About this episode
The 5th Circuit gave us a doozy late on Friday night by tightening access to the abortion drug mifepristone—Leah and Melissa break it down. Then, the full crew dives deeper into the Court’s catastrophic Voting Rights Act decision in Louisiana v. Callais (for their initial reaction, check out last week’s emergency episode). Next, they recap the troubling oral arguments in Mullin v. Doe, the case about Temporary Protected Status, in which Trump’s Solicitor General tried to argue that the President’s extremely racist statements about migrants from certain countries weren’t, in fact, racist at all. Also covered: Trump’s ballroom, arguments in an important Fourth Amendment case, and how some savvy federal judges are turning the administration’s favorite legal concept—the unitary executive theory—against it.
Favorite things:
- Kate: The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Kiran Desai; Transcription, Ben Lerner
- Leah: Ariana Grande’s new album announcement; Noah Kahan on tour; SCOTUS Drops The Other Shoe on the Voting Rights Act, Sherrilyn Ifill (Sherrilyn’s Newsletter); The Slaying of the Voting Rights Act by the Coward Samuel Alito, Rick Hasen (Slate); The Supreme Court is Corrupt. This is What We Can Do About It, Jamelle Bouie
- Melissa: Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke; Voters Can Be Disenfranchised Now, Adam Serwer (The Atlantic); Legal Defense Fund
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6/20/26 – New York City
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Preorder a signed paperback of Leah’s book, Lawless, here.
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