two or more of the sisters, just informal, just us hanging out, so you'll still be hearing from all of us. |
| 0:30.6 | If you have a question for us, and we really mean this, so please do, please email us at Sistersinlaw at Politicon.com or tag us on social media |
| 0:39.7 | using hashtag Sisters in Law so we can answer your most pressing questions. And you don't have to |
| 0:46.3 | just type them out. Your voices are so important that we want to hear them too. So consider emailing us |
| 0:52.7 | a voice memo using one of your notes apps and we'll play it |
| 0:56.0 | live on the show. Remember, we love seeing you rocking our hashtag sisters-in-law merch. So if you're |
| 1:02.4 | going to send us an audio, really get yourself ready for the hashtag sisters-in-law experience and pick up |
| 1:07.8 | some t-shirts or sweatshirts at the Politicon.com slash merch shop. |
| 1:13.9 | Now, let's get started. |
| 1:16.1 | Joyce, our first question is an audio question, and I'm really excited that someone knew how to do |
| 1:22.1 | this. |
| 1:22.7 | I think I have finally mastered it, and if I can do a voice memo and send it to someone, then so can |
| 1:30.6 | everyone else. So please, we love hearing your voice and I'm very excited. Please, I'm encouraging |
| 1:36.2 | you to get the question that you have to us with your own voice. And today, our first question |
| 1:42.9 | comes from Jessica. And she's from Hillsborough, |
| 1:46.1 | North Carolina, and here she is, her own voice asking Joyce a question. |
| 1:52.2 | Hello, my name's Jesse Telly from Hillsborough, North Carolina. I have a question for you. |
| 1:59.5 | There is reporting that federal agents are taking pictures of protesters and license plates so that they can create a database. First of all, how legal is that? Second of all, if I get on that database, how do I get off? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Politicon, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Politicon and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.