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Strict Scrutiny

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

Hosted by three badass constitutional law professors-- Leah Litman, Kate Shaw, and Melissa Murray-- Strict Scrutiny provides in-depth, accessible, and irreverent analysis of the Supreme Court and its cases, culture, and personalities. Each week, Leah, Kate, and Melissa break down the latest headlines and biggest legal questions facing our country, emphasizing what it all means for our daily lives.

Whether you’re a lawyer or law student, or you’re just here for the messy legal drama, Strict Scrutiny has you covered. New episodes out every Monday… plus bonuses whenever SCOTUS takes away another one of our rights.

Last week saw oral arguments in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara, and listeners, it finally happened: a legal argument so outlandish from the Trump administration that even this Court will have to rule against him. Leah and Melissa break down the back-and-forth and explain why this case will give SCOTUS credibility it doesn’t deserve. They also cover the President’s firing of the blonde with the binders, Pamela Jo Bondi–pouring one out for her chaotic, destructive reign at the Department of Justice.

Favorite things:

 • Leah: 
The Birthright Con • , Jamelle Bouie (NYT); 
WNBA Players Had an Ace Up Their Sleeve in Pay Negotiations: A Nobel Laureate • , Rachel Bachman & Justin Lahart (WSJ)

 • Melissa: 
Parents as Regulators • by Caitlin Millat, forthcoming in UCLA L. Rev.; 
Harlem Rhapsody • , Victoria Christopher Murray; 
My Boo Buddies • ; 
Artemis II

Vote for us in the Webbys! 

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

Preorder a signed paperback of Leah’s book, Lawless, here.

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

Birthright Citizenship + Bye-Bye, Pamela Jo Bondi

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.

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

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

SCOTUS Not Cool With Colorado Ban on Conversion Therapy

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)

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

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

Will SCOTUS Join the GOP War on Mail-in Ballots?

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.

Preorder Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader and enter the giveaway for a t-shirt HERE.

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

Absentee Ballots, Asylum, and Too Many A**holes to Count

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+

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

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

Make America Grift Again

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

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

A Court of Drugs and Guns

International law expert Rebecca Ingber of Cardozo Law joins Leah at the top of the show to talk about the US and Israel's war on Iran. Then, Leah welcomes guest co-host Chris Geidner of Law Dork to run through domestic legal news, including the omission of allegations against Trump from the Epstein files, the President’s MAHA Surgeon General nominee Casey Means’s confirmation hearing, the administration’s wildly illegal halting of Medicaid funds to Minnesota, the role of independent media in Trump 2.0, and some of the stories Chris has been breaking. They also unpack last week’s oral arguments and opinions before Leah is joined by Marc Elias, chair of Elias Law Group and founder of Democracy Docket, to discuss how voting rights are under attack from all three branches of government.

Favorite Things:

 • 
Chris • : Upcoming theatre including 
As You Like It • (RSC), 
The Rock Horror Show • (Broadway), and 
Sunday in the Park With George • (Barbican, London)

 • 
Leah • : Upcoming article for the Georgetown Law Review, 
The Passive Vices • ; independent media including 
Law Dork • ; 
Democracy Docket • ; and 
One First • ; 
The Supreme Court is Not "Reining in" Executive Power • , Steve Vladeck (One First); Crooked on MS NOW premiering on Saturday at 9pm ET on MS NOW

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026! 

 • 3/6/26 – San Francisco

 • 3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

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

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

The Conservative Push to Weaken Our Democracy

Kate is joined by Friend of the Pod Steve Vladeck (One First) to break down last week’s legal news, including developments around noncompliance in the lower courts and SCOTUS ethics. Then, Leah and Melissa join to preview upcoming arguments before the Court where the Justices will consider important asylum and Second Amendment cases, among others. Finally, Kate speaks with Elliot Williams about his new book, Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation.

Favorite things:

 • 
KS • : 
Grant • , Ron Chernow; 
The Last Dance • 

 • 
LL • : 
A Caribbean Heiress in Paris • , Adriana Herrera; 
Wuthering Heights • , Charli xcx

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026! 

 • 3/6/26 – San Francisco

3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

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

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

SCOTUS Again Takes on the 2nd Amendment—What Could Go Wrong?

In today’s much-anticipated ruling, the Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariffs. But how the opinion, dissent, and concurrences break down paints a much more complicated—and concerning—picture. What happens next? Just how far will Brett Kavanaugh go to enable Big Daddy Trump? When will the Court’s conservatives realize that the Major Questions Doctrine is about as real as the tooth fairy? Kate and Leah answer these questions and more. 

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026! 

 • 3/6/26 – San Francisco

3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

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

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

BREAKING: SCOTUS Nixes Trump’s Tariffs

The legal news just kept coming this week, and Melissa, Leah, and Kate break it all down. Could Friend of the Pod Sam Alito be retiring? Possibly! Can Pete Hegseth retaliate against Senator and veteran Mark Kelly for free speech? No! Just how wild was Pamela Jo Bondi’s Epstein files testimony in Congress? Pretty flippin’ wild! They also cover the latest out of Minnesota, Democratic representatives tearing the head of ICE a new one, some very bad news for humans who enjoy clean air, the Heritage Foundation’s crusade against birth control, and other legal flotsam and jetsam.

Favorite things:

 • Kate: 
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show • ; 
Universities Are Sending Trump a Dangerous Message • , Arne Duncan & David Pressman (Washington Post); 
The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War • , Joanne B. Freeman

 • Leah: 
We Have to Look Right in the Face of What We Have Become • , Jamelle Bouie; 
What It Means to Be a White ‘Race Traitor’ • , Nikole Hannah-Jones (NYT)

Melissa: MS NOW Presents: Clock It with Symone Sanders Townsend & Eugene Daniels; A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem’s Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS (WSJ); Jessica Bichler for NC State Senate

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026! 

 • 3/6/26 – San Francisco

3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

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

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

SCOTUS Not Cool With Colorado Ban on Conversion Therapy

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