OA1254 - An underreported on case called Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment could be a much bigger deal than it seems. Record labels say Cox let repeat infringers run wild on its network and a jury hit them with a massive verdict. Cox says it’s not the internet police and shouldn’t be on the hook for what users do. So how far does that responsibility go? When does “you could have stopped this” turn into legal liability? We break down the DMCA’s “repeat infringer” rules and why ...
Apr 20, 2026•53 min•Ep. 1254
OA1253 - It’s spring cleaning time in this week’s news, in which we answer patron questions on everything from DOJ lying to a federal judge about ICE’s policy on arresting immigrants in courthouses to DOJ lying about violating court orders. Also: the Trump administration’s unbelievable gift to some of the worst of the worst J6rs, the D.C. Circuit’s inexplicable termination of Judge Boasberg’s contempt proceedings against the administration for violating his orders, and a major ruling in one of t...
Apr 17, 2026•48 min•Ep. 1253
VR28 - On this week’s Vapid Response, we survey the fallout from California Congressman Eric Swalwell’s recent exposure as a longtime sexual predator and ensuing swift exit from both the California governor’s race and Congress itself. What does Swalwell’s fall say about how our country’s two political parties handle these kinds of allegations in 2026--and can we once again count on The Federalist to deliver the stupidest possible take on the situation? We then briefly revisit the single worst ta...
Apr 15, 2026•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 28
OA1252 - Just one month ago, nine people were convicted in a Texas federal court for their participation in a protest outside the Prairieland ICE facility in a first-ever prosecution in which the Department of Justice claimed that support for so-called “Antifa” constituted “material support for terrorism.” What can we learn from the plight of the Prairieland defendants about how the Trump administration is punishing dissent, and where do things go from here? We are joined by Ron, a community mem...
Apr 13, 2026•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 1252
OA1251 - We begin with a rare Friday appearance from OA democracy correspondent Jenessa Seymour, who stops in to provide some unequivocal good news from this week’s elections. Then: a temperature check on how mad should we be that the Supreme Court has cleared the way for Steve Bannon’s conviction to be reversed, an appropriately respectful review of former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s career, and a footnote involving an extremely litigious German tourist who made the most of his short time in N...
Apr 10, 2026•58 min•Ep. 1251
VR27 - This week on Vapid Response Wednesday we take a look at the liars, losers, frauds, and suckers angling for a federal bench who have worked up, developed, and sold the “other side” of the Fourteenth Amendment’s simple guarantee of birthright citizenship, which failed so badly in front of the Supreme Court last week. What kinds of people are out there trying to say that “anyone born or naturalized in the United States” doesn’t mean exactly what it says? We review and discuss how a Fox News ...
Apr 08, 2026•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 27
OA1250 - A fall out of bed during a vacation in Delaware turned into a Supreme Court case, decided this term, that could have big implications for states’ rights to limit tort suits… in federal court. Did Delaware take a good-faith precautionary measure to reduce frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits? Or did they put up an unfair barrier to plaintiffs who deserve restitution? Perhaps reasonable people can disagree on that. But in the rare circumstance you manage to bring that state tort case in...
Apr 06, 2026•58 min•Ep. 1250
... and they really never should have been laughed in to court in the first place. OA1249 - Solicitor General D. John Sauer got plenty of laughs when he brought his best April Fool’s Day game to the Supreme Court this week, and we’re here to break down the single stupidest case the federal government has ever presented. Matt brings the receipts to show just how badly the Trump administration’s arguments against the plain text of the Constitution and the binding precedent of U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark ...
Apr 03, 2026•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 1249
This LAM was so much fun I wanted to make sure everyone could hear it! Well, at least a good chunk of it anyway. If you'd like to hear the rest, head to patreon and hit that $2 level or above! If you love the 90s, and peak Alec Baldwin, you will love this one. And Thomas did. As usual, Matt read the book. And Lydia can remember people's names. Everyone is bringing their best to this LAM!
Apr 01, 2026•49 min•Ep. 1012
Part 2: How Subnautica 2 got its CEO back Welcome back to the strange tale of video game publisher Krafton, the bonus they really didn’t want to pay to developer Unknown Worlds, and the contract dispute that delayed release of the much-anticipated game Subnautica 2. In part 1, we learned the back story behind the tense relationships, and the terms of the contract. Here in part 2, Jenessa walks us through the absolute bench-slap from a judge who has had it up to here with Krafton’s transparent at...
