logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2021
41m 49s

The Supreme Court’s Charm Offensive

Slate Podcasts
About this episode

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Melissa Murray, Leah Litman, and Kate Shaw of the Strict Scrutiny podcast for a special Supreme Court term kick-off panel recorded at the Texas Tribune Festival. They tackle the big-ticket items facing the high court: abortion, guns, and maybe affirmative action. They also discuss the court’s struggle to shore up its legitimacy in the middle of a hard-right turn. 


In our Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia to thrash out what on earth is going on in all the various courts with Texas’ abortion law SB 8, how on earth the author of the how-to-do-a-coup memo is still a welcome after-dinner speaker in legal land, and what is Justice Stephen Breyer thinking, Part 483. 


Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.


Podcast production by Sara Burningham.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Jul 5
Sneak Preview: SCOTUS Made it Worse
Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern answer your questions about threats to federal judges, how far religious opt-outs can go in public schools in light of Mahmoud v. Taylor, and whether or not the rule of law in America is, in fact, cooked. This episode is member-exclusive. Lis ... Show More
15m 14s
Jul 2
Our All-Star SCOTUS End-of-Term Breakfast Table
Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern host the panel that’s guaranteed to help you understand what happened during the Supreme Court’s latest term – examining the major decisions, the emergency docket, and the evolving dynamics on the court. Dahlia and Mark welcome the New York T ... Show More
1h 2m
Jun 28
“No Right Is Safe”
The cataclysmic opinions from SCOTUS on Friday certainly suggest that the courts can no longer save us. In fact, in Trump v. CASA., we learned that it’s somehow not actually the job of the courts to save us from blatant violations of our rights. With universal injunctions drop-ki ... Show More
56m 19s
Recommended Episodes
May 2022
What Next: The Supreme Court Tips Its Hand
This week, Politico published a shocking leak from within the Supreme Court, indicating that a majority of the judges have voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Beyond who leaked the draft opinion, questions remain about what the rollback of the landmark constitutional law will mean for ... Show More
32m 11s
Oct 2021
The Supreme Court’s legitimacy crisis
Since the Supreme Court’s "shadow docket" decision to allow the Texas abortion ban to go into effect, a growing chorus of politicians and legal experts have questioned the court’s legitimacy. Vox's Ian Millhiser says the justices aren’t taking the criticism well.Today’s show was ... Show More
28m 51s
May 2023
The Supreme Court’s corruption crisis
In a hearing today, the Senate Judiciary Committee took on the Supreme Court’s lack of ethics standards. ProPublica’s Joshua Kaplan explains how his reporting on Justice Clarence Thomas’s history of accepting gifts from a conservative megadonor led to increased scrutiny of the co ... Show More
26m 5s
Aug 2022
The Supreme Court's power grab
Sean Illing talks with Harvard Law professor Nikolas Bowie about the U.S. Supreme Court's recently-concluded term, which produced landmark opinions restricting the power of the EPA, expanding gun rights, and overturning Roe v. Wade. They discuss how the conservative court's argum ... Show More
1h 5m
Apr 2023
No Opinions or Arguments, But Not Quiet at High Court
Another Texas abortion case headed the justices’ way and a bombshell report on Clarence Thomas and his luxury vacations upended a usual quiet spring break from Supreme Court arguments and opinions.Cases and Controversies host Kimberly Robinson explains the fast-moving district an ... Show More
34m 5s
Dec 2021
The Supreme Court v. Our Rights
Another year of The Supreme Court of the United States is coming to a close. But can we still trust our nine appointed justices to be the final arbiters of the law?. Co-hosts of the Boom! Lawyered podcast, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy, join Kai Wright to answer those ques ... Show More
50m 36s
Jul 2022
What the hell is up with SCOTUS?
Dara Lind is joined by Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) to discuss the major decisions handed down by the Supreme Court this term. They talk about the Court’s emphasis on historical narrative, its move away from settled legal doctrine, and the politicization o ... Show More
1h 4m