Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share S7: Our Favorite Things, 2025
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
S7: Our Favorite Things, 2025
It’s that time of year when Leah, Melissa, and Kate put on their influencer hats and recommend the things that made their days a little brighter in 2025. This year, they’re joined by two special guests: rockstar Strict Scrutiny intern Jordan Thomas to share some of his picks, and former Chair of the Federal Election Commission Ellen Weintraub to discuss two of democracy’s favorite things—independent agencies and the regulation of money in politics.
Favorite things:
WANT
Leah: Cozy Earth Bubble Cuddle Blanket, Jones Road Just Enough Tinted Moisturizer
Kate: Aventura electric scooter, Grüns Superfood Greens Gummies
Melissa: True Botanicals, e.l.f. Camo Liquid Blush
Jordan: Tea Tree Leave-In Conditioner, Pink Oil Moisturizer,
NEED
Leah: Peloton stretching classes, Farmhounds dog treats; Badlands Ranch dog food
Kate: custom bobbleheads & action figures, Lilly Allen’s tour, Strict Scrutiny’s upcoming West Coast tour
Melissa: Caddis readers, Blackwing Matte pencils, As Ever Rosé
Jordan: 2026 Evanescence and Korn tours, these headphones
WEAR
Leah: Forme Power Bra, Argent, TheRealReal
Kate: Strict Scrutiny onesies, Cozy Earth Studio Wide Leg Pant
Melissa: Quince yak wool sweaters, Uniqlo White T-Shirt, Clearly Collective Collegiate Scarves, WaySoft Cashmere Beanie
Jordan: Crooked Con Merch, Mavi jeans
READ
Leah: The Wedding People, Alison Espach; Julie Anne Long’s Pennyroyal Green series; Lisa Kleypas’ Wallflowers series; These Summer Storms, Sarah MacLean; Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, V. E. Schwab; The God of the Woods, Liz Moore; Book of the Month
Kate: The Power Broker, Robert Caro; Who Is Government? Michael Lewis; Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter, Kate Conger & Ryan Mac; The Radical Fund, John Fabian Witt; Isola, Allegra Goodman; Heart the Lover, Lily King; Martyr! Kaveh Akbar; The History of Sound, Ben Shattuck
Melissa: Matriarch, Tina Knowles; Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People, Imani Perry; Jane Austen's Bookshelf, Rebecca Romney; Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid; The Book Club for Troublesome Women, Marie Bostwick; The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Kiran Desai
Jordan: Lawless, Leah Litman; The Sirens' Call, Chris Hayes; Bad Law, Elie Mystal; Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation, Zaakir Tameez; Just Shine! How to Be a Better You, Sonia Sotomayor
Ellen: Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell Mysteries; Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Benjamin Stevenson; The Black Wolf, Louise Penny; Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, Judi Dench; This Is Happiness, Niall Williams; Elizabeth Strout; Amor Towles
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!
Learn more: http://crooked.com/events
Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
View all episodes
By Strict Scrutiny
4.6
54775,477 ratings
It’s that time of year when Leah, Melissa, and Kate put on their influencer hats and recommend the things that made their days a little brighter in 2025. This year, they’re joined by two special guests: rockstar Strict Scrutiny intern Jordan Thomas to share some of his picks, and former Chair of the Federal Election Commission Ellen Weintraub to discuss two of democracy’s favorite things—independent agencies and the regulation of money in politics.
Favorite things:
WANT
Leah: Cozy Earth Bubble Cuddle Blanket, Jones Road Just Enough Tinted Moisturizer
Kate: Aventura electric scooter, Grüns Superfood Greens Gummies
Melissa: True Botanicals, e.l.f. Camo Liquid Blush
Jordan: Tea Tree Leave-In Conditioner, Pink Oil Moisturizer,
NEED
Leah: Peloton stretching classes, Farmhounds dog treats; Badlands Ranch dog food
Kate: custom bobbleheads & action figures, Lilly Allen’s tour, Strict Scrutiny’s upcoming West Coast tour
Melissa: Caddis readers, Blackwing Matte pencils, As Ever Rosé
Jordan: 2026 Evanescence and Korn tours, these headphones
WEAR
Leah: Forme Power Bra, Argent, TheRealReal
Kate: Strict Scrutiny onesies, Cozy Earth Studio Wide Leg Pant
Melissa: Quince yak wool sweaters, Uniqlo White T-Shirt, Clearly Collective Collegiate Scarves, WaySoft Cashmere Beanie
Jordan: Crooked Con Merch, Mavi jeans
READ
Leah: The Wedding People, Alison Espach; Julie Anne Long’s Pennyroyal Green series; Lisa Kleypas’ Wallflowers series; These Summer Storms, Sarah MacLean; Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, V. E. Schwab; The God of the Woods, Liz Moore; Book of the Month
Kate: The Power Broker, Robert Caro; Who Is Government? Michael Lewis; Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter, Kate Conger & Ryan Mac; The Radical Fund, John Fabian Witt; Isola, Allegra Goodman; Heart the Lover, Lily King; Martyr! Kaveh Akbar; The History of Sound, Ben Shattuck
Melissa: Matriarch, Tina Knowles; Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People, Imani Perry; Jane Austen's Bookshelf, Rebecca Romney; Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid; The Book Club for Troublesome Women, Marie Bostwick; The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Kiran Desai
Jordan: Lawless, Leah Litman; The Sirens' Call, Chris Hayes; Bad Law, Elie Mystal; Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation, Zaakir Tameez; Just Shine! How to Be a Better You, Sonia Sotomayor
Ellen: Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell Mysteries; Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Benjamin Stevenson; The Black Wolf, Louise Penny; Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, Judi Dench; This Is Happiness, Niall Williams; Elizabeth Strout; Amor Towles
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!
Learn more: http://crooked.com/events
Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
More shows like Strict Scrutiny
View all
Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts
3,557 Listeners
The Lawfare Podcast
6,307 Listeners
Pod Save America
87,995 Listeners
Pod Save the World
24,812 Listeners
Lovett or Leave It
25,172 Listeners
Pod Save the People
8,779 Listeners
Shadow Kingdom
4,150 Listeners
Keep It!
9,774 Listeners
Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast
9,388 Listeners
Runaway Country with Alex Wagner
12,857 Listeners
Hysteria
7,282 Listeners
The Bulwark Podcast
12,768 Listeners
This Land
7,888 Listeners
What A Day
12,381 Listeners
Missing America
2,718 Listeners
The Ezra Klein Show
16,409 Listeners
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
10,990 Listeners
Offline with Jon Favreau
2,344 Listeners
Another Russia
622 Listeners
Work Appropriate
380 Listeners
Radiolingo
449 Listeners
World Corrupt
181 Listeners
Main Justice
7,078 Listeners
Pod Save the UK
711 Listeners
Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto
262 Listeners
Dissident at the Doorstep
132 Listeners
Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams
1,779 Listeners