A Term for the Rich, the Reactionaries, and the Ruthless
· 1 h 40 min
Episode A Term for the Rich, the Reactionaries, and the Ruthless
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
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Links in the notes 20
- https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-997_6579.pdf
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/magazine/federal-judge-amir-ali-trump-usaid.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/opinion/planned-parenthood-supreme-court-decision.html
- https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/when-rational-basis-review-bit/
- https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/163-a-new-kind-of-judicial-supremacy
- https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/06/big-beautiful-bill-billionaire-benefits/683383/?gift=jQN1t1D1nkO2TQodBiz5KMcmAaidn2vA_Elcen0WrIY&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
- https://www.thenation.com/article/society/samuel-alito-takes-pride-in-gay-bashing/
- https://sherrilyn.substack.com/p/a-court-without-the-range?r=1sqa3e&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/opinion/supreme-court-trump.html
- https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-faba988a-a9f5-45f2-a074-0775a7d6f67a
- https://lorde.store/products/virgin-digital-album
- https://bsky.app/profile/ronfilipkowski.bsky.social/post/3lsuesu33os25
- https://executivefunctions.substack.com/p/trumps-big-win-in-his-escalating
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01186-9/fulltext
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/books/review/great-books-on-american-history-and-the-supreme-court.html
- https://bookshop.org/p/books/unbearable-five-women-and-the-perils-of-pregnancy-in-america-irin-carmon/76ffd7309181c49c?ean=9781668032602&next=t
- https://bookshop.org/p/books/we-the-people-a-history-of-the-u-s-constitution/fbff62c019dfad00?ean=9781631496080&next=t
- https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lawless/Leah-Litman/9781668054628
- https://www.instagram.com/strictscrutinypodcast/?hl=en
- https://www.threads.net/@strictscrutinypodcast
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