The FBI ran covert surveillance programs in its earlier history against civil rights activists like Martin Luther King Jr. It also went after the KKK and white hate groups. An acclaimed writer assesses the bureau’s mixed past and its ambiguous present.

A year ago, a pro-Trump mob invaded the Capitol in Washington and tried to stop lawmakers from certifying the 2020 election. Now their enablers in Congress and in the media have painted them as patriots and victims.

Joe Biden used the word “democracy” in his inaugural address more times than any other President, signaling a shift in rhetoric from his predecessor. But the opposition party that stands in the way of his agenda is openly pursuing less democracy, not more. We wrap up season two with a former republican congresswoman who rejects the cult of Trump, and we hear from political analysts Larry Sabato and Nicole Hemmer.

If people aren’t counted in a representative democracy, it’s as if they don’t exist. And for politicians or parties banking on minority rule, that’s just fine. Until they meet Dale Ho — who defends citizens’ voting rights for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Remember Silvio Berlusconi? Sex scandals, shady deals and a cult-like following marked the Italian prime minister’s time in office. NYU historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat breaks down a political playbook with a long history and continued appeal.

Much as the nation was stunned by the violence and mayhem at the U.S. Capitol in January, the assault was not unprecedented or unpredictable. Siva and Will — together with their University of Virginia students — reflect on what happened.

Is Donald Trump a rhetorical genius? Communications expert Jennifer Mercieca thinks so. This time on the show, she unpacks Trump’s linguistic virtuosity — and explains why it makes him a demagogue.

Nativist ideology in U.S. politics — and policy — is no Trump-era invention; it dates back to the country’s founding. Immigration scholar Erika Lee walks Will and Siva through America’s spotty record as a nation of immigrants, from the Naturalization Act of 1790, which barred nonwhite people from becoming citizens, to the Trump administration’s Muslim ban in 2017.