Best Opening Arguments Media LLC Podcasts (2025)

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Polygraphs and the Limits of Scientific Evidence in Court 48:25

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19h ago48:25

48:25

OA1200 - We've got another great law and science episode for ya! Are polygraphs admissible? Do they work? Matt and Jenessa talk about the history, law, and science of polygraphs, and how criminal courts treat scientific testimony in general. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!…

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They’re Going to End the Voting Rights Act. But at Least We Got to Hear KBJ Murder a Guy in Court 1:03:41

4d ago1:03:41

1:03:41

OA1199 - Voting rights expert Jenessa Seymour takes us through this week’s oral arguments in one of the most important cases before the Supreme Court this term: Louisiana v. Callais, which has the potential to end some of the most important protections in the Voting Rights Act and allow states to openly racially gerrymander their electoral district…

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Atlantic publishes Caitlyn Flanagan's love letter to Bari Weiss for some reason 1:24:56

6d ago1:24:56

1:24:56

It’s Vapid Response Wednesday, and Thomas, Lydia, and Matt are back to take apart more bad-faith nonsense from some of the worst people in public life. First up: The Atlantic's Caitlyn Flanagan on why it is totally fine that her good friend Bari Weiss is taking over one of the most prestigious news organizations in the United States after running a…

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The Supreme Court Case That Stopped School Integration 51:33

8d ago51:33

51:33

OA1198 - In this very special episode, Matt catches up with his Constitutional law professor for the first time in 23 years! We follow up with our closer look at the science behind Brown v Board (OA1186) with University of Michigan Law professor Michelle Adams, who takes us through the fascinating and ultimately tragic story of how the promise of B…

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The National Emergency Continues to Nationally Emerge 59:45

11d ago59:45

59:45

OA1197 - The National Guard is being federalized and sent into cities that the President doesn’t like against the explicit will of state governors and local populations. Matt covers as much as we know from the legal developments around this ongoing national emergency, and Jenessa shares some good news which is already coming out of NY’s recent rece…

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Jake Tapper on his new book, and the controversy surrounding his last one 1:24:48

13d ago1:24:48

1:24:48

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That Time the Supreme Court BANNED PRAYER in Schools... Except They Didn’t 57:21

15d ago57:21

57:21

OA1196 - This week in our continuing Still Good Law series, Matt and Jenessa take on the 1963 Supreme Court case which is still believed to hold the record for angering the most Americans at the same time: 1963’s Engel v. Vitale. Find out why a decision which even the Warren Court’s conservative justices did not see as particularly controversial to…

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Stephen Miller Is Just Having People Killed Now 51:12

18d ago51:12

51:12

OA1195 - How much of the federal government has actually shut down, and why? We explore the truth behind the spin, and Matt breaks the exclusive story of how at least one part of the executive branch appears to be illegally operating at full capacity. We then then connect some of the most fast-moving stories of the past few weeks to bring out the t…

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Take It From Two Defense Attorneys - DO NOT TALK TO THE COPS 50:10

22d ago50:10

50:10

OA1194 - NY defense attorney Liz Skeen joins to talk about the evolution (or devolution?) or our Miranda rights in the past several decades. How does an actual criminal defense attorney who deals with these issues every day think about them?

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Could Tylenol Sue Trump and RFK Jr. for Libel? 55:41

25d ago55:41

55:41

OA1193 - Could Tylenol sue RFK Jr. for libel? Does the pressure the FCC put on Disney/ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel constitute a First Amendment violation? Is the Trump administration really going to charge rural hospitals $100,000 for the privilege of being able to hire foreign doctors? In today’s Rapid Response Friday we answer all of these recent pat…

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HBO released a new Adnan Syed doc episode and it is shockingly dishonest 1:49:05

26d ago1:49:05

1:49:05

We watched the newly-released final episode of HBO’s The Case Against Adnan Syed, and we have questions. Are the producers really trying to pin the murder of Hae Min Lee on a Black man with obvious mental health issues who was already cleared as a suspect--and did they really need to show the world a fully-nude photo of him to make that case? What …

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KATZ RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME 57:18

29d ago57:18

57:18

OA1192 - This week in Still Good Law: Katz v. U.S., the 1967 Warren Court case which on its face decided that the Fourth Amendment may apply to a public phone booth. But that’s hardly all: the federal prosecution of nationally-famous bookie Charles Katz also completely changed the entire framework for how U.S. courts understand and interpret the la…

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The Kirkstag Fire 1:03:07

1M ago1:03:07

1:03:07

OA1191 - In today’s Rapid Response Friday, we examine some of the legal questions raised as the Trump administration throws as much political capital as possible behind the recent assassination of Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk and their implications for the future of the First Amendment rights they claim to revere Kirk for championing. Is t…

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Charlie Kirk sucked and we won't be pretending otherwise 1:02:44

