America’s Founding Fathers built a federal system, rejecting monarchy and ‘absolutism’

Our guest today is Eric Heinze, Professor of Law and Humanities at Queen Mary, University of London. A specialist in free speech and constitutional theory, Professor Heinze brings a global perspective to the crisis unfolding in American public life. From late-night television to the Federal Reserve, Heinze argues that we’re witnessing not just isolated incidents but a systematic shift in how democratic norms are being undermined from within. What does it mean when a government elected on promises to shrink federal government size and power ends up expanding executive authority to the detriment of the Constitution and individual liberties? And how do media figures like Jimmy Kimmel get caught up in this broader existential struggle?