Opening Arguments Podcast
@openargs.bsky.social
5K followers 720 following 430 posts
Explaining law in the news to non-lawyers every Mon/Fri and responding to the right's worst legal takes on video every Weds. Join the community at patreon.com/law!
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
openargs.bsky.social
Good news, Bluesky: we had @jaketapper.bsky.social on to answer for his deeply divisive reporting on the mysterious drama and questions of competency which have surrounded a famous American family beset by tragedy. (We also have a few questions about that Biden book.)

youtu.be/SK27sVty29Q?...
Jake Tapper on his new book, and the controversy surrounding his last one
YouTube video by Serious Pod Network
youtu.be
openargs.bsky.social
Listen to Opening Arguments, the legal podcast that doesn't need 36 minutes to tell you that "killing Venezuelans in boats" is extremely fucking illegal
"The US Keeps Killing Venezuelans on Boats. Is That Legal?" asks NYT's The Daily
openargs.bsky.social
We've always believed that the jury correctly weighed the evidence in this sadly all-too-common case of a man who couldn't accept that his ex had moved on. But no matter how you feel about the facts, this show badly misrepresented the post-conviction proceedings and we have to talk about it
openargs.bsky.social
Coming soon to OA:

THE CASE AGAINST "THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED"

are the "Serial" liars behind this HBO series really so desperate that they are trying to pin the murder of Hae Min Lee on a Black man who was already cleared as a suspect? Did this show get *anything* about this case right?
openargs.bsky.social
Matt's credible sources for this view of events were "Burning the Reichstag" by CUNY professor Benjamin Carter Hett (who specializes in Nazi history) and "The Gestapo" by Jacques Delarue (1962). But we should have been more clear that it officially remains a mystery

www.amazon.com/Burning-Reic...
Burning the Reichstag: An Investigation into the Third Reich's Enduring Mystery
Amazon.com: Burning the Reichstag: An Investigation into the Third Reich's Enduring Mystery: 9780199322329: Hett, Benjamin Carter: Books
www.amazon.com
openargs.bsky.social
Minor correction: On today's show Matt stated that the 1933 Reichstag Fire was not the act of a lone arsonist & that the Nazis assisted. This is not a fully established historical fact, although many historians have made the case for it. Sources in the next post
Reposted by Opening Arguments Podcast
theonion.com
This Week's Onion Magazine:
Charlie Kirk, Not In His Own Words: We Honor The Right-Wing Activist By Making Up Quotes That Sound Much Better, Given The Moment
openargs.bsky.social
As anyone who has been online in the past week already knows the death of Charlie Kirk generated enough to fuel several years of Vapid Response Wednesdays, but we got it down to 2 hrs.

Part I: the man in his own words, & the (very bad) case for Kirk as the "American Socrates"
Charlie Kirk sucked and we won't be pretending otherwise
YouTube video by Opening Arguments
youtu.be
Reposted by Opening Arguments Podcast
mattcameron.bsky.social
"complete gibberish, nonsense, and balderdash"
--Charlie Kirk on the idea that climate change is an existential threat to humanity (2024)

"not incredibly important"
--Charlie Kirk on global warming (August 2025)

of course Trump's EPA loves him
bibliotequetress.bsky.social
@seriouspod.bsky.social @mattcameron.bsky.social listening to yr pod today and thought I'd share this lil nugget that was blasted through an official fed agency's channel.
openargs.bsky.social
Feeling like everything too much right to fully engage with law in the news right now? We get it, and we got you: join us every Monday for a perspective you won't find anywhere else on just how good a Supreme Court with a liberal majority can be

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
Opening Arguments
Politics Podcast · Updated Semiweekly · Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith brings on legal analysts to help you understand not only current ev...
podcasts.apple.com
openargs.bsky.social
Thomas is taking a well-earned break from mic duties, but you can still catch him with Lydia and Matt on Wednesdays!
openargs.bsky.social
OA is now three shows in one!

