In Lieu of Fun: #DogShirtTV

Wherein Ben dares to defend (gasp) Merrick Garland, which is a much bigger deal than he thought it would be, apparently. Then Antti Ruokonen drops in to give us a Finnish perspective, and Roger Parloff joins us to discuss the Trump trials, the impact of Russian election influence, and various acts of shameless judicial hypocrisy.CORRECTION: In this episode, Roger Parloff mistakenly misattributed this New York Times oped to Thomas Friedman. It is, in fact, by Thomas Goldstein.

Wherein Eve Gaumond decides that she is in charge and turns the show into an extended interview with Ben about the news that happened yet this week: the crazy cabinet appointments to come, what Ukraine is going to do with the new power to use long-range missiles to hit targets in Russia, and more.

Wherein we get a report on the populist movement in Canada from Eve Gaumond, and a report from the analogous movement in Finland from Antti Ruokonen.

Wherein Elaine Godfrey of The Atlantic shows up to interview me about Matt Gaetz, and Kate Klonick and I talk through her thoughts on what Trump's tech policy is likely to look like given his extraordinarily conflicting statements and interests related to the subject.

Wherein we are joined by Scott Shapiro, who agonizes about whom to vote for, and Sarah Longwell, who conducts a focus group with him.

Wherein the estimable Pete Strzok dons a dog shirt and discusses the counterintelligence implications of a former president having serial conversations with Vladimir Putin.

Wherein we are joined by Windsor Mann, with whom I look for the bright side of a possible Trump win. Spoiler alert: We find none.

Wherein Anastasiia Lapatina and I shoot the shit over morning coffee and afternoon wine--and Ava makes it very hard for Nastya to talk.