Pushkin.

It's hard to read the news these days without asking yourself, how did we get here?

Fiasco is a history podcast for the co-creators of Slow Burn.

In our first season, Bush v. Gore, we examine an unmistakable turning point in American politics, the 2000 election, which resulted in a high-stakes stalemate, ended with one of the most controversial rulings in Supreme Court history. So if you're trying to make sense at the present moment, check out Fiasco, Bush v. Gore. Listen on theHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

From Pushkin Industries, this is Deep Background, the show where we explore the stories behind the stories in the news.

I'm Noah Feldman. Welcome to this week's episode where we talk about the Republic and whether it is about

to collapse entirely.

We are in the midst of a genuine impeachment inquiry.

This time it is not addressed rehearsal.

Ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your hats.

To discuss this and many other issues, I'm thrilled to have with me,

Seth Berman, a former state and federal prosecutor, and my spirit guide to all things criminal,

no offense, Seth, and indeed to all things connected to inquiries, impeachments, and everything

else we've had to deal with from the beginning of this

administration on. Seth, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me,

now. So let's just start in the middle of it, Seth. The impeachment inquiry, what do you think?

The whistleblower complaint. How did we get here? The whistleblower complaint is absolutely

fascinating, because first of all, the reality is the whistleblower didn't really tell us all that much

that if you weren't paying attention, you didn't already know. It was well known that Giuliani

was running around. He was advertising that he was running around in Ukraine and trying to get

the Ukrainian government to dig up dirt on Biden. It was reasonably clear the president was

involved in that because Giuliani had said things like that over the time. But what the whistleblower complaint seems to have done is number one brought

...