Episodes

  • The Conservative Push to Sue the Media Into Oblivion
    Mar 10 2025

    After covering the latest goings-on in Trumpland, Melissa and Kate turn to this week’s SCOTUS arguments and opinions, touching on the Court’s decision to weaken the EPA’s clean water regulations and Mexico’s bid to hold American gun manufacturers liable for cartel violence. In the second part of the episode, Kate and Melissa talk with David Enrich of the New York Times about his new book, Murder the Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful.

    Hosts’ favorite things this week:

    • Melissa: Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar; Due Care in a Conservative Court by Hila Keren (forthcoming in the Wisconsin Law Review); With Love, Meghan (Netflix)
    • Kate: Towards A New Equal Protection Paradigm by Issa Kohler Hausmann, co-authored with Kevin Yang and Charlotte Lawrence; Severance (Apple TV+)

    Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE - The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! Listener presale Wednesday March 12 at 10am local time - Thursday March 13 at 10pm local time with code YOLO, general sale starts Friday March 14

    • 5/31 - Washington DC
    • 6/12 - NYC
    • 10/4 - Chicago

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

    Pre-order your copy of Leah's forthcoming book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (out May 13th)

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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Pod Save the Separation of Powers
    Mar 3 2025

    Leah, Melissa, and Kate once again wade through the latest malevolence from the Trump White House in a segment they’re now calling “Pod Save the Separation of Powers.” Then, they turn to what’s going on at One First Street, covering some new opinions, as well as this week’s arguments, including a case about “reverse discrimination.”

    Pre-order your copy of Leah's forthcoming book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (out May 13th)

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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • The Atextual & Illegal Attack on Birthright Citizenship
    Feb 24 2025

    Melissa, Leah, and Kate are joined by Professor Kate Masur of Northwestern to talk about just how illegal and off-the-wall Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship is. Then, the hosts cover the multitude of other horrors coming out of the executive branch, preview February’s SCOTUS cases, touch base with the wackos at the Fifth Circuit, and ask the all-important question: are the mens okay?

    Pre-order your copy of Leah's forthcoming book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (out May 13th)

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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Yes, We’re in a Constitutional Crisis
    Feb 17 2025

    Live from Fordham Law, Leah, Melissa, and Kate stay on the Trump 2.0 chaos beat. They cover the continued ransacking of the federal government by the new administration, lawlessness at the DOJ, and the gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Finally, they take some time to consider just how much this new administration hates women.

    Pre-order your copy of Leah's forthcoming book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (out May 13th)

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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • DOGE Runs Amok & Originalism’s Ahistoricism
    Feb 10 2025

    This week, the ladies react to the ransacking of the federal government by Elon Musk and his fleet of DOGE dorks. Then, Kate and Leah speak with Jonathan Gienapp, professor of law and history at Stanford University and author of Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique, about what originalists get wrong about history and how the founders thought about the law.

    Pre-order your copy of Leah's forthcoming book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (out May 13th)

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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • The Lawlessness, Chaos, & Cruelty of Trump 2.0
    Feb 3 2025

    Melissa, Kate, and Leah continue to assess the fallout from the second Trump administration, including his blatant disregard of the law in firing many inspectors general. They also discuss the mental gymnastics required to blame Wednesday’s tragic plane crash on DEI, the repercussions of the administration's executive orders targeting trans people, and two crucial state supreme court races.

    • Pre-order your copy of Leah's forthcoming book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (out May 13th)
    • Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Trump’s Onslaught of Executive Orders
    Jan 27 2025

    Post-inauguration, the Trump administration is wasting no time issuing a flurry of heinous executive orders. Melissa, Kate, and Leah walk through them and then take a look at last week’s SCOTUS arguments. Finally, they answer some listener questions about the Court’s TikTok decision and share some rare but real good Supreme Court news.

    Here’s the DEI explainer from the Meltzer Center on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU Law.

    Pre-order your copy of Leah's forthcoming book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (out May 13th)

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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • SCOTUS's Porn Problem
    Jan 20 2025

    Leah, Melissa and Kate cover some breaking news, including Biden’s last-minute declaration that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land. Then, it’s a rollicking ride through Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, one of the more entertaining oral arguments of late. Come for the hosts’ sharp legal analysis, stay for Justice Alito’s questions about whether Pornhub features longform journalism.

    Pre-order your copy of Leah's forthcoming book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (out May 13th)

    Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

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    1 hr and 14 mins