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Crooked Media

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.

Strict Scrutiny

Kate, Leah, and Melissa break down how the lower courts are challenging the Trump administration and expressing their frustration with SCOTUS. Then, they check in with two members of the supermajority: Brett Kavanaugh, who’s touting a shiny new shadow docket rebrand, and Amy Coney Barrett as she commences her cursèd book tour. Finally, the hosts speak with Yale Law professor Justin Driver about his book, The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Higher Education.

Hosts’ and guests’ favorite things:

Kate • : 
Apologies: You Have Reached the End of Your Free-Trial Period of America! • By Alexandra Petri (The Atlantic); 
Bonus 176: Law, Lawlessness, and Doomerism • , Steve Vladeck (One First); 
How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell Apart • , Dave Philipps and Matthew Cole (NYT)
Leah • : 
The DC Circuit’s Realpolitik Orders in the Foreign Aid Funding Case • , Chris Geidner; 
174. Justice Gorsuch's Attack on Lower Courts • & 
Bonus 174: Playing the Justices for Fools • , Steve Vladeck (One First); 
The Supreme Court Is Backing Trump’s Power Grab • , Kate Shaw & Ezra Klein (NYT).
Melissa • : RFK’s Senate Finance Committee 
hearing • ; 
Hijacking the Kennedys • , Reeves Waldman (New York Magazine); 
Nancy Mace: Everything You Didn't Know About Her Sh*tty Past • (Crooked’s Hysteria); 
These Summer Storms • , Sarah MacLean; Gwyneth: 
The Biography • , Amy Odell
Justin • : 
The Creative Act: A Way of Being • , Rick Rubin; 
Martin Luther King's Constitution: A Legal History of the Montgomery Bus Boycott • , Randall Kennedy (Yale Law Journal)

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

The Lower Courts Punch Up

The gang is back together as Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down this week’s mountain of legal news, including the Court’s greenlighting of Trump’s anti-DEI National Institutes of Health cuts, the president’s war on mail-in ballots, and a batshit missive from Solicitor General John Sauer. Then, Leah speaks with candidate for Michigan attorney general Eli Savit about the latest threat to marriage equality. Finally, Kate chats with Penn Law professor Serena Mayeri about her book, Marital Privilege: Marriage, Inequality, and the Transformation of American Law.

Hosts’ and guests’ favorite things:

Leah • : 
One First • , Steve Vladeck; 
The Pennyroyal Green Series • , Julie Anne Long; 
Why the Supreme Court Is Not to Be Trusted • , Laurie L. Levenson (LARB)
Kate • : 
Would You Trust This Man With Your Elections? • By Richard Hasen (NYT); Kim Lane Scheppele’s 
Chautauqua lecture • ;
Melissa • : 
Atmosphere • , Taylor Jenkins Reid; 
Commonwealth • , Ann Patchett; 
The Gilded Age • (HBO)
Eli • : 
Jealous Type • , Doja Cat

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

The Shadow Docket Just Won’t Quit

Kate and Leah recap the week's legal news, including argument calendars for the next SCOTUS term and President Trump's attempted federal takeover of Washington, DC. Then, it's our third annual State of The Uterus episode. Melissa and Leah talk with Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen, founder of ClutchKit, about the current status of reproductive freedom three years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Finally, Leah talks about the authors of After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe, But Not Abortion.

Favorite Things:
Leah: Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancies in America, by Irin Carmon; track list and cover art for Taylor Swift's forthcoming The Life of a Showgirl; Ben Platt's cover of Diet Pepsi; Melissa's appearance on Nicole Wallace's podcast, The Best People; "Redistricting Texas Now is Illegal and the U.S. Department of Justice is the Reason Why," by Ellen Katz; and Laura Loomer's weird deposition in a case against Bill Maher

Kate: Vera, or Faith, by Gary Shteyngart; Parable of the Talents, by Octavia Butler; Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab; The Retrievals; "The Chadha Presidency," by Josh Chafetz; and "Trump, John Roberts and the Unsettling of American Politics," by David Dailey

