Strict Scrutiny

Strict Scrutiny

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    2nd

    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

  • Debunking the Independent State Legislature Fantasy

    With guests Jamelle Bouie and Carolyn Shapiro, Kate and Leah analyze the fan fiction that is the Independent State Legislature "Theory" (emphasis on the quotation marks), which threatens to take the main stage in an upcoming case about the power of state legislatures to set rules for federal elections. 

    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

      55 min
    • Fossil Fuel Rules Everything Around Me

      Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins Leah and Melissa for a deep dive into West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court's major climate case last 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

        52 min
      • What the Fight After Roe Actually Looks Like

        Somehow, it's only been less than two months since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade with their decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. But A LOT has happened since then. To further examine the fall-out, we assembled a stellar crew to help us get the lay of the post-Roe land: journalist Rebecca Traister, health law expert Michele Goodwin, and U.S. Congressman Mondaire Jones.

        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 24 min
        • Women Are Not Without Power

          Even though it's summer, there's a lot to catch up on in the legal world! Leah and Melissa talk with Grace Panetta, who co-wrote a piece for Business Insider on the GOP's plans for state constitutional conventions. And then they turn toward Kansas, where voters dramatically turned out to declare that reproductive freedom is an essential part of the state constitution. They're joined by several of the activists behind the victory.

          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 18 min
          • Hostility to Mercy

            Leah talks with Lee Kovarsky of the Capital Punishment Center at the University of Texas about the Supreme Court's treatment of death penalty cases.  Before 2020, there hadn't been a federal execution since 2003. In the last six months of the Trump presidency, there were 13. Lee tells us how that came to be, and what the justices' writings signal for future death penalty cases.

            • Read Lee's article, "The Trump Executions," in the University of Texas Law 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

              52 min
            • Law & Religion on the Barrett Court

              It's a deep dive into law and religion in this conservative supermajority iteration of the Supreme Court. Kate talks with Micah Schwartzman of UVA and Nelson Tebbe of Cornell about some of the major religious liberty cases that have come before the Court in recent years, and what the Court may be signaling for the future.

              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 3 min
              • The Family Roe: An American Story

                Melissa interviews journalist Joshua Prager about his book, The Family Roe: An American Story. Prager spent hours interviewing Norma McCorvey (aka Jane Roe), her daughters, and other key figures throughout the decades-long debate over abortion rights in America.

                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
                • How Mitch Rigged the Courts

                  While the Supreme Court gets all the focus, lower federal courts are just as much in need of reform. Unfortunately, rigging the courts is a game the GOP knows how to play. In this episode, Leah talks with Rakim Brooks of Alliance for Justice, and Brandon Hasbrouck* of Washington & Lee Law School, about how federal judges get picked, how Mitch McConnell has played the long game, and how the Democrats need to move forward in the judicial selection process.

                  *Brandon also wrote an article called "Movement Judges," which just came out in the NYU Law Review. Check it out for more on this subject!

                  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

                    52 min
                  • Break Glass in Case of Emergency

                    It was a long term. It's over. Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap what all happened, what we maybe learned out of it, and what we have to look forward to.

                     

                     

                    For a transcript of this episode go to https://crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/

                    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 15 min
                    • Smashing Precedents and Making Up Facts

                      The Supreme Court finally finished the OT2021 term-- and it was a doozy. Kate and Leah recap the last few opinions, including Oklahoma v. Castro Huerta, with special guest Greg Ablavsky of Stanford Law [3:55], and the "praying coach" case, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District [34:22]. Then, a lighting round of four more opinions and other Court-related news [53:06].

                       

                      You’re angry. We’re angry. Let’s do something about it. From directly supporting patients who need abortions right now, to electing pro-choice candidates in 2022 and building a progressive majority over the long term, you can find everything you need to fight back in our Fuck Bans Action Plan hub at votesaveamerica.com/roe.

                       

                      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 4 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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