Strict Scrutiny

Today the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Chiles v. Salazer, the case involving a Colorado ban on conversion therapy. Leah is joined by Shannon Minter, Legal Director at the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, to break it down.
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Kate and guest co-host Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy kick off the show by covering the latest legal news, including developments at the Pentagon and Department of Justice, as well as Trump’s ominous threat to judges. Then, they recap the week’s opinions and oral arguments, focusing on Watson v. RNC, a case that could totally upend mail-in voting. Finally, Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, returns to the show to discuss the asylum case argued before the Court last week, the birthright citizenship case now on deck, and her work with detainees at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.
Favorite things:

Kate: This Is Why Flying Is So Awful, Ganesh Sitaraman (NYT); Why Flying Is Miserable and How to Fix It, Ganesh Sitaraman; The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family, Dorothy Roberts; Law on Trial: An Unlikely Insider Reckons with Our Legal System, Shaun Ossei-Owusu

Ian: The World of Yesterday, Stefan Zweig; The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution, Jesse Wegman; the band Idles, and their song Danny Nedelko

Elora: Habeas Corpus for Immigrant Detainees: A Practical Guide to Filing Habeas Petitions (Vecina)

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Leah, Kate, and Melissa preview this week’s arguments at the Court, including Watson v. Republican National Committee, a challenge over when election offices must receive absentee ballots in order for them to be counted. They also cover a flood of legal news, including the quagmire that is the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office, rulings from lower courts both encouraging (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) and grim (the wrong-like-clockwork Fifth Circuit), and the showdown between Senator Rand Paul and Trump’s pick for DHS head, Markwayne “NOSPACES” Mullin.
Favorite things:

Kate: How to stop a dictator, Zack Beauchamp (Vox); The Case of Kristie Metcalfe (NYT’s The Daily); Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir

Leah: The Epic transcript from NJ; luck…or something, Hilary Duff (producer Melody’s pick: Future Tripping; producer Michael’s pick: Adult Size Medium); Her giveaway to celebrate Melissa’s new book (enter here); 

Melissa: Love Story Official Playlist (Spotify); Paradise (Hulu); Risk and Resistance: How Feminists Transformed the Law and Science of AIDS, Aziza Ahmed.

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Leah, Melissa and Kate go on Corruption Watch to catch up on all the sketchy things happening in the judicial and executive branches. Then, they cover some recent oral arguments and opinions from The Court before bringing you a conversation from last week’s live show in LA with Representative Jimmy Gomez of California’s 34th Congressional District.
Favorite things:

Kate: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans; Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir; Vladimir on Netflix (adaptation of the book by Julia May Jonas)

Leah: Kacey Musgraves, “Dry Spell”; Judge Young’s opinion denying a stay of the remedies he ordered in response to the federal government’s illegal targeting of students & noncitizens based on pro-Palestinian speech; Sonja Starr & Genevieve Lakier, The War on DEI as a Project of Constitutional Subversion

Melissa: The Devil is Busy on HBO Max; Good Woman: A Reckoning by Savala Nolan; Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette on Hulu and Disney+

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Kate, Leah, and Melissa break down the oral arguments in United States v. Hemani, a Second Amendment case which challenges a law prohibiting “unlawful users” of controlled substances from possessing a firearm. Then, they cover two truly heinous shadow docket rulings–a case out of New York where SCOTUS’s conservatives seem to have found an impermissible racial gerrymander they believe in, and another on the outing of transgender children–before speaking with California Attorney General Rob Bonta about standing up to the Trump administration on issues like tariffs, federal law enforcement overreach, and antitrust. They also pour one out for Krispy Gnome’s (née Kristi Noem) generationally awful tenure at the Department of Homeland Security. This episode was recorded live at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.
Favorite things:

Kate: This judicial order in Urquilla-Ramos v. Trump

Leah: Upcoming Sarah J. Maas books; Melissa’s upcoming book (link below)

Melissa: [REDACTED]

Preorder Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader

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