Mar 30, 2026•1 hr 1 min
OA1247 - Should social media companies be held responsible for the addiction and other harms their features and algorithms have caused to users? A California jury thought so this week, and in this episode recorded within hours of this historic verdict--and the day after another similar win in New Mexico--we examine the legal basis for this suit and what this might mean for thousands of similar legal actions now pending against Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and others around the U.S. Matt also explains ...
Mar 27, 2026•44 min•Ep. 1247
VR26 - Matt read not one but TWO of Pete Hegseth's "books." The awful xenophobic, genocidal crap contained therein might help explain the Iran War.
Mar 25, 2026•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 26
OA1246 - Part 1: “The AI was nicer about it” and other reasons I ignored my lawyer: the Subnautica 2 story ChatGPT cannot warp space-time to make you un-sign that contract. Unfortunately for video game publisher “Krafton”, the world’s-best-cheerleader will instead gently tell you that your intention to break an air-tight contract without illegally breaching it will be difficult, and then give you a plan to try anyway. Team of lawyers screaming “please god stop” be damned. The plan worked great, ...
Mar 23, 2026•54 min
OA1245 - Federal prosecutors have just secured the first convictions in US history in which the Department of Justice has brought charges relating to associations with “Antifa,” an organization which demonstrably does not exist. We take a closer look at the plight of the eight defendants convicted on charges relating to a noise protest outside of an ICE detention center in Prarieland, Texas to break down the unusual legal basis for this case, understand how protesters were cast as terrorists, an...
Mar 20, 2026•55 min
Hey folks, no video this week so instead I wanted to give you another episode of our new trial over on Gavel Gavel , US v. Dunn! This is episode 2 (we have released 4 on the Gavel Gavel feed, check it out!) Matt takes us through the pretrial motions. It's an interesting episode even as a standalone law breakdown, so check it out!
Mar 18, 2026•53 min
OA1244 - More election news updates. What the heck happened in Dallas? How is hunting for fraud in Georgia still a thing? Why is the DOJ trying to get non-public voter data from the states? There’s smoke. There’s fire. But it might not be coming from the places everyone is looking. Jenessa helps us focus our concerns in the right direction, and maybe calms our nerves just a bit. Georgia court documents Affidavit: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gand.355087/gov.uscourts.gand....
Mar 16, 2026•53 min•Ep. 1244
OA1243 - The lawsuit that was supposed to break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s obvious monopoly over live music throughout the U.S. has just ended in a settlement so surprising that even DOJ’s lead counsel didn’t know it was happening. Is this deal as bad as it looks? What does it mean for the future of live entertainment, and what will happen if the dozens of states which joined the feds in this case don’t sign off on it? Also: An insurance company sues ChatGPT for telling someone to fire th...
Mar 13, 2026•58 min•Ep. 1243
VR25 - This episode is dedicated to the memory of Cricket, the 14-month-old wirehaired pointer murdered in cold blood by Kristi Noem on an unknown date in a gravel pit in South Dakota. One week after Donald Trump took now-former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s job out to the gravel pit, Thomas, Lydia, and Matt get together for a post-mortem. After a brief amuse douche from Noem’s (ahem) closest advisor, Matt plays the one excerpt from her 2024 campaign book “Not Going Back” which should have disqual...
Mar 11, 2026•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 25
OA1242 - Ever heard of the “major questions doctrine”? Most lawyers sure hadn’t until a few years ago. So how did it get that important-sounding name? Where did it come from? What even is it? How can we call something a “doctrine” or a rule if we don’t have a clear rule statement to cite to? (Hint: You can’t). If you’ve been feeling like maybe this is all made up and the points don’t matter, you can get your vindication here as we trace back the history of this ever-changing heavily-politicized ...
Mar 09, 2026•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 1242
OA1241 - This Rapid Response Friday:* everything you need to know to explain to anyone who will listen exactly why what the US is doing in Iran is illegal. We also review oral arguments in an unusual case involving the federal statute under which Hunter Biden was recently convicted which has brought weed, guns, and Amy Coney Barrett’s illegal Ambien habit (?) before the Supreme Court at the same time. Finally, in today’s footnote: A man who drinks unpasteurized milk, swims in sewage, and once le...