1M ago1:02:44

1:02:44

VR 7 - Part 1 of 2. Vapid Response Wednesday has been blessed with a surplus of truly awful takes in the days following the murder of MAGA luminary Charlie Kirk. After a brief reminder of who this man actually was in his own words, we go on to see who has achieved honors in categories ranging from Worst Obituary to Most Pretentious Response and bey…

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Miranda v. Arizona, and the Fascinating Science of False Confessions 1:05:42

1M ago1:05:42

1:05:42

OA1190 - “You have the right to remain silent.” Anyone who grew up on American crime dramas can recite the rest of these famous warnings from memory, but do you know the whole story of Miranda v. Arizona (1966)? In today’s entry in our “Still Good Law” series Matt and Jenessa voluntarily waive their rights, cautiously accept a cigarette and a Styro…

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It’s Still the Shadow Docket, Despite Kavanaugh’s Pathetic Rebrand Attempt 56:59

1M ago56:59

56:59

OA1189 - The Supreme Court’s next term may not start until October, but their infamous shadow--sorry, “interim”--docket is in rare form as they issue snap decisions on everything from exactly where one 14-year-old boy can pee to just how openly racist ICE gets to be. Matt and Jenessa review which major precedents the conservative majority is ignori…

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LAM1009: My Cousin Vinny 54:52

1M ago54:52

54:52

Just because everything else is terrible out there right now, we treated ourselves to our second consecutive Law’d Awesome Movie. By popular patron demand: it’s My Cousin Vinny! We had a great time talking about this one. Actual New York Italian-American Jenessa Seymour joins to provide dead-ass balls accurate cultural context for one of the greate…

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Do You Swear You're Not A Subversive Person? 54:53

1M ago54:53

54:53

Continuing their "Good Law" series, Matt and Jenessa talk about Baggett v. Bullitt. This case held that "a State cannot require an employee to take an unduly vague oath containing a promise of future conduct at the risk of prosecution for perjury or loss of employment, particularly where the exercise of First Amendment freedoms may thereby be deter…

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BREAKING: Federal Courts Correctly Notice Color of Sky, Pope’s Religious Affiliation 1:01:52

2M ago1:01:52

1:01:52

For this week’s Rapid Response Friday we take up three major judicial rulings pushing back against executive overreach on three completely different topics: removals under the Alien Enemies Act, the use of the National Guard to conduct domestic law enforcement, and the imposition of tariffs as an executive action under the International Emergency E…

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Douchebag Ben Shapiro knock-offs keep thinking they're smarter than Ketanji Brown Jackson 1:12:08

2M ago1:12:08

1:12:08

VR6 - For today’s Vapid Response Wednesday, Thomas, Lydia, and Matt review two examples from a newly-popular genre of lazy right wing op-eds: insecure white guys complaining about Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. What is with these losers who are so obsessed with trying to prove that one of the most qualified nominees to the high court …

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Brown v. Board v. Science 59:31

2M ago59:31

59:31

OA1186 - We continue our series on some of our favorite Warren-era Supreme Court decisions with the one Warren-era decision--and very likely the only Supreme Court decision that is still good law--that most people can name from memory. The desegregation of American schools in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) stands today as one of the g…

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Did a Federal Judge Really Just Shutter Alligator Alcatraz? 1:01:40

2M ago1:01:40

1:01:40

OA1185 - The rule of law has never been put more to the test in this country, and we do our best to keep up with at least a few of the most important decent developments. We begin with a brief review of the current status of wrongfully-deported Salvadoran asylum seeker Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Why is the Trump administration desperately trying to re-d…

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Maxwell's Silver Yammer, Part 2 1:53:18

2M ago1:53:18

1:53:18

VR5 Part 2 - we continue our analysis of Ghislaine Maxwell's podcast interview on the Todd Blanche Experience. Make sure you caught part 1! Watch the video here! Complete enhanced audio of Ghislaine Maxwell's proffer session with DOJ deputy Todd Blanche on July 24-25, 2025 (Thomas's Version) Maxwell transcripts and source audio from DOJ US v Maxwel…

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The Ghislaine Maxwell Interview Was Institutional Corruption Like We've Never Seen Before. Truly. 1:37:02

2M ago1:37:02

1:37:02

Due to unprecedented corruption not getting enough of a call out, Vapid Response has taken over the Monday slot this week! It's VR5 Part 1. The Trump administration's corruption of the US Department of Justice hit new depths last week when it released audio and transcripts from convicted Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell's so-called “pro…

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Republicans Are Messing with Texas 1:05:23

2M ago1:05:23

1:05:23

OA1184 - The saying pretty explicitly tells us to don't, and yet here they are not don'ting. This week on Rapid Response Friday: why is a Texas lawmaker filing a habeas petition asking a federal court to release her from the state capitol building? What’s the deal with redistricting, and is Texas’s plan to tip the balance in the U.S. House of Repre…