Strict Scrutiny

Afleveringen

1. Sex Trafficking Lawsuits, Privacy Rights, and a Court That Can’t Keep Up

   19 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 34 min

   Afspelen
   The nation is on a fast-paced slide toward full-on fascism, but what else is new? Leah, Kate, and Melissa recap Matt Gaetz’s sex trafficking civil suit, Katie Zacharia’s first—and last—week as White House Press Secretary, and the disturbing raid on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s home. Then, they dive into this week’s blockbuster Supreme Court arguments, including Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, Beaird v. United States, and Salazar v. Paramount Global. They break down the fight over climate accountability, the role of federal sentencing guidelines, and whether a decades-old privacy law can keep up with modern streaming services. Plus, they discover just how out of touch some of the justices are when conversation keeps circling back to Blockbuster. Finally, Leah talks with journalist and author Alice Ollstein about her new book, Side Effects: How Abortion Bans Impact Everyone’s Health. Lees meer

   Favorite Things:

   Leah: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth | Book Lovers by Emily Henry | Kate Manne on Call Her Daddy | Side Effects by Alice Ollstein | The Duke by Anna Cowan | The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath

   Kate: Blockers by Michael Lewis

   Melissa: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans | The 14th | The Diplomat

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   Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

   Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

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   For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

2. Will SCOTUS Let Big Oil Off the Hook?

   12 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 34 min

   Afspelen
   The first week of the new term has come and gone, and things are heating up… literally. Kirti Datla, director of Earthjustice’s Strategic Legal Advocacy Program, joins Melissa and Leah to discuss the term’s biggest climate case: Suncor v. Commissioners of Boulder County. They break down whether Boulder County’s lawsuit against oil and gas companies can move forward, or if the Court will shut it down based on federal law. Then, they dive into Samuel Alito’s big, bad book press tour and his reflections on Dobbs—including the friendships he says he lost along the way. Plus they cover Kash Patel’s engagement, Kimberly Guilfoyle’s corruption controversies, and Pete Hegseth’s announcement of a public execution. Finally, Melissa talks with Professor Bernadette Atuahene about her new book: Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America. Lees meer

   Favorite Things:

   Leah: So Unexplained: Justice Alito’s Non-Responsive Emergency Docket Defense | Steve Vladeck’s Substack: One First | Jon Ossoff V. Mike Collins Debate | Marquette Poll

   Melissa: Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

   Take the Strict Scrutiny survey.

   New Strict merch available here.

   You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

   Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

   Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

   Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

   For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

3. The Supreme Court Allows Third-Country Deportations to Continue

   5 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 25 min

   Afspelen
   This Monday officially kicks off a new Supreme Court term, and the cases and controversies are already heating up. Leah, Kate, and Melissa dig into the Court’s decision to allow the administration to resume “third-country removals,” as well as its decision to take up a new case challenging the administration’s policy of indefinitely detaining immigrants who cross the border illegally. Then, it’s time for the first argument previews of the term! Cases this week include one that could have significant implications for holding oil and gas companies accountable for climate change, and a challenge involving the constitutionality of federal laws affecting veterans’ benefits. Finally, Kate and Leah talk with Kelly Lytle Hernández, professor of history at UCLA, about her new book, Racist by Design: Two Centuries of U.S. Immigration Control.
   Favorite Things: Lees meer

   Leah: The Love Hypothesis | The Public Shaming of John Roberts

   Kate: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

   Melissa: ‘A Different World’ Renewed for Season 2 | Swan Song by Earl Spencer

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   New Strict merch available here.

   You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

   Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

   Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

   Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

   For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

4. We Need to Talk About Ethics Reform

   1 oktober 2026 · 47 min

   Afspelen
   In the fifth and final installment of our Hot Supreme Court Reform series, Kate speaks with Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court. What would a meaningful and enforceable set of ethics rules look like for the Supreme Court justices? Why isn’t there an Inspector General for the judiciary? How are there no real rules around recusals? Roth makes the case for these nonpartisan reforms and more. Lees meer

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   You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

   Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

   Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

   Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

   For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

5. A New Term of Supreme Chaos

   28 september 2026 · 1 uur 39 min

   Afspelen
   It’s been a long summer, but Leah, Kate and Melissa are back together to break down the biggest cases and legal battles coming to the Supreme Court this term. Starting in October, the justices will hear challenges involving AR-15s and semi-automatic rifles, religious exemptions for schools receiving government funding, and the latest redistricting fights in Missouri and the 8th Circuit. Plus, Trump’s big arch updates and allegations that a government contractor illegally funneled nearly $200,000 to a Susan Collins super PAC. Then, Melissa sits down with National Association of Black Journalists President and Crooked’s Long Play cohost Errin Haines to discuss news outlets suing the President over press access. After, Leah talks to Columbia graduate and author Mahmoud Khalil about his new book, No Land to Stand On, the administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech, and the treatment of people in ICE custody. Lees meer

   Favorite Things:

   Leah: ProPublica | Gil Duran, Nerd Reich; Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor End Times Fascism | Alyssa Edwards’ response to Ken Paxton

   Kate: Daniel Immerwahr’s How to Hide an Empire | Ari Berman and Pema Levy in Mother Jones on Callais and the New New Jim Crow | Nikole Hannah-Jones’s NYT Piece

   Melissa: Propublica’s piece on Susan Collins | Charles Spencer, Swan Song | Raphael Warnock, The Crooked Parts Made Straight | Zak Cheney-Rice, No One Can Fix School Segregation Alone | Stacey Abrams at LCCR Gala

   Take the Strict Scrutiny survey.

