Shows / The Oath and The Office
The Oath and The Office
The Oath and the Office is a weekly politics podcast unpacking presidential power, the U.S. Constitution, and the rule of law—with serious constitutional analysis and biting comedy.
Brown University political science professor Corey Brettschneider teams up with comedian John Fugelsang to tackle the week’s biggest stories and what they mean for American democracy—from the Supreme Court and elections to free speech and abuses of presidential power.
Every president swears to “preserve, protect…
Episodes
- The Oath and The Office
Could Facebook Have Stopped January 6? With Frances Haugen
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, the subject and hero of the new film The Social Reckoning, joins Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang for an in-depth…
- The Oath and The Office
Report the News, Risk Deportation? Stanford Students Take On Trump
Can writing an article put you at risk of deportation? The Stanford Daily editor George Porteous joins Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang to explain how…
- The Oath and The Office
Impeach Trump? Rep. Al Green Makes the Case
Congress has the power to impeach Trump. Will it use it? John Fugelsang and Corey Brettschneider discuss the attack on Ilhan Omar, calls to impeach Defense…
- The Oath and The Office
Jack Smith Fights Back—and Why the Midterms Matter (with Rep. Ted Lieu)
Jack Smith turns the tables on his congressional questioners and doubles down on why he indicted Donald Trump. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break…
- The Oath and The Office
Deported to Torture? The Supreme Court Greenlights Trump
What if the government sends you to a country you've never known—where you fear persecution or torture—and you never get a real chance to challenge it? The…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s White House Press Ban & Religious Coercion (with Mickey Dollens)
Can a president shut out reporters because he doesn’t like their coverage? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang take on Donald Trump’s sudden ban on CNN, MS…
- The Oath and The Office
Bonus Episode: Is Bipartisanship Still Possible? With Governors Bill Haslam and Phil Bredesen
One Republican. One Democrat. Two former governors asking whether Americans can still find common ground.In this special bonus episode of The Oath and the…
- The Oath and The Office
Did the Supreme Court Just Save the Election? With Skye Perryman
Can Trump use the Postal Service to control how Americans vote by mail? And when does a campaign promise cross the line into an attempted bribe? Democracy…
- The Oath and The Office
Will the Court Help Trump Steal the 2026 Election?
Could the Supreme Court help Trump disrupt the 2026 election? In this episode of The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang examine a new…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s Mafia Presidency, with Barbara McQuade
Trump’s abuses of power keep colliding with the law. But even when courts recognize the danger, procedural barriers can prevent them from stopping it. Corey…
- The Oath and The Office
The Christian Nationalism Behind January 6, with Rep. Jared Huffman
Why did the January 6 Committee underplay the role of Christian nationalism in its final report? Rep. Jared Huffman, the only openly nonbelieving member of…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s Presidency for Sale?
This week on The Oath and the Office, we follow four stories that raise one question: what happens when the restraints on presidential power start…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump vs. the Supreme Court. Again.
Trump already lost on birthright citizenship. Now he is testing the limits of constitutional law with two narrower executive orders. We explain the high-stakes…
- The Oath and The Office
Blanche’s Confirmation Deal: Trump’s Weaponization Fund Could Return
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears to have secured the committee votes needed to advance his nomination. He cleared the path by agreeing to rescind…
- The Oath and The Office
What Trump and the New Right Really Believe | David French
What does Trump actually believe, and how does his worldview connect to the New Right? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang look beyond the latest outrages…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s Media Threats & Todd Blanche’s $1.8B Slush Fund (with Skye Perryman)
Threatening the broadcast licenses of news networks is a direct assault on the free press. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang tear down Trump’s…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump Targets the Press—and Spies on Americans (with Sen. Ron Wyden)
Trump’s Justice Department subpoenaed New York Times reporters after they exposed security problems with the Qatari jet Trump accepted for use as Air Force…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s $2.2 Billion Presidency: The Corruption the Constitution Saw Coming
Trump’s latest financial disclosure points to something far bigger than another ethics scandal: a presidency being used as a vehicle for private financial…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump Loses Birthright, Wins a Power Grab (with Joyce Vance)
The Supreme Court dealt Trump a major defeat by rejecting his effort to end birthright citizenship. It also refused to let him fire the head of the Federal…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s DOJ Is Hiding the Epstein Files. Katie Phang Is Suing.
