rationally BASED

Center of the American Experiment
  • 4.7 (96)
  • Politics

Welcome to rationally BASED, a podcast about law and politics, on the edge. Law professor Ilan Wurman, with co-host Kathryn Johnson, cover cutting-edge, and edgy, legal and political news, ideas, and developments. 

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 23 | When Law Firms Go Hard Left: Trump & the Law Firm EOs

    In this episode, Kathryn Johnson and law professors Ilan Wurman and Joshua Kleinfeld take on one of the most controversial actions of the Trump administration: executive orders targeting major law firms.  Some legal scholars have called these orders the most unconstitutional thing Trump has ever done. Our hosts aren’t convinced — though they acknowledge the orders raise hard legal questions, particularly around the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions. Can the government restrict law firms’ access to federal contracts and security clearances when those firms systematically discriminate against conservatives and pour overwhelming resources into lawfare against one side of the political spectrum, or against the chief executive?  When the most powerful institutions in society act in lockstep against one half of the citizenry, does ordinary life become unfree and the country become undemocratic? Is free speech real when saying conservative things can end your career? Do elections matter if powerful institutions use their coordinated power to continue pushing the country to the Left, despite the will of the people? Are law firms uniquely dangerous in this regard because they don’t just participate in politics, they bring overwhelming resources to bear directly on the content of the law?  Our hosts round out the episode with the latest legal developments in the E. Jean Carroll case, and ask: Would Trump be justified in going after Ms. Carroll for perjury, if she lied under oath about whether her lawfare against Trump was funded by a progressive billionaire?  This is the rational — and based — discussion that conventional voices refuse to have. Be sure to LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to rationally BASED! Subscribe to our Substack! New Podcast Episodes every Thursday morning, find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube! Follow us on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok!

    1h 5m

  2. Jun 11

    Episode 22 | Judges vs. The People: The Latest Battles on Transgender Activism & Illegal Immigration

    In this episode, our hosts — Kathryn Johnson and law professors Ilan Wurman and Joshua Kleinfeld — examine the three latest examples of judicial power being used to block elected officials.  They cover Florida’s effort to hold the American Academy of Pediatrics and WPATH to account for lying about the risks and benefits of transgender surgery on kids — only for an Illinois federal judge to step in and halt the state proceedings on First Amendment grounds.  They cover the D.C. Circuit’s decision to overrule Pete Hegseth and compel the American military to permit transgender service members — holding that his policy was motivated by bare “animus" with no rational basis.  And they cover a Tennessee federal judge’s decision to dismiss human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia on the novel theory of "vindictive prosecution" — once again protecting an illegal immigrant with alleged gang ties from deportation. The episode closes with a deeper discussion of judicial power itself: what happens when major policy questions keep getting resolved by courts rather than through democratic politics? Have conservatives been too sanguine about the judiciary’s role?  Don’t miss it. And be sure to check out Professor Wurman’s new book, The Constitution of 1789: A New Introduction, now available from Cambridge University Press. Be sure to LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to rationally BASED! Subscribe to our Substack! New Podcast Episodes every Thursday morning, find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube! Follow us on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok!

    1h 11m

  3. Jun 8

    Episode 21 | America's Disordered Cities

    In this special episode of Rationally BASED, our host, law professor Ilan Wurman, is joined by guest co-hosts Sanjana Friedman and Judge Glock. Both write about homelessness, public encampments, and other disorders in America's progressive cities. Our hosts talk about the state of the homelessness-industrial complex in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Do NGOs have an incentive to perpetuate homelessness? Was Spencer Pratt right to describe homeless people as simply "drug addicts"? (Answer: mostly yes.) Our hosts talk about how progressives manipulate language to dull the mind and advance their radical agenda, for example by describing homeless persons as "unhoused." Our hosts then dive into legal issues surrounding "public nuisance": Can taxpayers and homeowners use public nuisance to fight back against public encampments and other insane progressive policies? And why are progressives so against public nuisance laws in these obvious contexts, when they use public nuisance laws for absurd purposes like suing energy companies for climate change or gun manufacturers for gun violence? Is this another example of progressives abusing the legal system? Tune in to find out. Be sure to LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to rationally BASED! Subscribe to our Substack! New Podcast Episodes every Thursday morning, find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube! Follow us on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok!

    52 min

  4. Jun 4

    Episode 20 | Anti-Weaponization Fund – Tit-for-Tat or Unilateral Disarmament?

    Our hosts Kathryn Johnson, Joshua Kleinfeld, and Ilan Wurman break down the controversial new DOJ Anti-Weaponization Fund. Is it legal? Is it justified? And after decades of Democrat “sue and settle” tactics, does it even matter?  The panel dives into how Obama and Biden administrations used collusive sue-and-settle tactics to funnel billions to allies, donors, and favored causes through settlement funds — from $3.5B for Native American tribes and aligned lawyers, to $1.3B for Hispanic farmers and aligned lawyers, to $1.2B from Volkswagen for electric cars, to a student debt end-run from Biden. Trump banned the practice in his first term — only to have the ban immediately reversed by Biden.  At the core of the episode is the defining question of the Trump era: When the Left breaks norms for power, should the Right turn the other cheek, respond combatively but differently, or engage in pure tit-for-tat? Is upholding already-broken norms just being suckers? Be sure to LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to rationally BASED! Subscribe to our Substack! New Podcast Episodes every Thursday morning, find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube! Follow us on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok!

