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The Oath and The Office

The Oath and The Office

By: Two Squared Media Productions
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Mixing sharp wit and serious political fire, The Oath and The Office is where hard-hitting constitutional analysis meets razor-sharp comedy. Distinguished political science professor Corey Brettschneider teams up with comedian John Fugelsang to break down the most powerful 35 words in American democracy—the presidential oath of office. Every president swears to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution, but what happens when one openly attacks democracy and the rule of law itself? Each week, Corey and John pull no punches, exposing the latest threats to the rule of law and demanding accountability. Smart, fearless, and wickedly funny—this is the civics lesson you can’t afford to miss.Corey Brettschneider Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Trump’s Supreme Court, the Shadow Docket, and the New Normal (with Aaron Parnas)

    Trump’s Supreme Court, the Shadow Docket, and the New Normal (with Aaron Parnas)
    Apr 23 2026
    Has Trump changed American politics so deeply that what once seemed dangerous now feels normal?

    In this episode of The Oath and The Office, we begin with the Supreme Court: the shadow docket, Clarence Thomas, and a judiciary that increasingly operates with extraordinary power and too little accountability.

    We then turn to the case against the former CIA director, along with the resignation of a Justice Department prosecutor, and ask what these developments reveal about the state of law, accountability, and political pressure inside the justice system.

    Then Aaron Parnas joins us. Parnas has built a massive audience by reporting breaking political news to a younger generation in real time, often outside traditional media. We ask him a bigger question: can the news be reported outside the wider context of the threat to democracy? And when Parnas argues that much of this feels normal to people who grew up in the Trump era, Corey asks what it means when democratic crisis starts to feel ordinary.

    We also discuss Trump’s reported pressure on the IRS, the questions surrounding Kash Patel and the FBI, and why these stories may be part of a much broader pattern.

    This is a conversation about power, accountability, and the risk of treating democratic erosion as the new normal.
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    52 mins
  • Trump vs. the Pope

    Trump vs. the Pope
    Apr 16 2026
    Trump says the pope should stay out of politics. But when Trump posts himself as Jesus, attacks independent moral authority, and demands loyalty from every institution, the real goal is not religious neutrality. It is control.

    In this episode of The Oath and The Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang begin with Trump’s clash with the pope and what it reveals about the authoritarian impulse: not keeping religion out of politics, but bending religion to serve power.

    Then they turn to Hungary, where Viktor Orbán’s loss offers a real sign of hope. Even after gerrymandering and years of democratic erosion, autocrats can still be challenged and defeated.

    They also break down two more revealing stories: a judge throwing out Trump’s defamation suit over the Epstein birthday-card report, and the administration’s move to abandon civil-rights settlements protecting trans students. Taken together, these stories show the same pattern: attacks on truth, attacks on vulnerable people, and attacks on any institution unwilling to bend to raw power.

    This episode is about more than one controversy. It is about the larger authoritarian playbook — and why resistance still matters.
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    45 mins
  • Is Trump Committing War Crimes? Lawrence Douglas on Hegseth, Nuremberg, and the Criminal State

    Is Trump Committing War Crimes? Lawrence Douglas on Hegseth, Nuremberg, and the Criminal State
    Apr 9 2026
    Can a president commit war crimes? Can a defense secretary? And what would it take to hold either one accountable?

    Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang open with the Supreme Court showdown over Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship. After Trump became the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the Court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer faced tough questioning from several justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, who delivered the line of the day: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.” Corey and John break down why the administration’s argument looked weak, why Wong Kim Ark remains the key precedent, and what the hearing may signal about the fate of Trump’s effort to gut birthright citizenship.

    They also discuss the latest chaos inside Trump’s Justice Department after Pam Bondi was pushed out as attorney general and replaced, for now, by Todd Blanche, another Trump loyalist. From there, they turn to the Supreme Court’s move that could wipe away Steve Bannon’s contempt conviction, and what it says about accountability in Trump’s Washington.

    Then Corey and John are joined by Lawrence Douglas of Amherst College, professor of law, jurisprudence, and social thought, and author of "The Criminal State", for a chilling conversation about whether Trump is committing war crimes, whether Pete Hegseth could face exposure as a war criminal, and how leaders who authorize brutality can be held to account. They explore the continuing relevance of Nuremberg, the legal meaning of crimes carried out by the state, and whether American institutions still have the power to confront criminality at the top. This is a sober, urgent discussion about impunity, presidential violence, and the future of the rule of law
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    1 hr and 2 mins
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This podcast has something for everyone to learn. It should be required listening for everyone who has the right to vote! Looking forward to more.

well written and delivered!

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Love this podcast. Such knowledgeable & decent people with so much to share! I love all the topics they share & how it is presented.. the guests are so insightful as well! Thanks for giving me hope!!!

Warriors for the truth!!

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