How good are the brakes on the democracy train? -- Why the sudden concern about fixing the brakes? -- Would you buy this house?: repairing the cracks in democracy's foundation -- Do the external judicial brakes work anymore? -- The Fortas fiasco: how not to maintain the brakes -- What's law got to do with it?: please don't kill all the lawyers-yet -- In praise of seventh-grade civics: separation of powers in the time of Trump -- Applying separation of powers in the time of Trump: five test cases -- Which shell is the power under?: federalism as a protection of the weak -- Epilogue: night sweats-what if it all comes apart?