Episode 6: Obama’s Kill List | The Kingmakers
Summary
This episode explores how President Obama’s drone campaign, particularly the killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, tested constitutional limits on executive power. Despite campaigning against Bush-era excesses, Obama expanded targeted killings, creating a secret legal framework that justified extrajudicial assassinations. The narrative contrasts Obama’s public commitment to the rule of law with his private embrace of drone warfare, culminating in the controversial deaths of Awlaki and his teenage son.
Topics discussed
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Introduction: Anwar Al-Awlaki vs. Barack Obama
Masterplan Intro and Quince Sponsor
Obama's 2008 Election and Promise of Change
Early Obama Administration: Legal Shifts and Transparency
Cheney's Defense and Obama's Drone Interest
The Underwear Bomber and Expansion of Drone Strikes
Obama as 'President Spock' and the Disposition Matrix
Anwar Al-Awlaki's Radicalization and Connection to Bomber
Legal Justification for Killing US Citizens Without Trial
Secrecy, Due Process, and the Killing of Al-Awlaki
Controversy Over the Death of Al-Awlaki's Son
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Homeland Analogy and the Leak of the Barron Memo
Legal Battles, Political Question Doctrine, and Barron's Nomination
Conclusion: Executive Power and the Illusion of War
Next Episode Preview and Credits
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