The year in politics: Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on Trump’s collapsing support in 2025, and the rise of the resistance—in both the unprecedented national mobilizations culminating in the second No Kings Day, and the Democratic triumph in virtually all elections in 2025.

Also: the year in court: David Cole, who stepped down this year as national legal director of the ACLU, reviews the 149 rulings against Trump in federal courts this past year, and the 21 times the Supreme Court has supported his attacks on democracy.

Plus: From the archives: Ricky Jay was one of the world’s great sleight-of-hand artists, distinguished by the remarkable variety of his accomplishments as an author, actor, and historian. In Jay’s Journal of Anomalies he described some of his favorite strange entertainments through the ages: throwing cards into watermelons, how to run a flea circus, the art of dental performance and much more – we remember master magician Ricky Jay (first recorded in 2002; he died in 2018).

In June, Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to occupy Los Angeles and terrorize the immigrant population. But by the end of July, almost all the Guard and the Marines were gone. Bill Gallegos explains how that happened and what other cities can learn from it.

Also: From the archives: The Romans captured and killed Jesus because the revolutionary movement he launched challenged the most powerful empire the world had ever known: That’s what Reza Aslan says – his New York Times bestselling book ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth shot to #1 on Amazon when a Fox News interviewer asked him 'why a Muslim would write a book about Jesus?' (originally broadcast July 2013)

Plus: It’s time to listen again to BOB DYLAN’s 2009 Christmas album! Is this a joke — or a tragedy? Sean Wilentz explains. PLAYLIST: “Here Comes Santa Claus”; “I’ll Be Home for Xmas”; “Must Be Santa,” “Winter Wonderland”; “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (originally broadcast November 11, 2009).

Last week, the Indiana state legislature voted down Trump's redistricting demands that would've created more Republican seats in the House; now, four Republicans have joined the Democrats in forcing a vote on extending Obamacare subsidies, AND, 20 House Republicans are supporting the federal workers union — Trump's grip on the Republican party is slipping — Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Today, Friday, is the deadline for the Justice Department to turn over the Epstein files to Congress. But we already know the key fact about Epstein’s famous friends—they didn’t care that he had hired a 14-year-old girl for sex—and gone to jail for it. But why was that? Katha Pollitt comments.