Government & Politics

Jack Goldsmith, former legal counsel to George W. Bush's White House, says no matter when Trump leaves office, his successor will face tough questions about how to reconstruct the battered presidency.

Atlantic writer Barton Gellman discusses what the election has revealed about our system's weaknesses — and what he's learned about the Trump and Biden legal strategies if the election is contested.

Jess Walter's sweeping new novel, which traces the adventures of two vagabond brothers, is set against the backdrop of the free speech demonstrations that erupted in Spokane, Wash., in 1909 and 1910.

Atlantic writer Mike Giglio profiles the Oath Keepers, a pro-Trump militia group, in a new article. "They believe that there is a very strong likelihood of civil violence in America," he says.

As a young man, Joe Biden was fixated on a singular goal: "On his first date with his future wife, he told her mother that he wanted to grow up to be president," New Yorker writer Evan Osnos says. Osnos writes about the Democratic presidential candidate in his new book, Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now.

The James Beard award-winning chef says his flagship restaurant, Red Rooster, became his "haven" during the height of pandemic. Working with José Andrés' World Central Kitchen organization, Samuelsson converted the restaurant to a community kitchen. Over the course of six months, Red Rooster served more than 200,000 meals to first responders and others in need. he talks about that and his new book.

NPR's legal affairs analyst Nina Totenberg talks about covering the Supreme Court, the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, and her friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

New York Times Magazine writer Emily Bazelon says false content moves through the Internet unchecked — undermining the political process along the way: "Lies often go viral faster than truth."

"Republicans have been trying to drive a stake into the heart of Obamacare pretty much since it was passed — both through legislation and litigation," New York Times reporter Sarah Kliff says.

Barton Gellman writes about the 2020 presidential election — and how he thinks it could trigger a constitutional crisis — in his latest article for The Atlantic. He notes that typically elections are ended when one candidate concedes to the other. It's a system, he says, that "presumes good behavior and presumes that a rational and well-meaning candidate will accept reality when it comes." But Gellman does not trust a scenario that relies upon good faith from the president.

Since the release of the Mueller report in April 2019, it's been analyzed, praised and criticized — and cited by President Trump as proof that there was no collusion with Russia in the 2016 presidential election.

Andrew Weissmann was one of the lead prosecutors on special counsel Robert Mueller's team. In his new book, Where Law Ends, Weissmann looks back on where the Mueller investigation succeeded — and where it fell short.

Politico reporter Dan Diamond describes efforts by Trump loyalists at HHS to interfere with the work of scientists at the health agencies in an effort to promote the president's political agenda.

Forbes magazine investigative journalist Dan Alexander has pored over business records, mortgage documents and government reports — and even staked out some Trump properties — to assemble a detailed picture of the president's business interests. He says the president has broken a number of pledges he made about how he would conduct business while in office.

Decades before Google or Facebook existed, a Madison Avenue advertising man started a company called Simulmatics based on a then-revolutionary method of using computers to forecast how people would behave. Historian Jill Lepore tells the story in her new book.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar centers his new novel on a Muslim man who, like Akhtar, is the son of Pakistani immigrants living in Wisconsin.

Historian David Nasaw tells the story of more than a million people stranded in defeated Nazi Germany after World War II. Some felt they couldn't return to their home countries under Soviet control. Others were Jewish survivors who had no homes to return to. Nasaw's book is 'The Last Million.'

Race and belonging are the central themes of Yaa Gyasi's work. Her 2016 debut novel, Homegoing, about slavery, won a National Book critic's circle award, and the National Book Foundation's 5 under 35 honor.
Gyasi's new novel, Transcendent Kingdom, draws on Gyasi's life as the daughter of immigrants from Ghana.

Ali Soufan investigated terrorism cases and opposed the CIA's use of torture following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. After a legal battle, the redacted material in his 2011 memoir, Black Banners, has been restored.

The former model/actress is nominated for an Emmy Award for hosting Top Chef. Her new show, Taste the Nation, explores immigrant cooking. Originally broadcast July 6, 2020.

In his new book, "Donald Trump v. The United States," New York Times journalist Michael Schmidt focuses on two figures in particular who stood up to the president: Former FBI Director James Comey and former White House counsel Don McGahn.