Hotwash

Monday, November 10, 2025, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior. Though widely understood as one of the worst maritime disasters in history, it has gain...

10 Nov 202513min

In this episode of Hotwash, we explore the legal and public health foundations of vaccine mandates through the lens of the landmark Supreme Court case Jacobson v. Massachusetts. We unpack how the Four...

4 Nov 202539min

In our final Halloween special, we sink our teeth into the viral origins of zombies—from fast-moving cinematic ghouls to real-world pathogens like rabies and cordyceps. We explore how zombie lore mirr...

31 Okt 202511min

In our second Halloween special, we take flight into the world of bats—creatures both feared and essential. We explore how bats intersect with public health, emergency response, and environmental law....

29 Okt 20258min

In this first of three special Halloween Quick Rinse episodes, we journey into the eerie remains of Centralia, Pennsylvania—a town slowly consumed by an underground coal fire burning for over 60 years...

27 Okt 20259min

This episode explores how emergency powers in the United States have evolved over the past two decades, shaped by crises like 9/11 and COVID-19. We break down who can declare emergencies—from local of...

21 Okt 202533min

A powerful Nor’easter battered the Eastern Seaboard this week, while a devastating typhoon in Western Alaska displaced hundreds and left entire communities in crisis. This special update unpacks the s...

16 Okt 20257min

This episode traces the arc of emergency authority from Roman dictators to Civil War suspensions of habeas corpus, frontier lawmen, and modern statutes like the National Emergencies Act and the Staffo...

7 Okt 202536min