Trump's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Impeachment Defenses

On the Gist, importing walkie-talkies into Myanmar. In the Interview, we’re coming into a new constitutional cycle, and it means Democrats could take quite a bit of power. Well, if they don’t blow it. We’ve been in the same Republican-dominated cycle for decades, according to Jack Balkin, author of The Constitutional Cycles of Time. Balkin and Mike talk about the extreme political polarization not seen since the Civil War, constitutional rot, and, just for fun, delve into conservative complaints about de-platforming and free speech. Balkin is a Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment and Director for The Information Society Project at Yale Law School. In the spiel, delving into the Trump files ahead of the Impeachment trial. Email us at thegist@slate.com Podcast production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices