Strict Scrutiny

Strict Scrutiny

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    on Philosophy

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  • Typical duration

    84 min

    per episode

  • If it hooks

    46%

    finish an episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

Strict Scrutiny episodes

  • The Uncertain Future of the Indian Child Welfare Act

    Rebecca Nagle, host of Crooked Media's This Land, joins Melissa, Leah, and Kate to recap the arguments in Haaland v. Brackeen. The case revolves around the Indian Child Welfare Act, which lays out a set of preferences for where Native American children can be placed for foster care and adoption. The challengers, white foster parents trying to adopt Native American children, are claiming a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. But as Rebecca explains, tribal sovereignty isn't racial-- it's political.

    Plus, we take a look at the midterm outcomes and what they mean for the courts.

    • Listen to Season 2 of This Land, all about the  back story of Haaland v. Brackeen.
    • Read Rebecca Nagle's piece in The Atlantic, "The Supreme Court Case That Could Break Native Sovereignty."
    • Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

      • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
      • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
      • 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

        1 hr 28 min
      • Affirmative Action Reaction

        Leah, Kate, and Melissa recap the many, many hours of oral arguments in the affirmative action cases SCOTUS heard last week.

        Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

        • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
        • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
        • 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

          1 hr 26 min
        • Open Season on Precedents

          On Halloween, the Supreme Court will hear pair of cases challenging affirmative action in university admissions. Spooky! Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, joins Melissa, Kate, and Leah to preview the cases.

          Listen to an episode on race conscious remedies from our spin-off show, Irrational Basis Review

          Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

          • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
          • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
          • 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

            1 hr 9 min
          • Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers

            Kate talks with Deborah Tuerkheimer about her recent book, Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers. A former prosecutor and leading authority on sexual violence, Deb's book examines why we are primed to disbelieve allegations of sexual abuse--and how we can transform a culture and a legal system structured to dismiss accusers.

            This episode contains discussions of sexual violence. Please use discretion and take care of yourselves.

            Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

            • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
            • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
            • 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

              50 min
            • Pigs, Prince, and Proven Innocence

              Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap some of the cases argued at the Supreme Court last week: Reed v. Goertz, National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, and Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith.  Plus, there's a lot to catch up on in court culture, including judges trying to cancel cancel culture, and another round of Ginni Tonics.

              Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

              • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
              • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
              • 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

                1 hr 7 min
              • Limiting the Inevitable Damage

                Melissa, Kate, and Leah welcome Sam Sankar of Earthjustice and Deuel Ross of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund to recap  arguments the Supreme Court heard this week in two big cases. Sackett v. EPA is a challenge to the EPA’s authority to regulate wetlands, and Merrill v. Milligan is a Voting Rights Act case out of Alabama that’s really about whether Congress may ensure the representation and political power of voters of color.

                Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

                • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
                • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
                • 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

                  1 hr 10 min
                • How SCOTUS Distorts Democracy

                  It feels like we're still processing the end of last term, but alas, the first Monday in October is upon us. Kate, Melissa, and Leah kick off season 4 of Strict Scrutiny with a look ahead at what's sure to be another heinous Supreme Court term. 

                  Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

                  • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
                  • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
                  • 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

                    1 hr 8 min
                  • Judicial Joyriding

                    For the University of Michigan's Homecoming weekend, we held a special live recording for our season finale. Michelle Adams joins Kate and Leah to wrap up the justices' summer shenanigans and provide a look forward at the collegiate affirmative action cases coming before the Supreme Court this term. Plus, Sommer Foster, co-Executive Director at Michigan Voices, joins to talk to us about Reproductive Freedom For All, the ballot initiative campaign to protect reproductive freedom in Michigan.

                    Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

                    • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
                    • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
                    • 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

                      1 hr 11 min
                    • Unprincipled and Inconsistent Voting Rights Shenanigans

                      Leah talks with Wilfred Codrington III about his article, "Purcell in Pandemic," which appeared in the NYU Law Review. The Purcell Principle comes from a 2006 Supreme Court case about what makes an appropriate timeline for changing election laws. The principle wasn't clear to begin with, and has only gotten more confusing in litigation surrounding the 2020 election. Will we see it continue to play out in this year's midterms?

                      Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

                      • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
                      • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
                      • 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

                        53 min
                      • Please Pay Attention to State Courts and Constitutions

                        Kate, Leah, and Melissa convene a panel to persuade you that the fight for progressive causes has to include state courts and state constitutions. To get the lay of the land and identify the challenges ahead, they welcome four guests: Miriam Seifter of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jessica Bulman-Pozen of Columbia Law School, Daniel Nichanian of Bolts, and Alicia Bannon of the Brennan Center.

                        Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

                        • 3/6/26 – San Francisco
                        • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
                        • 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

                          58 min

                        About Strict Scrutiny

                        From the publisher's feed

                        Strict Scrutiny is a podcast about the United States Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it.

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