Radiolab

Enemy of Mankind


Listen Later

Should the U.S. Supreme Court be the court of the world? In the 18th century, two feuding Frenchmen inspired a one-sentence law that helped launch American human rights litigation into the 20th century. The Alien Tort Statute allowed a Paraguayan woman to find justice for a terrible crime committed in her homeland. But as America reached further and further out into the world, the court was forced to confront the contradictions in our country’s ideology: sympathy vs. sovereignty. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Jesner v. Arab Bank, a case that could reshape the way America responds to human rights abuses abroad. Does the A.T.S. secure human rights or is it a dangerous overreach?

Additional music for this episode by Nicolas Carter.

Special thanks to William J. Aceves, William Baude, Diego Calles, Alana Casanova-Burgess, William Dodge, Susan Farbstein, Jeffery Fisher, Joanne Freeman, Julian Ku, Nicholas Rosenkranz, Susan Simpson, Emily Vinson, Benjamin Wittes and Jamison York. Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr., who appears in this episode, passed away in October 2016.

Supreme Court archival audio comes from Oyez®, a free law project in collaboration with the Legal Information Institute at Cornell.

Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at Radiolab.org/donate.    

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

RadiolabBy WNYC Studios

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

41,877 ratings


More shows like Radiolab

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,069 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,628 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,749 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,152 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,321 Listeners

Snap Judgment by Snap Judgment and PRX

Snap Judgment

11,518 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,959 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,137 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,166 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

22,088 Listeners

Invisibilia by NPR

Invisibilia

21,683 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,491 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

12,021 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,165 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

15,937 Listeners

Dolly Parton's America by WNYC Studios & OSM Audio

Dolly Parton's America

16,346 Listeners

The Other Latif by WNYC Studios

The Other Latif

465 Listeners

Radiolab for Kids by WNYC

Radiolab for Kids

1,007 Listeners