Robert Post talks about the Taft Court!

Cass Sunstein tells us how to interpret the Constitution!

Will Baude discusses textualism and the common law!

Emma Kaufman discusses the contradictions in the Roberts Court!

For the second episode of Season 4, Linda Greenhouse joins the pod to discuss her new book Justice on the Brink about the Supreme Court! In our discussion, we ask Linda the major questions about the Court and its future. Should the Court be public facing and, if so, how? As the Court breaks the fourth wall, engaging fully with today’s politics and polarization, is what is really on the brink the idea of a Court separate from politics? How will justices operate as the Court engages more explicitly in politics and who are their intended audiences in their opinions and public engagements? What does this Court do next after taking on abortion and affirmative action?

It’s SCOTUS reform time! We are joined by Noah Feldman and Christopher Kang. Both of our guests testified to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. On the pod, our guests explain what they think the Commission should do. We talk through and debate whether the Court is political and/or partisan and whether Supreme Court rulings are un-democratic or lack democratic accountability. Given divergent views on these questions, we also have stark disagreements on the degree to which court reform is necessary and what the ideal reform would be. Our guests are leading thinkers on this timely issue, and their varying perspectives demonstrate the political, institutional, and legal complexities of altering the Supreme Court.

We’re kicking off Season 2 by chatting with the hosts of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, Kate Shaw and Leah Litman, about the future of the Supreme Court, reform proposals, and the Court’s past and present legitimacy.