Katie Phang joins The Oath and the Office to discuss her legal fight to force Trump’s DOJ to release the Epstein files. This is not about money. It is about…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s War on Habeas Corpus and DOJ Independence — with Harry Litman
Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang open with explosive new reporting that Stephen Miller pushed a plan for President Trump to suspend habeas corpus — the…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump Melts Down as Congress Pushes Back
Trump melts down in a chaotic Meet the Press interview, lashing out when pressed on his “anti-weaponization” fund and his false claims of rigged elections…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s Bad Week Is Democracy’s Opening
Donald Trump’s revenge politics hit resistance this week — not by accident, but because citizens, journalists, lawyers, judges, and lawmakers kept pushing…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s Imperial Presidency: Bogus Charges and Foreign Wars
Trump’s claim of power above the law is showing up on every front: bogus prosecutions, deportation threats, attacks on speech, war powers, and military…
- The Oath and The Office
The Secret Memos Behind the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket (with Jodi Kantor)
What is the Supreme Court doing when it acts without full briefing, oral argument, or a real explanation? This week on The Oath and The Office, Pulitzer…
- The Oath and The Office
Can Trump Undo Our Citizenship Rights? (with ACLU’s Cecilia Wang)
This week on The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang begin with the new redistricting wars, as southern states move to dilute Black…
- The Oath and The Office
The Supreme Court’s Assault on Our Rights (with Kate Shaw)
The Supreme Court is reshaping American democracy — weakening voting rights, empowering the presidency, and narrowing the protections that have defined modern…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s War on Truth and Science (with James Morone)
Trump briefly talked about “cooling things down.” Then came the escalation. This week on The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang look…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s Supreme Court, the Shadow Docket, and the New Normal (with Aaron Parnas)
Has Trump changed American politics so deeply that what once seemed dangerous now feels normal? In this episode of The Oath and The Office, we begin with the…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump vs. the Pope
Trump says the pope should stay out of politics. But when Trump posts himself as Jesus, attacks independent moral authority, and demands loyalty from every…
- The Oath and The Office
Is Trump Committing War Crimes? Lawrence Douglas on Hegseth, Nuremberg, and the Criminal State
Can a president commit war crimes? Can a defense secretary? And what would it take to hold either one accountable? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang open…
- The Oath and The Office
Before Project 2025: How the Right Built Trump’s Power Grab (with David Sirota)
Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship is only part of the story. The bigger danger is a decades-long effort to free the presidency from constitutional…
- The Oath and The Office
Mueller Warned Congress. Trump Celebrated His Death.
Trump’s reaction to Robert Mueller’s death was grotesque. But the deeper question is what Congress failed to do when Mueller was alive: why didn’t it impeach…
- The Oath and The Office
Stacey Abrams on the SAVE Act: The New Voter Suppression Threat
Is the SAVE Act really about election security — or is it a new blueprint for voter suppression? On this episode of The Oath and The Office, Corey…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s War and the Imperial Presidency
Trump’s shifting war aims are a warning sign of the imperial presidency. We examine how changing justifications for war weaken democratic accountability…
- The Oath and The Office
Can Congress Stop Trump’s War?