Mar 06, 2026•59 min•Ep. 1241
E24 - Today on Vapid Response Wednesday: the story of a wealthy family that lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to try to defend his sister after she was convicted of abusing and trafficking minors with (and for) Jeffrey Epstein. For this special episode we read through Ian Maxwell’s entire body of published work for The Spectator and unseriously consider some of the many questions the tabloid heir raises about the arrest and conviction of his sister Ghislaine, the evils of the...
Mar 04, 2026•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 24
OA1240 - Shaina Aber, Executive Director with Acacia Center for Justice, joins today to discuss immigration nonprofit work during Trump 2.0. Find all of the tools and programs we talked about at their website, Acacia Center for Justice .
Mar 02, 2026•41 min•Ep. 1240
OA1239 - Did the Supreme Court just hand Donald Trump the biggest L in US presidential history? We go beyond the headlines to break down the first decision on the merits of any of the second Trump term’s policies. What is the deal with the “major questions doctrine” and why can’t the conservative justices agree about what it is and how to use it? Why did Neil Gorsuch choose this case to drop a lengthy diss track with bars about every one of his colleagues? And is there anything Clarence Thomas w...
Feb 27, 2026•53 min•Ep. 239
OA1238 - Dive in to an “old” case from the 90’s that secured a critical right for people with disabilities: The right to be free from unnecessary institutionalization. Learn about some of the more obscure portions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the different ways we can define discrimination, and what happens when a majority of judges just cannot agree to sign on to an entire opinion. Olmstead v. L.C. 527 U.S. 581 (1999) Americans with Disabilities Act - Findings and Purpose ; 42 U.S.C....
Feb 23, 2026•1 hr•Ep. 1238
OA1237 - The U.S. Department of Justice is not sending their best these days. From the problematic indictments of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their coverage of the protest of a church in Minnesota whose pastor runs the local ICE field office to the unexpected dismissal of Mohsen Mohdawi’s deportation proceedings to a bizarre argument (and more good news) in Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s custody proceedings, we are continuing to see what happens when authoritarian lawyering meets actual f...
Feb 20, 2026•53 min•Ep. 1237
E23 - For today's amuse douche : a savory sample of our favorite Harvard Law professor’s extremely normal 2015 explanation of his appearances in Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs. We then take on an almost painfully normal 1997 Dersh LA Times oped in which the lawyer who would go on to secure one of the best plea deals a pedophile has ever received complains about all of those pesky age of consent laws. Finally: some of the worst reactions from men exposed in the Epstein files. You can also watch th...
Feb 18, 2026•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 23
OA1236 - Elections grab bag! Election news has been accumulating, so Jenessa helps us get caught up on what’s going on. Who’s winning elections? What’s going on with redistricting? Heard something confusing about the mail? Trump back on his bullshit again? Good news, mixed news, debunking alleged bad news, bad news with plans for how to turn things around; we’ve got it all. Updates since we recorded: The SAVE America Act passed the House. Also the affidavit for the warrant in Georgia was unseale...
Feb 16, 2026•49 min•Ep. 1236
OA1235 - Today on Rapid Response Friday: Matt’s still on island time, so it’s a good-news-only kind of day as we review (1) the historic termination of deportation proceedings against Tufts grad student Rumeysa Ozturk, (2) new judicial restraints on ICE, (3) a DC federal judge’s outstanding rebuke to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s attempt to deport 350,000 Haitians, and (4) a Republican revolt on Trump’s emergency tariffs. (Also: just how stupid is the super-secret memo which ICE has apparently bee...
Feb 13, 2026•50 min•Ep. 1235
VR22 - Matt reports in just a few miles from--and this is true--Epstein Island to provide a recap of his recent visit to Minnesota days after Alex Pretti’s murder for the first major gathering of state legislators joining forces to stop federal overreach since 1814. How are the people of Minneapolis and their elected leaders holding up on the front lines of the Department of Homeland Security’s war on America, and what can we learn from their example? Finally, in today’s Vapid Response: professi...
Feb 11, 2026•57 min•Ep. 22
Take a break from the downfall of democracy and instead get outraged at the deep injustice of a year-long feud over a bronze medal in women’s gymnastics. This story’s got everything: bravery, racism, the best and the worst of sportsmanship, bad blood that’s been brewing since the Cold War, and, somehow, the Swiss Federal Court. Come for the weird gymnastics scoring rules, stay for the legal analysis of international arbitration rules. Rory Carroll (August 5, 2024). Gymnastics - Biles bows to And...
Feb 09, 2026•59 min•Ep. 1234
