America at 250: We Ran It Into a Ditch. Now We Dig Out

America at 250: We Ran It Into a Ditch. Now We Dig Out

From The Lincoln Project by The Lincoln Project

July 4, 2026 · 1h 5m

About this episode

The episode discusses the current state of American democracy and the challenges it faces as the nation turns 250 years old.

America is 250 years old, and the fix is in — the DOJ bent to serve whoever's holding the whip, the rule of law treated like a suggestion, the guardrails quietly sawed through while everyone's distracted by the fireworks. This week Rick Wilson sits down with two people who've seen the rot up close and refuse to shut up about it: Congressman Jamie Raskin, the constitutional scholar who's spent his career defending democracy on the House floor, and Liz Oyer, the DOJ pardon attorney who got fired for one unforgivable sin — saying no. What she saw inside the building should scare the hell out of you, and what Raskin knows about how this ends should light a fire under you. Here's what they won't tell you at the birthday party: the republic doesn't save itself, and nobody's riding in to do it for us. Rick, Jamie, and Liz get into what's already broken, what we can do right now before the next crisis lands, and the longer fight to reclaim, rebuild, and reinforce a country worth keeping. At 250, the tools are still in our hands and the door's still open — but not for long. They stole it in broad daylight. This is the conversation about taking it back. • • • • • Congressman Jamie Raskin…

People in this episode

Host: Rick Wilson

Guests: Jamie Raskin, Liz Oyer

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Department of Justice, The Lincoln Project

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