As the prospect of a U.S. military clash with Iran returns to the headlines, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down the constitutional stakes: who…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump Loses in Court — But Pressure Remains on the Press and Late Night (with Mike Pesca)
Trump just suffered a major Supreme Court defeat. A significant tariffs ruling limits presidential power and reasserts Congress’s authority — applying a…
- The Oath and The Office
Title Trump’s FCC Pressures Late Night — Even as Resistance Wins
Trump’s FCC is pressuring late-night TV — and CBS is hesitating. What happens when regulators don’t censor speech outright, but make networks afraid to air it?…
- The Oath and The Office
DOJ Payback Politics (with Preet Bharara)
Trump is turning DOJ into payback politics—and this week shows the playbook in action: pressure around the Gateway tunnel, a reporter’s home searched, the…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump vs. the Rule of Law: A 5-Year-Old Detained + Election Power Grab
A federal judge warns that Trump is violating the principles of law and the Declaration of Independence—and this week’s events show exactly what that means in…
- The Oath and The Office
Jan. 6 Then & Now: The Insurrection Blueprint (with Tom Joscelyn)
Jan. 6 wasn’t just a riot—it was a blueprint. This week, we connect Jan. 6 then to now and ask the core question of self-government: what happens when federal…
- The Oath and The Office
DOJ vs. Trump: The Indictment That Never Came (with Glenn Kirschner)
The indictment that never came is still shaping DOJ’s ongoing battle with Trump. In the first half, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down this…
- The Oath and The Office
ICE Kills Renee Good: Can Minnesota Charge? + Trump’s White-Grievance Politics
An ICE agent killed Renée Nicole Good in Minneapolis—so can Minnesota bring charges, even if federal officials try to block accountability? We break down what…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump's Illegal Attack on Venezuela: Congress Must Step In + Jack Smith’s Testimony
In this episode of The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider (Brown University Professor and author) and John Fugelsang dive into Trump’s illegal military…
- The Oath and The Office
Supreme Court Checks Trump — 2025 Year in Review
As 2026 begins, host Corey Brettschneider (Brown University professor) and co-host John Fugelsang look back at 2025’s biggest constitutional stress-tests—and…
- The Oath and The Office
Brown Shooting Fallout: Lies on X — Epstein Redactions
This week, host Corey Brettschneider, a Brown University professor, and co-host John Fugelsang begin with the latest confirmed developments in the Brown…
- The Oath and The Office
A Brown Professor on the Shooting—and Gun Laws
This week’s episode is personal. Host Corey Brettschneider, a Brown University professor, and cohost John Fugelsang speak directly to what our community is…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s Supreme Court Power Grab (with Leah Litman)
Leah Litman — University of Michigan law professor and constitutional law expert — joins Corey Brettschneider and cohost John Fugelsang to explain how the…
- The Oath and The Office
MAGA Is Blaming the Judges (with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse)
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins us for one of our most important conversations yet. We examine MAGA’s escalating effort to blame and target judges who uphold…
- The Oath and The Office
Political Prosecutions Blow Up — Judge Rules Trump’s Prosecutor Was Illegally Appointed
A judge has blown up Trump’s indictments of James Comey and Letitia James — ruling the special prosecutor was illegally appointed. Corey and John explain why…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump Cornered Amid Epstein Panic
Epstein files erupt in Washington, leaving Trump suddenly cornered as Republicans push for their release. Corey and John break down Trump’s push to stretch…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump Ends His Shutdown — What’s Behind Jackson’s Puzzling SNAP Call?
Trump has ended his shutdown — but the real shock came from the Supreme Court. In a little-noticed move, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson allowed the Trump…
- The Oath and The Office
The Case That Could Finally Stop Trump (with Dahlia Lithwick)
This week on The Oath and The Office, Corey and John trace the pattern of Trump’s lawlessness — from unions suing over his surveillance of non-citizens’ social…
- The Oath and The Office
From Tariffs to Nukes — How Congress Can Stop Trump’s Power Grabs (with Rep. Ted Lieu)
Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang trace how “no taxation without representation” connects to today’s fight to restore Congress’s power in the face of…
- The Oath and The Office
When Courts Fail and Universities Fight Back
In this week’s episode of The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang break down a deeply concerning new ruling from the Ninth Circuit…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump’s Self-Coup: The Three Prosecutions that Expose It
Three prosecutions. One plan. In this episode of The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang trace how the cases against Letitia James…
- The Oath and The Office
The Rule of Law on Trial (with CNN's Jake Tapper)
Is the rule of law still standing—or slipping away? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang unpack the week’s biggest threats: ICE’s rogue Chicago raid…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump Targets Comey — and the Shutdown Showdown (with Malcolm Nance)
On this episode of The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang examine two urgent threats to American democracy before welcoming New York…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump and Bondi are Coming for Free Speech
Trump’s politics of division—friends vs. enemies—has now turned on the First Amendment itself. Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang expose how Pam Bondi…
- The Oath and The Office
Trump Turns Kirk’s Killing Into a Weapon
Corey Brettschneider and his cohost John Fugelsang examine how Donald Trump is exploiting the tragedy of Charlie Kirk’s killing—turning grief into a…