logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2021
49m 53s

The first woman in the US Supreme Court

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to America's top court in 1981. She'd been nominated by newly-elected Republican president Ronald Reagan. Also in the programme: an eye-witness on the beaches during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba, the worm that unlocked secrets of genetics in the 1960s, the decline of the South Asian vulture and China's "kingdom of women".

Photo:Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in at the Senate confirmation hearing on her selection as a US Supreme Court justice, September 1981 (Credit: Keystone/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images)

Up next
Aug 29
Voting for water and surviving a hurricane
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.We learn why, in 2004, Uruguayans voted to enshrine water as a human right in their constitution - the first country in the world to do so. And environmental historian Ellen Arnold reveals how water has shap ... Show More
1 h
Aug 22
The battle of Mandalay and the New World screwworm
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Dr Elisabeth Fondren, Associate Professor of Journalism at St John's University in New York, USA.We start by hearing some groundbreaking frontline reporting from the B ... Show More
1 h
Aug 15
The Mau Mau uprising and man-eating lions
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes focussing on Kenya.We hear about Muthoni Kirima, one of the last Mau Mau fighters to come out of hiding and lay down her arms.Caroline Elkins, Professor of History at Harvard University, discusses the brutal ... Show More
1 h
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2021
The US Supreme Court's first woman justice
In 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman judge to be appointed to the US Supreme Court. She was nominated by newly-elected Republican president Ronald Reagan, who'd made the pledge to appoint a woman part of the campaign that led to his landslide victory. Justice O'Con ... Show More
9m 37s
Dec 2023
Sandra Day O'Connor (Re-release)
With the recent passing of Sandra Day O'Connor, we wanted to celebrate her life by re-releasing her episode. Sandra was the first woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice and served from 1981 to 2006. Join us as we learn about her childhood and rise to the U.S. Supreme Cour ... Show More
12m 12s
Apr 2022
Women Around the World: Judge Jackson
With her confirmation to the US Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has made history. We dig into her past as a public defender and discuss the importance of her confirmation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
15m 27s
Sep 2020
The Past, Present and Future of Amy Coney Barrett
<p>Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s pick to fill the empty seat on the Supreme Court, is a product of the conservative legal movement of the 1980s. She clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia, a giant of conservative jurisprudence, and his influence is evident throughout her ... Show More
30m 43s
Dec 2023
O’Connor’s Trailblazing Career Marked By Grit, Charisma
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor solidified her legacy as the first female jurist to sit on the Supreme Court. One of her former clerks, Tamarra Matthews Johnson, joins Cases and Controversies to discuss her former boss as a justice and as a role model for women. She touches on O’Conn ... Show More
26m 9s
Feb 2022
In Supreme Court Nomination Debate, Echoes of Past Judicial Breakthrough
When President Biden announced that he would nominate a Black woman—the Supreme Court's first—to the seat that will be vacated by retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, criticism from some on the right began almost immediately. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said it was "racist" to conside ... Show More
14m 29s
Sep 2020
What Are Some of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Landmark Cases?
As a Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg helped decide some truly landmark cases, resulting in a more just world for all Americans. Learn about a few of them in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystud ... Show More
8m 5s
Sep 2022
From History Daily: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
We’ll be back on October 11th with a brand new season of Bad Women, but in the meantime, we wanted to give you a taste of another history podcast we think you'll like. From History Daily, host Lindsay Graham takes listeners back in time to a certain day in history to explore a mo ... Show More
20m 29s
Mar 2025
Amy Coney Barrett's Week In Liberal Wonderland
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, once a Roe-killing conservative darling, triggered the Trump faithful with a post-speech side-eye and ruling against the president who appointed her. On this episode, host and Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones, along with executive ... Show More
41m 56s
Sep 2020
More Perfect: Sex Appeal
<p>We lost a legend. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18th, 2020. She was 87. In honor of her passing we are re-airing the More Perfect episode dedicated to one of her cases, because it offers a unique portrait of how one person can make change in the w ... Show More
53m 25s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami