logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2021
58m 1s

The Supreme Court (2020)

NPR
About this episode
When, why, and how did the Supreme Court get the final say in the law of the land? The question of the Court's role, and whether its decisions should reign above all the other branches of government, has been hotly debated for centuries. And that's resulted in a Supreme Court more powerful than anything the Founding Fathers could have imagined possible.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Aug 21
The Queen of Tupperware
Who ushered housewives into the workforce and plastic storage containers into America’s kitchens? Today on the show, the rise and fall of Brownie Wise, the woman behind Tupperware's plastic empire — and a revolution in women’s work.Guests:Alison Clarke, author of Tupperware, the ... Show More
49m 11s
Aug 14
We the People: Succession of Power
The 25th amendment. A few years before JFK was shot, an idealistic young lawyer set out on a mission to convince people something essential was missing from the Constitution: clear instructions for what should happen if a U.S. president was no longer able to serve. On this episod ... Show More
47m 31s
Aug 7
We the People: Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The Eighth Amendment. What is cruel and unusual punishment? Who gets to define and decide its boundaries? And how did the Constitution's authors imagine it might change? Today on Throughline's We the People: the Eighth Amendment, the death penalty, and what cruel and unusual real ... Show More
47m 58s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2022
How the Supreme Court is reshaping the US
Abortion, environmental protections and gun ownership rights are among the controversial topics the US Supreme Court has ruled on over recent weeks. The highest court in the land has the final say on interpreting laws and deciding what’s constitutional and what isn’t. Now - with ... Show More
49m 10s
Jun 2024
Fact Checking the Supreme Court
For a long time, the Court operated under what was called Legal Formalism. Legal formalism said that the job of any judge or justice was incredibly narrow. It was to basically look at the question of the case in front of them, check that question against any existing laws, and th ... Show More
44m 13s
Aug 2022
What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law- The Longest Week
In the final week of the most recent term, the Supreme Court decided to limit one constitutional right (abortion) and expand another constitutional right (guns). But there were other cases decided that week, which were also important and marked this as one of the most historicall ... Show More
29m 25s
Nov 2013
20: Justices on the Move
It’s hard to imagine Supreme Court Justices working outside of Washington, D.C. But for the first half of our country’s history, they spent much of their time traveling as circuit court judges. And it may have made them better Supreme Court justices. Learn more about your ad choi ... Show More
16m 1s
Aug 2021
John Marshall and the Supreme Court
John Marshall was the longest-serving Chief Justice in Supreme Court history. In today’s episode, we learn all about the man as well as the decisions that shaped the highest court in the land; from Marbury v Madison to McCullough v Maryland. This episode features the voices of Su ... Show More
29m 41s
Dec 2020
May It Please the Court
17 states and the President have joined Texas in suing battleground states over election irregularities, and our very own Senator Ted Cruz was asked to argue the case before the Supreme Court. The Senator and Michael Knowles come together once again to break down the why the Cour ... Show More
29m 34s
Oct 2021
The Most Important Supreme Court Term in Decades
The latest term of the U.S. Supreme Court will include blockbuster cases on two of the most contentious topics in American life: abortion and gun rights.The cases come at a time when the court has a majority of Republican appointees and as it battles accusations of politicization ... Show More
22m 47s