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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

Leah, Melissa, and Kate are back in business, breaking down this term’s first week of arguments at SCOTUS, including a challenge to Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors. Also covered: the indictment of New York’s Attorney General Letitia James, the continuing legal fights against Trump’s efforts to send the National Guard into Portland and Chicago, and Attorney General Pamela Jo Bondi’s pugnacious testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Then, Kate and Leah speak with Yale Law Professor John Fabian Witt about his book The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America, which chronicles how philanthropist Charles Garland bankrolled progressive causes through his American Fund for Public Service.

 • If you want to learn more about 
Buck • v. 
Bell • (the 1927 case Justice Alito referenced in the 
Chiles • arguments), 
listen to our deep dive • from 2020

Favorite things:

Leah: Protest videos from Portland and Chicago; The Sentimental Garbage podcast on The Life of a Showgirl

Kate: Writers & Lovers by Lily King, Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner; Red Clover Ranch in Wisconsin; wine and cider from Las Mujeres

Melissa: Vision & Justice; Miss Toy Poodle on Instagram

Leah will be in conversation with UCLA Law Professor Rick Hasen at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM. Details here.

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Will SCOTUS Allow Conversion Therapy for Minors?

Kate, Leah, and Melissa preview what fresh hell SCOTUS has in store for us this term, including challenges to the Fourteenth Amendment and the Court’s continued obsession with fighting the culture wars. Then, after breaking down the latest legal news, the hosts welcome Lieutenant Governor of Illinois–and Senate candidate–Juliana Stratton to discuss Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, how state and local governments can push back against this administration, and what gives her hope in this fight. Finally, a game to commemorate Chief Justice Roberts’ 20 long years on the Court. This episode was recorded live at the Athenaeum Center in Chicago.

Favorite things:

Leah • : 
Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida • , Gilbert King; 
Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights • , Lisa Graves; 
One Battle After Another • ; 
The Life of a Showgirl • , Taylor Swift
Kate • : 
WBEZ Chicago • ; 
Block Club Chicago • ; 
Chicago Reader • ; 
The Chicago Sun-Times on Broadview • ; 
Heart the Lover • , Lily King
Melissa • : 
Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ezra Klein Hash Out Their Charlie Kirk Disagreement • ; Tony Shalhoub’s 
Breaking Bread • (CNN); 
Mexodus • (Audible’s Minett a Lane Theater); 
Meghan Markle in Balenciaga

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Something Wicked This Way Comes: A SCOTUS Term Preview

Leah and Kate dive into the week’s legal news, explaining how SCOTUS continues to carry water for the Trump administration. They also cover an epic slapdown of the Roberts Court out of Hawaii, Sam Alito’s Italian sojourn, and the DOJ’s refusal to investigate the wads of cash lining border czar Tom Homan’s pockets. Then all three hosts are joined by special guests Sherrilyn Ifill, founding director of the 14th Amendment Center for Law & Democracy at Howard University, and New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie to discuss the Supreme Court in the years after the Civil War and Reconstruction and why that era, known as the Redemption Court, resonates with today’s legal landscape.

Favorite Things:

 • Leah: 
Trump’s Dream of Infinite Presidential Power • , Jamelle Bouie (NYT); 
Jimmy Kimmel’s comeback monologue • (ABC)
 • Kate: 
Chris Hayes’ WITHpod episode with Bill McKibben • Jamelle: “
How Comedy was Destroyed by By an Anti-Reality Doomsday Cult • ,” Elephant Graveyard (YouTube)
 • Sherrilyn: 
Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation • by Zaakir Tameez; 
King of the North: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Life of Struggle Outside the South • by Jeanne Theoharis

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Trump Administration's SCOTUS Winning Streak

Leah is joined by guest co-host Skye Perryman, president & CEO of Democracy Forward, to discuss the week’s news, including the continued pushback on the shadow docket from the lower courts and Trump’s boundless abuse of Article II. Then Kate, Melissa, and Leah — along with special guest Sherrilyn Ifill — take a look at the impact of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, three years into her time on the Supreme Court.

Favorite things:

Skye • : 
Sierra FerrellLeah • : 
The Summer I Turned Pretty • (Amazon); 
Charlie Kirk, Redeemed: A Political Class Finds Its Lost Cause • , Ta-Nehisi Coates (Vanity Fair); 
Miolin Bakery • , Brooklyn; 
L’Appartement 4F • , Brooklyn & Manhattan 
Kate • : Pennsylvania Supreme Court election (get involved at 
Vote Save America • )

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Looking for Bright Spots in the Courts

Our fearless hosts continue to slog through this sh*tty shadow docket summer, covering an order from the Court okaying racial profiling by ICE officers, some ominous administrative stays, Amy Coney Barrett’s ongoing press tour through right wing media, and the lower courts’ continuing frustrations with this Supreme Court. Then, Leah and Kate speak with special guest Symone Sanders Townsend, co-host of MSNBC’s The Weeknight, about how the Supreme Court is carrying out key parts of Project 2025, and enabling and facilitating other parts of the government to do the same. 

Hosts’ favorite things:

 • Leah: 
The Guatemalan Children’s Case and the Judicial Learning Curve • , Anna Bower (Lawfare); 
What Should a Lower Federal Court Judge Do When SCOTUS Plays Calvinball? • By Michael Dorf (Dorf on Law). 
 • Kate: 
Bonus 177: A Closer Look at Justice Kavanaugh's ICE Raids Opinion • , Steve Vladeck (One First); 
Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Stop Sending Us Money” TikTok • Melissa: “
Trump’s Treasury Secretary Threatens to Punch Housing Official in the Face • ,” Maggie Haberman and Shawn McCreesh (Washington Post)

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How SCOTUS is Making Project 2025 a Reality

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)

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stacking the Bench with Creeps & Kooks

We're only one week into 2024, and there's so much news to catch up on! Melissa, Leah, and Kate discuss ProPublica's reporting about rich guys giving Justice Thomas money when he hinted at retiring because his salary as a justice was too low. Then, they look to the latest in state courts, which are deciding issues such as Donald Trump's presidential eligibility, women's access to emergency abortion care, and fairly drawn electoral maps. After some quick previews of the cases the Supreme Court will hear this week, they welcome special guest Ross Rayburn, Peloton instructor and author of Turning Inward: The Practice of Introversion for a Calm, Joyful, Authentic Life. Ross shares advice for staying sane in this election year, and insights on how listening to Strict Scrutiny is actually a form of meditation.

 • Read ProPublica's reporting: "
A 'Delicate Matter': Clarence Thomas’ Private Complaints About Money Sparked Fears He Would Resign • "
 • Read 
Punish Treason, Reward Loyalty: The Forgotten Goals of Constitutional Reform After the Civil War • , by Mark A. Graber
 • Read the 
Fifth Circuit's opinion • in the EMTALA case 
we covered last November • Get a copy of Ross Rayburn's book, 
Turning Inward: The Practice of Introversion for a Calm, Joyful, Authentic Life • Code STRICT10 gets you 10% off at bookshop.org!

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

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Trump's Eligibility, Cash for Clarence, and a Meditation for 2024

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