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The Al Franken Podcast

Dahlia Lithwick on Defending Our Constitution

The Al Franken Podcast

The Al Franken Podcast

News, Government, Comedy, Politics

4.68.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 February 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We're joined by our good friend, Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor at Slate and host of the Amicus podcast, to cover a wide range of topics, including the courts and their role during this difficult time in American history. 

We start with Minnesota and the disturbing actions of ICE that have rattled the nation. From the ICE abduction of 5-year-old Liam Ramos to the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Dahlia connects the dots between eroding civil liberties and a Supreme Court that has systematically dismantled accountability. 

We also discuss Trump's recent FBI seizure of ballots in Georgia and what that could mean for our democracy. Dahlia issues a strong warning about where all of this could be heading and how we need to be prepared for it.

Plus, Dahlia walks us through some of the cases currently before the Supreme Court: the further gutting of the Voting Rights Act, controversial redistricting, Trump's retribution, and tariffs.

READ Dahlia in Slate: https://slate.com/author/dahlia-lithwick

LISTEN to Dahlia's podcast, Amicus: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786

SUPPORT THE SHOW BY VISITING OUR SPONSORS:

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey, everybody. We've got a great one today, you know, for a change, because the great

0:09.1

Daniel Lithwick is back with us. It's been a while, and we have some catching up to do.

0:15.1

But first, just an observation about what a weird run of odd shit that that Trump has been into lately.

0:23.9

The Kennedy Center, I mean the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the

0:30.8

performing arts, which almost no one has been going to, partly because so many of the artists

0:37.3

have been canceling.

0:38.8

So Trump announced that he will soon be closing down the Trump Kennedy Center for two years to renovate the place.

0:48.2

This follows a 2019, $250 million expansion.

0:53.8

But now that it's the Trump Kennedy Center, I'm sure, it will get a fantastic makeover. And there's a 250-foot-high triumphal arch that Trump wants to build. That's nearly 100 feet taller than the Arc Triumph in Paris.

1:14.2

And he sent Tulsi Gabbard and the FBI to Fulton County to seize the 2020 ballots

1:21.7

and find the 11,780 votes that Brad Raffensberger wouldn't find for him and he's talking

1:30.4

about nationalizing the midterm elections and there's trump's ten billion dollar lawsuit

1:39.1

against the treasury department and the irs for the leak of his tax returns during the first term,

1:46.6

Trump claims the leak caused reputational and financial harm,

1:51.8

public embarrassment, and tarnished his business reputation.

1:55.7

He does say he will give his $10 billion to charity.

2:03.4

But do you trust him with our $10 billion?

2:07.6

I don't know.

2:10.3

And yesterday it came out that Trump told Chuck Schumer

2:14.6

that he would drop his freeze on $16 billion in funding for a railroad tunnel

2:21.0

between New York and New Jersey if Schumer would see to it that Penn Station in New York and

2:28.4

Dallas International Airport in Washington were named for him, named after him, Trump Station and Trump International

...

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