   New Strict merch available here.

   You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

   Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

   Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

   Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and …

6. We Need To Talk About Jurisdiction Stripping

   24 september 2026 · 46 min

   Afspelen
   In the fourth installment of our Hot Supreme Court Reform September series, Leah sits down with former FTC Chair Lina Khan and Lev Menand, both of Columbia Law School, to talk through ways to limit how much SCOTUS can mess with federal agencies. Lev makes the case for stripping SCOTUS of its jurisdiction over administrative law and sending those cases to a specialized court, and Lina discusses venue and standing issues—reforming who gets to sue and where. Lees meer

   Take the Strict Scrutiny survey.

   New Strict merch available here.

   You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

   Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

   Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

   Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

   For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

7. Trump’s Assault on the Free Press

   21 september 2026 · 1 uur 24 min

   Afspelen
   Melissa and Leah cover this week’s legal horrors out of the Trump administration, including the President’s ban on certain media outlets from the White House, as well as his attacks on the Kennedy Center and the Presidential Records Act. Also covered: Kash Patel on bestiality, ammosexual wins of the week, a proposed ballot measure in Idaho to protect reproductive freedom, and Donald Trump Jr.’s Russian oligarch sugar daddy. Then, Melissa sits down with Crooked’s very own Alex Wagner to talk about her new book The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and the Raid on America's Courts. Check out Alex’s show, Runaway Country, wherever you pod. Lees meer

   Favorite things:

   Leah:Alex Wagner’s The Steal; PONIES (Peacock); The Women of Yesteryear, Kate Manne (More to Hate); The Retirement Plan, Sue Hincenbergs

   Melissa: The Steal; Kash Patel getting roasted on social media

   Take the Strict Scrutiny survey.

   New Strict merch available here.

   You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

   Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

   Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

   Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

   For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

8. We Need To Talk About Judicial Review

   17 september 2026 · 51 min

   Afspelen
   In the third installment of our Hot Supreme Court Reform September series, Leah sits down with Daphna Renan and Nikolas Bowie to discuss how judicial supremacy became the default operating system of the federal government, and how limiting the Supreme Court’s power to decline to enforce federal statutes is a crucial tool for reining it in. Niko and Daphna’s book is Supremacy: How Rule by the Court Replaced Government by the People. Enter the giveaway here! Lees meer

   Take the Strict Scrutiny survey.

   New Strict Scrutiny merch available here.

   You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

   Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

   Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

   Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

   For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

9. BREAKING: SCOTUS Blocks Trump's Mail-In Ballot BS

   15 september 2026 · 32 min

   Afspelen
   Kate, Leah and Melissa hop on to break down the Supreme Court’s decision to block the Trump administration’s Postal Service regulation announcing it would not deliver mail-in ballots unless states adopted a bunch of last-minute, unnecessary, burdensome, and impossible policies governing mail in ballots. They cover Trump’s tantrum over the decision, Brett Kavanaugh’s endlessly pathetic pick-me energy, and Sam Alito’s God tier false equivalencies. Lees meer

   Take the Strict Scrutiny survey.

   New Strict merch available here.

   You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

   Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

   Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

   Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

   For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

10. How Trump is Using the IRS to Resegregate America

    14 september 2026 · 1 uur 35 min

    Afspelen
    Melissa is joined by guest co-host Rashad Robinson, political strategist, media advocate, and former president of Color Of Change, to run through last week’s legal news, which involves SCOTUS’s latest shadow docket shenanigans, campaign finance fights, and Missouri Republican efforts to push a mid-cycle congressional redistricting plan that could eliminate a Democratic seat. Also: a Strict Scrutiny history lesson on the “segregation academies” created across the South in resistance to school integration, and how new proposed regulations from the Trump administration have the potential to utterly remake education and turn the dial back to a time when American education was racially divided. Then Melissa, Leah and Kate sit down with Niko Bowie & Daphna Renan to talk about their new book, Supremacy: How Rule by the Court Replaced Government by the People. Enter the giveaway for Supremacy here! Public comments on racial nondiscrimination in private schools here. Lees meer

    Favorite Things:

    Melissa:Rashad Robinson’s From Presence to Power: How to Take On the Fights That Matter--and Win; Where the Girls Were by Kate Schatz; A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst

    Rashad: U.S. Open specifically Coco Gauff, Frances Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton; ADULTS, The Scrub Episode (FX); The Disappearers by Marlon James

    Take the Strict Scrutiny survey.

    New Strict merch available here.

    You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

    Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

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

    Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

    Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

    For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

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