Pittsburgh native and former U.S. attorney Harry Litman rising in the podcast world with 'Talking Feds'

In the crowded world of podcasting, Pittsburgh native Harry Litman is getting attention with “Talking Feds,” a weekly examination of legal and political topics with working experts in the field.

Litman’s bona fides are in order: He served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania (1998-2001) after nearly a decade as a prosecutor at the Department of Justice. Now a lawyer in Los Angeles who teaches constitutional law at UCLA and UC San Diego, Litman is legal affairs columnist for the Los Angeles Times Opinion page and a regular commentator on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. The idea to create a podcast was borne out of his frustration over being limited to 15-second sound bites during his TV appearances.

“Talking Feds” calls on former federal officials like himself, and guests from the world of government, entertainment and journalism. Keeping the hometown in mind, he brought on Mayor Bill Peduto for a cameo in an episode last month.

“It was kind of a surprise development here that prosecutors became to Trump’s scandals what journalists had been to Watergate,” said Litman. “I really felt I had the ability to give people a vantage point on the way decisions are made and the different things they’re pondering, to present the actual thought process.”

And he seems to be on to something. Litman is now partnering with the Los Angeles Times on “Talking Feds.” Last March, Marie Claire magazine published its list of “The 20 Best Political Podcasts to Prepare You for the 2020 Election” and Talking Feds came in at No. 2: “If you’ve ever found yourself questioning the verdict of a case, this podcast is definitely worth a download.”

“Talking Feds” appears to represent dual strands of Litman’s upbringing in Pittsburgh. His parents, David and Roslyn Litman, were lawyers; his trailblazing mother was especially prominent in civil rights and labor law. His uncle was Lenny Litman, a well-known Pittsburgh nightclub owner and concert promoter.

Litman tells his guests to imagine it’s a Friday at 5:30, and they’re in their favorite booth in the back of their favorite bar and to just let the opinions fly, to give a “more realistic, nuanced and dynamic take on the issues that people seem to have great interest in, but were receiving in basically a kind of serial sound-bite way.”

A recent episode, “Pardon Our Obstruction” (July 13), focused on President Trump’s decision to commute the prison sentence for his former political adviser Roger Stone. Litman was able bring on Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, as one of the panelists. The other guests were Barbara McQuade, former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, a political conservative (though Trump critic) and lawyer.

Litman makes a point of keeping Talking Feds from becoming a political partisan show.

“We are not like ‘Pod Save America,’ ” a self-described progressive political podcast created by former Obama administration officials. “We’re not at all snarky. We’re not even all that Democrat,” Litman said. “It does have a point of view but the point of view is very much the rule of law, and very much not partisan politics. Now that does translate in these last few years, it’s true, to being quite critical of the president. Republican senators and certainly Trump himself have been really damaging to the rule of law and government institutions.

“For the person who’s a big lover of the president and what he’s done, I would at least suggest that there will be the level of debate from intelligent, honest people in good faith that would be worth listening to.”

Among his regular guests is David Frum, the speechwriter for President George W. Bush credited with the “Axis of Evil” line in Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address. He is among Republicans critical of Trump, but has not left the party.

“As someone who’s trained as a lawyer myself, I can tell you that one of the things that lawyers do is that they’re much better at telling you what all the arguments are than picking one,” said Frum. “Why would someone think the president has the power to do this? Here’s why. Why wouldn’t somebody think the president has the power to do this? Here’s why not.

“I do the show once every four to six weeks and I always enjoy it and I always learn from it and meet interesting people there. Harry is very good natured and very patient and very well informed.”

Former Department of Justice spokesman Matt Miller, another regular guest, said people are hungry to hear about the issues that Litman brings up on the podcast.

“The reason it works is because Harry is able to put together groups of people who are comfortable talking about these issues,” said Miller. “Harry gives us the ability to discuss things in-depth and do it in a way as if we were just talking to each other at a bar or sitting around a dinner table.”

And Litman includes elements in “Talking Feds” to make it fun for the listener. Among them is “Sidebar,” in which a notable person or celebrity recites an explanation of legal terms or answers a question that is “foundational to events in the news.” Mayor Peduto’s appearance was for the “Sidebar” in the June 15 episode. He dutifully read a legal text on limits on a state’s power to order citizens to shelter in place.

Other Sidebar guests include actress/singer Jane Lynch, the rock singer Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s, the magicians Penn and Teller, and actress Frances McDormand (a graduate of Monessen High School).

“We try to be entertaining,” said Litman. “But more than that we try to be interesting to listen to.”