066_ Interview: 🏛️The Rise of the Imperial President | A Sobering Reality of Checks and Balances⚖️

A reality of our contemporary time, is the American President is increasingly acting as an Emperor. This interview explores the evolution of the imperial presidency, the implications of increased executive power, and a look behind the scenes of the West Wing in how it plays out in the day to day. We also get tangible examples of what can be done to improve the structural gaps existing in the constitution to stop an increased scope of the Executive. Yale Law Professor & Author Harold Koh joins the podcast to give us the context from his book highlighting the state of the Executive, "The National Security Constitution in the Twenty-First Century" With Harold we get into, the role of Congress and the courts, and the systemic dysfunction that has led to a concentration of power in the executive branch, ethical considerations of governance and the future of executive power in the United States. We also get into the evolution of executive power in the United States, examining how historical events have shaped the current political landscape. (0:00) - America as an Empire: Historical Context (3:24) - The Imperial Presidency: Evolution of Power (6:26) - The Role of Congress and the Courts (9:41) - Crisis and the Shift of Power (12:28) - The Synergistic Dysfunction of Government (16:57) - The Consequences of Centralized Power (21:02) - The National Security Constitution: A Historical Perspective (26:44) - The Future of Executive Power (30:08) - The Ethics of Power and Governance (36:19) - Shifting Standards in Politics (38:23) - Historical Context of Executive Power (41:14) - The Pendulum of Presidential Authority (43:44) - The Guantanamo Dilemma (45:12) - The Threat Landscape: Terrorism vs. Pandemics (46:41) - Concerns Over Unilateral Executive Powers (51:31) - The Need for Structural Reforms (54:48) - Checks and Balances in the Executive Branch (1:00:23) - Learning from Global Examples (1:05:36) - The Role of Citizens in Democracy (1:10:52) - Activism and Resilience Against Authoritarianism