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Case in Point: The Legal Show on the Hottest Legal Cases in Politics and Culture
If the thought of a legal podcast makes you shy away and you’re tired of so-called “legal” experts talking in confusing legal jargon, you’ve come to the right place. The Heritage Foundation’s “Case in Point” talks about the hottest cases affecting politics, culture, and everyone’s daily lives in a way that lawyers and non-lawyers alike can understand.
- Hosts:
- SPSarah Parshall Perry
Episode length: 25m
Hans is joined by Robert Greenway, military veteran and Director of the Allison Center for National Security at Heritage, to discuss the German siege of American forces in Bastogne, which occurred over Christmas in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. The Classic Movie Review is of "Battleground," the 1949 film about the battle, directed by veteran William Wellman, and the winner of multiple academy awards
Episode length: 27m
Guest is Mark Chenoweth, president and chief legal officer of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, to discuss the oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Monday, Dec. 8, in Trump v. Slaughter, an important case about the constitutional authority of the president over the so-called “independent” agencies like the Federal Trade Commission set up by Congress. For the Christmas season, classic movie review of the 1945 film Christmas in Connecticut, a romantic comedy starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet.
Episode length: 33m
Guest is Yonatan Green, a Fellow at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, author of a new book about the seizure of political power by the Israeli Supreme Court, a foreshadowing of what is happening in America with our partisan rogue judges. Classic movie review of the 1966 film, “Cast a Giant Shadow,” directed by Otto Preminger and starring Kirk Douglas as the real life American Army veteran who went to Israel to help train the fledgling Israeli Defense Force to defend the new nation in the 1948 Arab Israeli War.
November 2025
Episode length: 30m
Cully Stimson, retired Navy Captain and Deputy Director of the Meese Legal Center, joins Hans to discuss the propaganda video by six members of Congress urging members of the military to disobey orders. Classic film review is of the World War II picture, “They Were Expendable,” the 1945 John Ford movie about a torpedo boat squadron that fought in the Battle of the Philippines against enormous odds, a film that shows the courage and sacrifice of members of our armed forces.
Episode length: 33m
Hans is joined by Scott Jennings, AKA, the “Black Sheep of CNN,” to discuss his new book, “A Revolution of Common Sense – How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization.” The movie review is of a classic film about politics in the nation’s capital, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” Frank Capra’s 1939 picture starring Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur.
Episode length: 21m
Hans is joined by former foreign service officer and Heritage Senior Research Fellow Simon Hankinson, to discuss the tussle over the Trump administration’s requirement to list your biological sex on your passport, which has ended up at the Supreme Court. The movie review is of the 2006 film “Argo,” produced, directed, and starred in by Ben Affleck about the real life CIA operation that smuggled six American foreign service officers out of Iran during the Islamic revolution using fake passports, disguises, and a phony movie company.
Episode length: 32m
Hans is joined by former Federal Election Commission Chairman Allen Dickerson to discuss the pending U.S. Supreme Court case, National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC, originally also filed by then-Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, and the effect the Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the limits on coordinated party expenditures may have on the 2026 congressional elections. Our classic movie review is of “The Last Hurrah,” the 1958 political film directed by John Ford and starring Spencer Tracy, about a reelection fight between the mayor of a big city and a civic reformer.
October 2025
Episode length: 31m
Guest is Kim Strassel, member of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, who also writes the weekly Potomac Watch column about goings on in the nation’s capital, to talk about lawfare, Jack Smith and other threats to the Republic. Classic movie review of “The Strange Life of Martha Ivers,” a 1946 film noir starring Van Heflin, Kirk Douglas and Barbara Stanwyck in a complex story about a corrupt DA and his equally corrupt wife.
Episode length: 29m
Guest is Mark Hemingway, editor at The Federalist, to discuss the rise of new media as a counterinsurgency to biased news organizations and the rise of censorship. Classic movie review of "Adam's Rib," the 1947 film about married lawyers who end up opposing each other in court.
Episode length: 30m
Guest is James Campbell, chief legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, who was in the Supreme Court on October 7 arguing the case of Chiles v. Salazar, challenging the Colorado censorship law than bans counselors from saying anything to their clients that disagrees with the state’s Woke view of homosexuality, transgenderism, and gender dysphoria. Classic movie review of the 1942 film, “The Talk of the Town,” starring Cary Grant and Ronald Coleman, about a law professor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Episode length: 29m
Hans is joined by E.J. Antoni, Heritage’s chief economist and a leading expert on the federal budget, explains the Federal Reserve, its problems and effects on our banking system and the economy, and the case over the firing of Reserve member Lisa Cook by Pres. Trump that is now before the Supreme Court. The classic movie review is of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the 1947 Frank Capra Christmas movie in which one of the essential plot elements is a bank run on the small building and loan run by Jimmy Stewart.
