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
Yesterday
What Happened to Vladimir Alexandrov?
Rund Abdelfatah and Cristina Kim try to unravel the mystery of a Soviet scientist who was helping to spread the word about nuclear winter theory—until he disappeared. <br/><br/>This is a peek at the kind of exclusive bonus content Throughline+ supporters get every month. Want mor ... Show More
14m 46s
Nov 20
Democracy Dies in a Day
How quickly can a government fall? Chile was once one of Latin America's oldest democracies, but that all changed in a matter of hours after a military coup on September 11, 1973. Some supported the coup; many did not. But for the next 17 years, all Chileans lived in the grip of ... Show More
51m 51s
Nov 13
The Creeping Coup
On the surface, the story of Sudan’s war is about two generals vying for power. But it’s also about a vast web of international interests involving the U.S., China, Russia, and the UAE. Today on the show, the story of how things in Sudan got to this point, and the effects of the ... Show More
50m 39s
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
<p>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 ... Show More
44m 13s
Aug 2022
What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law- The Longest Week
<p>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 histori ... 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
<p>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 <em>Marbury v Madison</em> to <em>McCullough v Maryland</em>.</p> <p>This episo ... Show More
29m 41s
Dec 2020
May It Please the Court
<p>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 C ... Show More
29m 34s
Oct 2021
The Most Important Supreme Court Term in Decades
<p>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.</p><p>The cases come at a time when the court has a majority of Republican appointees and as it battles accusations of poli ... Show More
22m 47s