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The Courts vs. Trump—Plus, Gotham at War

On this episode of Start Making Sense: David Cole on Trump’s recent defeats in federal courts, and Brenda Wineapple on Mike Wallace’s history of New York City during World War II.

Jon Wiener

October 8, 2025

Pedestrians walk beneath the marquee of a Trans-Lux Theatre in Times Square circa 1943.(FPG / Archive Photos / Getty Images)

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The Courts vs. Trump—Plus, “Gotham at War” | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

As the Supreme Court begins its new term, Trump lost six different cases in district courts just last week, ranging from bans on deploying the National Guard, to defending freedom of speech for noncitizens, to yet another court rejecting his executive order abolishing birthright citizenship. At the same time, Trump is claiming an illegitimate legal basis for ordering the murder of civilians he claims are trafficing in drugs. David Cole will comment—he’s former national legal director of the ACLU.

Also, There’s a wonderful new history of New York City from the Depression thru WWII, out now – It’s called “Gotham at War,” written by Mike Wallace. He won the Pulitzer Prize in History for the first volume in his “Gotham” series. To talk about ‘Gotham at War,’ we’ll turn to Brenda Wineapple, who writes for the New York Review and the New York Times Book Review; her most recent book is the Scopes trial–it's called ‘Keeping the Faith.’

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As the Supreme Court begins its new term, Trump lost six different cases in district courts just last week, ranging from bans on deploying the National Guard to defending freedom of speech for noncitizens, to yet another court rejecting his executive order abolishing birthright citizenship. At the same time, Trump is claiming an illegitimate legal basis for ordering the murder of civilians he claims are trafficing in drugs. David Cole will comment—he’s a former national legal director of the ACLU and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.

Also, there’s a wonderful new history of New York City from the Depression through World War II out now. It’s called Gotham at War. Author Mike Wallace won the Pulitzer Prize in History for the first volume in his Gotham series. To talk about Gotham at War, we’ll turn to Brenda Wineapple, who writes for The New York Review of Books and The New York Times. Her most recent book, on the Scopes trial, is called Keeping the Faith.

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The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Trump’s Attacks on Voting, and on Iran / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

After Senate Democrats block the SAVE act, Trump is likely to declare a national security emergency – claiming China could interfere in the midterms – as a basis for restricting voting. David Cole comments; he’s former legal director of the ACLU.

Also: Congress must challenge Trump’s war on Iran and assert its constitutional duty to take up War Powers resolutions and assert its primacy over matters of war and peace. John Nichols explains.  

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Jon WienerTwitterJon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.


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