    1h 7m

  5. May 28

    Episode 19 | Autocrat Judges: Israel's Warning for America

    Our hosts, law professor Ilan Wurman and Kathryn Johnson, are joined by guest co-host Joshua Kleinfeld, law professor at Scalia Law School at George Mason University, former professor at Northwestern, and a recent alum of the Trump Administration. They are also joined by Yonatan Green, author of Rogue Justice: The Rise of Judicial Supremacy in Israel. Our hosts talk about the modern phenomenon of left-wing "Juristocracy," that is, rule by judges--but only so long as they're on the political left. Our hosts explain why the Left must couch its ideas in false language like "democracy," and how they label obviously democratic reforms as "anti-democratic." Israel is the cautionary tale for America. How did a group of Supreme Court Justices become so powerful in a system without any written constitution? First, they get rid of standing and justiciability requirements; second, they engage in "reasonableness" review of executive action; third, they invent a written constitution out of parliamentary legislation enacted by the opposition in the dead of night; and fourth, they change the rules as they go, and prevent new parliamentary legislation from undoing the old parliamentary legislation. Although Israel's case is one of judicial supremacy on steroids, there are clear warning signs for America. Oh, and the Israeli Left engages in lawfare, too--as when meritless criminal prosecutions were initiated against two members of Israel's judicial appointments committee when they spoke out against the judicial supremacist trends in their country. You won't want to miss this episode. Be sure to LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to rationally BASED! Subscribe to our Substack! New Podcast Episodes every Thursday morning, find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube! Follow us on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok!

    1h 29m

  6. May 20

    Episode 18 | The Constitution of 1789

    In this special episode, our host gives a lecture at Stanford Law School on his new book, The Constitution of 1789: A New Introduction. What caused the American Revolution? Why did we write down our constitutions? What the nature of the American Union? Of executive power? And -- a topic near and dear to the listeners of Rationally BASED -- what is judicial power? Does the Constitution contemplate judicial review? Does that mean the Supreme Court has final say over all constitutional questions? And what was the Constitution's relationship to slavery? Get a sneak peek of Ilan's new book, which if you can order on Amazon or here: https://cambridge.org/Constitution1789. If you order from Cambridge, you can use the discount code WURMAN26 and get 20 percent off. Enjoy the preview, and please remember to like and subscribe! Be sure to LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to rationally BASED! Subscribe to our Substack! New Podcast Episodes every Thursday morning, find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube! Follow us on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok!

    47 min

  7. May 14

    Episode 17 | Mandatory Detention Percolation

    Our hosts, law professor Ilan Wurman and Kathryn Johnson, start off discussing the Virginia Redistricting case. What did the state supreme court hold? What is an "election"? Is there a federal question for the U.S. Supreme Court to review? Are the Democrats flipping 180 on a bunch of issues to get their way, including the meaning of "election day" and the independent state legislature doctrine? Our hosts then turn to the five-court circuit split surrounding the mandatory detention of illegal aliens. What is an "applicant for admission"? Is an applicant for admission necessarily "seeking" admission? And what does Judge Lagoa's Eleventh Circuit dissent tell us about birthright citizenship? Enjoy this textual and interpretive bonanza. Be sure to LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to rationally BASED! Subscribe to our Substack! New Podcast Episodes every Thursday morning, find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube! Follow us on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok!

    1h 12m

  8. May 7

    Episode 16 | Dem Maxxing and the VRA

    Our hosts, law professor Ilan Wurman and Kathryn Johnson, cover everything Voting Rights Act in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais. Why was the Voting Rights Act enacted, and how does it relate to the Fifteenth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? What did the VRA accomplish? What did the Supreme Court do with Section 5 of the VRA in Shelby County, and was that case rightly decided? Is redistricting even covered by the language of the VRA? If it is covered, would that even be constitutional if the Fourteenth Amendment covers only civil rights, rather than political rights? How has the VRA been interpreted since it was held to cover redistricting? Ilan and Kathryn talk about the "Democrat Movement Lawyer" theory of the VRA, which required what Kathryn calls "Dem Maxxing" -- maximizing the political power of Democrats. The Supreme Court in Callais, Ilan argues, merely scuttled this crazy interpretation of the VRA, restoring it to its original and intended purposes. Be sure to LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to rationally BASED! Subscribe to our Substack! New Podcast Episodes every Thursday morning, find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube! Follow us on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok!

    1h 2m
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4.7
out of 5
96 Ratings

About

Welcome to rationally BASED, a podcast about law and politics, on the edge. Law professor Ilan Wurman, with co-host Kathryn Johnson, cover cutting-edge, and edgy, legal and political news, ideas, and developments. 

Information

  • Creator
    Center of the American Experiment
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 rationally BASED
  • Show Website
    rationally BASED

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