Episode length: 30m
Hans' guest is Ryan Mauro, a researcher and investigator for the Capital Research Center, to discuss their findings on who is organizing and funding extremist groups like Antifa who are trying to undermine our democratic process by instigating violence in our streets and our political arenas. Classic movie review of “All Through the Night,” a 1942 film starring Humphrey Bogart as a gambler trying to find the extremists instigating violence in New York to undermine our democratic Republic.
September 2025
Episode length: 29m
Guest is Robert Alt, president and CEO of the Buckeye Institute, Ohio’s premier think tank, discussing Buckeye’s lawsuit against the IRS and the dangers posed to the privacy of the public by IRS regulations and the mishandling of taxpayer information. He also discusses his experience as a mountain climber and his recent ascent of Mt. Everest in the Himalayas. Classic movie review of “Lost Horizon,” the 1937 Frank Capra film about a hidden city in the Himalayas.
Episode length: 28m
Guest is Josh Blackman, law professor at the South Texas College of Law and one of the best-known constitutional experts in the nation, to talk about the launch of the 3rd edition of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution, as well as the judicial warfare we are seeing in the courts. Classic movie review of “1776,” the 1972 musical film about the Second Continental Congress and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
Episode length: 30m
My guest is Cully Stimson, Deputy Director of the Heritage Legal Center, and an experienced state, federal, and military criminal prosecutor. He joins me to discuss the practicalities of a murder case, including gathering evidence, forensic analysis, and criminal prosecution. The classic movie review is of “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), about the planned assassination of a presidential candidate.
Episode length: 28m
Guest in Josh Blackman, law professor at the South Texas College of Law and one of the best known constitutional experts in the nation, to talk about the launch of the 3rd edition of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution, as well as the judicial warfare we are seeing in the courts. Classic movie review of “1776,” the 1972 musical film about the Second Continental Congress and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
Episode length: 29m
Guest is former Assistant U.S. Attorney Zack Smith, current Heritage Senior Legal Fellow, to discuss the legality, necessity, and results of Pres. Trump’s actions to remedy the crime problem in Washington, D.C. Classic film review of “The Untouchables,” the 1987 movie about federal agents sent to clean up Chicago’s crime problems in the 1930s.
August 2025
Episode length: 26m
Guest is immigration expert Dr. Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, to discuss his recent report showing that since January, the alien population in the U.S. has dropped by 2.2 million, including 1.6 million illegal aliens. Classic movie review of the 1948 film noir, “To the Ends of the Earth,” about a federal operation to smash a smuggling ring.
Episode length: 28m
Guest is Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt whose new book, “The Last Line of Defense – How to Beat the Left in Court,” is about his fierce fights as the state’s attorney general against mask and Covid vaccine mandates, the student loan forgiveness scam, and the censorship machine put in place by the Biden administration and Silicon Valley. Classic Movie Review of “The Far Horizons,” the 1955 movie about the Lewis & Clark Expedition that started in St. Louis, Missouri.
Episode length: 18m
Hans von Spakovsky and his Heritage colleague, Cully Stimson, switch rolls, with Cully hosting the show and Hans answering questions about the ongoing redistricting battle in the Lone Star State. Classic movie review of “The Alamo,” the 1960 film directed, produced, funded, and starred in by John Wayne.
Episode length: 27m
Guest is Mike Gonzalez, Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former journalist, to discuss the cut off of funding to NPR and PBS, and the bias of its news coverage. Classic Movie Review of “Absence of Malice” (1981), a film about unethical reporters and government lawyers.
July 2025
Episode length: 33m
Guest is Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, to discuss the lawsuits he filed against California over its electric truck mandate, GM over misuse of customer vehicle information, and Temu for siphoning phone data from customers for the Chinese Communist Party. Classic movie review of “Smokey and the Bandit.”
Episode length: 28m
Guest is South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who discusses the legal battles the state has waged against the federal government, starting with his successful fight to defend a voter ID law. Classic movie review of the 1959 “Anatomy of a Murder,” one of the most realistic legal movies produced by Hollywood.
Episode length: 31m
Guest Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, discusses winning the Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship, the creation of its satires and parodies that expose corruption, and the censorship it faces over its work. Movie review of “Deadline – U.S.A,” the 1942 classic film noir starring Humphrey Bogart as a crusading newspaper editor who works on a story exposing a gangster’s crimes at the risk of his life.
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