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The Oath and The Office

Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang

#8 in Government this week
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, and defend” the Constitution, but what happens when one openly attacks it? Corey and John pull no punches, exposing threats to democracy, demanding accountability, and talking with the people fighting back.

Mixing sharp wit and serious political fire, this is the civics lesson you can’t afford to miss. New episodes every Thursday. Subscribe, join the conversation, and learn more at coreybrettschneider.com


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  • 35 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 59 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • Thursday · 51 min

    Democrats Win Congress in Historic Midterms. Can They Rein In Trump?

    Democrats have won the House and Senate. What will it take to turn that victory into lasting checks on presidential power? Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang examine the laws and reforms needed to hold presidents accountable, including reviving...

    • Transcript
  • October 29 · 1 hr 16 min

    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 conversation about Facebook’s responsibility for January 6. How did its systems help fuel...

    • Transcript
  • October 22 · 52 min

    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 deportation fears are silencing student journalists—and why his newspaper took the Trump...

    • Transcript
  • October 15 · 1 hr 9 min

    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 Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Elon Musk’s DOGE assault on USAID and Congress’s constitutional...

    • Transcript
  • October 1 · 47 min

    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 Supreme Court has allowed Trump's third-country deportations to continue while the case is...

    • Transcript
  • September 24 · 1 hr 11 min

    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 NOW, and Politico from the White House. They explore the constitutional stakes of revoking...

    • Transcript
  • September 17 · 1 hr 10 min

    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 Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman joins Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang to discuss...

    • Transcript
  • September 10 · 1 hr 1 min

    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 fight over mail ballots and postal rules that could create chaos, disenfranchise lawful...

    • Transcript
  • September 3 · 1 hr 3 min

    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 and John examine how standing doctrine blocked a challenge to Trump’s ballroom project,...

    • Transcript
  • August 27 · 37 min

    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 Congress, joins Corey Brettschneider for a deep dive into the Christian nationalist movement...

    • Transcript
  • August 20 · 56 min

    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 disappearing? Donald Trump is being sued over a service offering paying customers early access to his...

    • Transcript
  • August 13 · 51 min

    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 game of chicken underway: can a president just keep pushing after the courts and the...

    • Transcript
  • July 30 · 1 hr 15 min

    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 to the ideology linking them. Then New York Times columnist David French joins Corey to...

    • Transcript
  • July 16 · 1 hr 5 min

    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 One. The prosecutor who issued those subpoenas, Jay Clayton, is now Trump’s nominee to lead the...

    • Transcript
  • July 2 · 1 hr

    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 Reserve. But in the same week, the Court handed him sweeping new authority by allowing...

    • Transcript
Showing 1–20 of 35 episodes