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

The Dubious Legality of Trump's DC Takeover

Melissa and guest co-host Imani Gandy of Rewire News Group break down the week’s legal happenings, including how Texas Democrats are attempting to thwart that state’s gerrymandering efforts, college admissions in the age of Trump, and more Epstein fallout. Then, Melissa chats with Duke Law Professor Brandon Garrett about his book, Defending Due Process: Why Fairness Matters in a Polarized World. Finally, Leah speaks with University of Michigan Law Professor Richard Primus, author of the new book The Oldest Constitutional Question: Enumeration and Federal Power. Check out Imani’s podcast Boom! Lawyered.

Hosts’ Favorite Things:

Melissa: Tom Lake, Ann Patchett; The Midnight Library, Matt Haig; How the George Floyd Protests Changed America, for Better and Worse, Justin Driver (NYT)

Imani: Palisade Peaches; Revenge; Death Stranding; Brit Box

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

10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

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

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

How the GOP is Trying to Steal the 2026 Midterms

Leah and guest co-host Mark Joseph Stern of Slate and the Amicus podcast run through what’s been happening in the courts this week, including disturbing attacks on judges, the confirmation of the extremely unsavory Emile Bove, and Amy Coney Barrett’s upcoming appearance with Bari Weiss. Then, Kate and Melissa speak with Jessica Calarco, sociologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, about her book, Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net.

Hosts’ favorite things:

 • Mark: 
The Subway • , Chappell Roan; 
Uncle Bobby’s Wedding • , Sarah S. Brannen & Lucia Soto
 • Leah: 
Life Is a Lazy Susan of Sh*t Sandwiches • , Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan; 
The Chrysalis Option • , Eric Coulson; 
DOJ's (Ridiculous) Misconduct Complaint Against Chief Judge Boasberg • , Steve Vladeck (One First); 
Dept. Q • (Netflix); 
NY Times Pitchbot • on 
SCOTUS

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

Stacking the Bench with Creeps & Kooks

Kate and Leah break down the week’s legal happenings, including Trump’s flailing efforts to manage the Epstein fallout, the latest abomination from the shadow docket, and the legal quagmire surrounding Trump lackey Alina Habba’s appointment as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. Then, they speak with law professors—and former clerks for David Souter—Allison Orr Larsen and Erin Delaney about the late justice’s legacy.

Hosts’ and guests’ favorite things:

 • Kate: The Power Broker, Robert Caro; 
Will to Resist: What Dartmouth Teaches Harvard About Protecting American Freedom • , Bruce Swartz (Just Security)
 • Leah: 
The Palace of Rogues Series • , Julie Anne Long
 • Allison: 
Tucci in Italy • (National Geographic); 
Marjorie • , Taylor Swift
 • Erin: 
How to Hide an Empire; A History of the Greater United States • , Daniel Immerwahr

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

Can Trump Sue His Way Out of the Epstein Mess?

Melissa and Kate run through the latest legal news, including the Court greenlighting the dismantling of the Department of Education. Then, they speak with NYU law professor Rachel Barkow about her book, Justice Abandoned: How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabled Mass Incarceration. 

Hosts’ favorite things:

Kate • : 
Legalistic Noncompliance • , Leah Litman and Dan Deacon (University of Michigan); 
Trump’s Plans to Put Emil Bove on the Supreme Court • , Jeffrey Toobin (NYT); 
Bonus 167: The Case for Not Writing • , Steve Vladeck (One First)
Melissa • : 
Wedding People • by Alison Espach; 
What Reading 5,000 Pages About a Single Family Taught Me About America • , Carlos Lozada (NYT); 
The Kent Family Chronicles • , John Jakes; Emily in Paris walking tour

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

SCOTUS Enables Government Destruction

Katie Phang, independent journalist and trial lawyer, joins Leah to run through the week’s legal news–and there’s a lot of it! They unpack, as KBJ puts it, “this Court’s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture” and break down the latest thirstiness from the judges angling to be Trump’s next SCOTUS pick. Then, all three hosts are joined by Strict Scrutiny’s official roadie, Chris Hayes, to talk about his book, The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource. 

