Eli Honig never planned on becoming a television legal analyst.

Before CNN, he spent 14 years as a federal and state prosecutor. In this episode, Eli joins Neal Goldstein to talk about the unexpected career pivot that took him from the courtroom to television, the relationships that made that transition possible, and why the skills of a trial lawyer translate so naturally to explaining complicated legal cases to the public.

They also get into a harder issue: what happens when political preference starts influencing legal analysis. Eli explains why he believes a lawyer's job is to call the law as he sees it, even when that conclusion puts him at odds with people who otherwise share the same professional world.

The conversation becomes deeply personal as Eli discusses being the grandson of two Holocaust survivors and how his family's history shaped his understanding of justice, accountability, and preserving the stories of those who came before him.

Eli also reflects on the prosecution of Adolf Eichmann, the importance his prosecutors placed on due process even for an infamous defendant, his path from New Jersey public schools to Harvard Law School, the mentors and relationships that changed his career, and what he wishes he understood earlier about setbacks and nonlinear professional paths.

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