STILL GOOD LAW MONDAYS: Matt & Jenessa break down classic Warren Court-era SCOTUS cases

VAPID RESPONSE WEDNESDAY: Matt & our producers give their unedited review of the worst opeds we can find

RAPID RESPONSE FRIDAY: Matt & Jenessa explain law in the news (classic OA)
openargs.bsky.social
Next week in our Still Good Law series; Katz v US (1967), the Warren Court's landmark holding that the Fourth Amendment is for people, not places.

Working title:

KATZ RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME
Reposted by Opening Arguments Podcast
seriouslydiaonly.bsky.social
Another friendly reminder that the sister show to @openargs.bsky.social, Gavel Gavel, has been going DEEP on the lawsuit(s) between Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni, and the related cases that most people overlook. BONUS! Coverage of a SH case from people who haven't been credibly accused of SH! 🙃
openargs.bsky.social
If Vapid Response Wednesday didn't already exist we would have had to create it just to process the harvest of truly deranged takes the past few days has brought us
openargs.bsky.social
Just FYI Thomas is still producing the show and joining live with Matt and Lydia for Vapid Response Wednesdays (be sure to catch one if you haven't yet!), but Matt and Jenessa Seymour are holding it down for a bit with Monday deep dives and Rapid Response Fridays to give him a much-needed break
xtrapwr.com
@openargs.bsky.social Sorry if this was answered in a pod, I've missed a few, but has Thomas stepped back recently? Hope he's doing well, just noticed I hadn't heard his voice in a bit.
openargs.bsky.social
Never seen it, but love the Coens! We should probably get around to doing a bad law movie again per the usual format but will keep this in the LAM pocket
openargs.bsky.social
OA is a labor of love and a dream job for everyone involved, but it is also Thomas & Lydia's livelihood & Matt's best chance to save for retirement. Please consider supporting the show for special content, an awesome community, and regular hangs with hosts & special guests

Patreon.com/law
Get more from Opening Arguments on Patreon
Creating the legal podcast that helps you make sense of the news
Patreon.com
openargs.bsky.social
By loud and popular patron demand we finally did a My Cousin Vinny episode! The whole thing is up now on Patreon, and one big spicy meatball of an excerpt is available anywhere else you get podcasts

Patreon.com/law
Get more from Opening Arguments on Patreon
Creating the legal podcast that helps you make sense of the news
Patreon.com
openargs.bsky.social
Please support independent media, where shows like ours still have the freedom to remind you that Charlie Kirk made his name on hate and division without anyone getting fired
hollygaye.bsky.social
Wow!!! Here is what he said. I’m in full support of Matthew Dowd.
Reposted by Opening Arguments Podcast
mattcameron.bsky.social
In a totally disingenuous NYT oped we covered on OA's Vapid Response Weds last month, Harvard law prof Adrian Vermeule pretended (inter alia) as if the Wilcox order was some kind of clear and binding precedent & blamed lower courts for not receiving it as "notice"--all w/o mentioning Humphrey's
NYTimes lets awful Harvard Law prof lie his ass off for some reason
YouTube video by Opening Arguments
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Opening Arguments Podcast
mattcameron.bsky.social
90 yrs ago SCOTUS told FDR directly that he couldn't fire an FTC commissioner over policy disagreements--only for cause. This court has now for at least the 3rd time this year indicated *on the shadow docket w/out explanation* that it no longer considers Humphrey's Executor to be good law
Reposted by Opening Arguments Podcast
mattcameron.bsky.social
I have this thing about end credits songs which tell you about the movie you just watched. I'll reveal on our upcoming special episode on legal comedy GOAT "My Cousin Vinny" what my favorite is--what's yours?

(Travis Tritt's MCV "Bible Belt" rewrite for reference)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7QB...
My Cousin Vinny Soundtrack - Travis Tritt - Bible Belt
YouTube video by JewelsMusic4
www.youtube.com