Hosts’ and Guests’ Favorite Things:

 • Chris: 
What we won on Election Day • , Zohran Mamdani
 • Kate: 
Mamdani, Trump and the End of the Old Politics • , Ezra Klein & Chris Hayes (NYT); 
Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference • , Rutger Bregman
 • Melissa: Dirty Dancing; 
Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch • & 
Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race, and Injustice • , Andrea Freeman
 • Leah: 
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil • , V.E. Schwab; 
Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida • , Gilbert King; Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter 
tour • Katie: 
A Lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz! • (Katie’s 
Substack • )

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

Hunger Games for Legal Hackery

With July upon us and bad decision season (mercifully) over, Leah, Kate and Melissa take a step back to recap this year’s SCOTUS term. They highlight some of the overarching themes, break down the biggest opinions, and look back at the moments they’ll remember forever–whether they want to or not. 

Hosts’ favorite things:

 • Melissa: KBJ’s footnote 12 in 
Stanley v. City of Sanford, Florida • ; 
Seven Chaotic Months in the Life of a New Federal Judge • , Emily Bazelon and Mattathias Schwartz (NYT); 
This Is the Real Impact of the Supreme Court’s Planned Parenthood Decision • , Linda Greenhouse (NYT); 
When Rational Basis Review Bit • (HLR)
 • Leah: 
A New Kind of Judicial Supremacy • , Steve Vladeck (One First); 
With the Big, Beautiful Bill, You Can Now Sponsor a Billionaire of Your Choosing • , Alexandra Petri (Atlantic); 
Samuel Alito Takes Pride in Gay-Bashing • , Elie Mystal (The Nation); 
A Court Without the Range • , Sherrilyn Ifill (Sherrilyn’s Newsletter); 
‘A Culture of Disdain’: The Supreme Court’s Actions Speak Louder Than Its Words • , Kate Shaw (NYT); 
Andor • (Disney+); 
Virgin • , Lorde; 
Trump Fragrances • Kate: 
Trump’s Big Win in His Escalating War on the Press • , Bob Bauer (Executive Functions); 
USAID study • (
The Lancet • ); 
Is the Supreme Court the Best Way to Get Justice? • Alexis Coe (NYT); 
Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancy in America • , Irin Carmon; 
We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution • , Jill Lepore

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

A Term for the Rich, the Reactionaries, and the Ruthless

Leah, Melissa and Kate roll up their sleeves and unpack last Friday’s huge day at the Court, starting with Mahmoud v. Taylor, the case that tested Sam Alito’s ability to comprehend picture books. They also break down the outcomes of cases involving age verification for adult entertainment and the nondelegation doctrine. If you missed last Friday’s emergency episode on the birthright citizenship case, you can find it here. 

Hosts’ favorite things:

Melissa • : Jackson and Sotomayor dissents (
Mahmoud v. Taylor • , 
Trump v. CASA, Inc. • ); 
Outrageous • (BritBox); 
Dream Count • , Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Kate • : 
Green-Wood Cemetery’s Living Dead • , Paige Williams (New Yorker); 
Dying for Sex • (FX on Hulu); Chris Hayes’ 
lecture • at the Chautauqua Institution
Leah • : KBJ and Sotomayor dissents; 
The 21 Best Croissants in New York City Right Now • , Mahira Rivers (NYT); 
YELLOW • , Washington, D.C.

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

SCOTUS Strengthens Conservative War on Education

It’s a Strict Scrutiny and Pod Save America crossover! Jon, Jon, and Tommy get together with Leah and Kate to talk about Donald Trump’s arraignment in Manhattan criminal court, and the legal jeopardy he faces now that he’s been charged with 34 felony counts.

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

 • 10/4 – Chicago

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

Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

The Arrest is History

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