Ed Helms

Kara, you first.

I want to get right into today's snafu because it's really a doozy, and I think you're going to find some rather strikingly resonant story points here.

Today, we're going to jump back to 1919, to one of the most insane and shameful chapters in U.S.

history, the Palmer Raids.

Are either of you familiar with the Palmer Raids?

It's basically police abuse, isn't it?

Yeah, that's essentially sort of the nugget.

So let's start with a little political context.

The U.S.

was pulled into World War I in 1917, and the national mood was very tense, to say the least.

President Woodrow Wilson was worried about internal opposition to the war.

So with the help of Congress, he passed two critical laws.

First, the Espionage Act of 1917, meant to stop spies and wartime sabotage.

But it quickly became a catch-all for just silencing dissent.

You could be jailed for criticizing the draft or handing out anti-war leaflets.

Socialist leader Eugene V. Debs gave a speech questioning the war and got a 10-year prison sentence.

Next came the Sedition Act of 1918, which made it a crime to say anything, quote, dangerous.

disloyal about the U.S.

government, the flag, or the military.

Newspapers were shut down, teachers got fired, and ordinary citizens were arrested for nothing more than calling the war a mistake.