Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

Slate Podcasts
  • 0.0 (0)
  • NEWS COMMENTARY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

Unlock weekly bonus eps + ad-free listening

SAR 42.99/mo or SAR 429.99/yr after trial

A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

  1. BONUS: Time To Make Some Tariffic Amicus Pesto

    4 DAYS AGO · BONUS • SLATE PLUS ONLY

    BONUS: Time To Make Some Tariffic Amicus Pesto

    The Supreme Court can probably go ahead and add “tariffs” to the list of hugely consequential cases it’s going to rule on, on what is variously called the “emergency”, “shadow” or “lightning” docket. As the final weeks of the Supreme Court term unravel before us, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discuss the high octane case that’s likely headed their way soon, after the US Court on International Trade decided President Trump’s emergency tariff scheme is illegal. Next, they turn to a very odd split of votes in this week’s SCOTUS decision not to take up a case concerning religious freedom and native lands, and explain why Justice Clarence Thomas has not, in fact, had a sudden change of heart when it comes to tribal rights. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock weekly bonus episodes of Amicus—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Get Slate’s latest coverage of the courts and the law straight to your inbox. Delivered every Tuesday. https://slate.com/legalbrief

    16 min
  2. This End Of Term At SCOTUS Is Unlike Any Other in History

    5 DAYS AGO

    This End Of Term At SCOTUS Is Unlike Any Other in History

    The end (of the Supreme Court term) is nigh. This week, Amicus goes into June Opinionpalooza mode with some meta-analysis of what to look out for as the Supreme Court delivers dozens of decisions over the next month or so. Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern say this is a term-ending unlike any other, partly because the number of cases pinging onto the high court’s shadow docket means the term may never really, truly, actually, end. And even when the shadow docket cases are decided, there is no real law that emerges, just a few lines of unsigned chicken scratch. Beyond the big merits cases concerning everything from birthright citizenship to healthcare for trans minors to racial gerrymandering to defunding Planned Parenthood, and beyond the brief, unbriefed, unargued emergency docket cases, the Supreme Court’s conservatives are in a power struggle with the very president they crowned quasi-king.  In a conversation recorded live on Friday at the WBUR Festival in Boston, Mark is joined by Professor Jed Shugerman of Boston University Law School, where they discuss the bad originalism and poor judgment that led to the Roberts’ court’s embrace of a little something called unitary executive theory that has become the Trump administration’s carte blanche.  Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Get Slate’s latest coverage of the courts and the law straight to your inbox. Delivered every Tuesday. https://slate.com/legalbrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 15m
  3. BONUS: This Time It’s South Sudan

    25 MAY · BONUS • SLATE PLUS ONLY

    BONUS: This Time It’s South Sudan

    Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern take to the Amicus Plus rumpus room this week to talk about a shocking deportation flight to South Sudan that seemed to blatantly violate a judicial order. The good news for Trump officials? House Republicans passed a bill that would prevent federal courts from holding them in contempt. Then, a brash conservative judge campaigning for SCOTUS makes a move against Chief Justice John Roberts to stay in the good graces of the only man whose opinion really matters: The president who fills Supreme Court seats.

    23 min

  4. 24 MAY

    The Two Tracks of Justice

    This week’s episode attempts to understand the ways in which the law of Trump unfolds along two tracks at the same time. First, Mark Joseph Stern joins us to talk about the Supreme Court’s decision to let Trump fire the heads of independent agencies, undermining a 90-year-old precedent in an unsigned, two-page decision on the shadow docket. This is a case in which Donald Trump’s agenda perfectly aligns with the wishlist of the conservative supermajority that controls the court. But if the court keeps giving Trump free passes to break the law now, why should we expect him to respect the court when it tries to draw the line later? Then Dahlia Lithwick talks to the University of Chicago’s Aziz Huq about the idea of a “dual state,” a legal arrangement in which seismic changes happen in ways that are not perceptible to the bulk of the citizens. Drawing from the work of a Jewish lawyer who witnessed the dual state operate in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, Huq explains that authoritarians can seize the levers of the law to persecute disfavored groups, without disturbing the idea of the rule of law for the great majority of the nation. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 16m
  5. Bonus: Write In Support of Gaza? Go Straight to Jail.

    18 MAY • SLATE PLUS ONLY

    Bonus: Write In Support of Gaza? Go Straight to Jail.

    This week on our Slate Plus members-only episode, when Mark Joseph Stern is away, old friends come to play. Dahlia Lithwick talks to Cristian Farias, legal journalist and host of a new podcast “The Bully's Pulpit; Trump v. The First Amendment.” They talk about the Trump administration's disregard for the first amendment that guides its detentions of students like Rumeysa Ozturk.

    24 min

  6. 17 MAY

    SCOTUS Is About to Suffer Buyers Remorse, Again

    Our eyes this week were trained on the arguments over birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court on Thursday. While Solicitor General John Sauer advanced wild arguments on behalf of the Trump administration, four of the justices (hint: the women) seemed extremely suspicious of his motives. The five men? Not so much. Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia Lithwick to break down Trump v. CASA Inc. and the growing  divide on the court between those who trust this president and those who don’t. Although Thursday’s arguments touched on fundamental rights, SCOTUS made the strange choice to largely avoid the constitutional question and focus on a different one: Whether district courts have the power to issue “universal” injunctions that apply nationwide, as multiple courts did in order to protect birthright citizenship from the president. Judges have issued an unprecedented number of these orders against the Trump administration—in response to Trump’s unprecedented barrage of lawless executive orders. Some conservative justices seem perturbed by the explosion of universal injunctions. But it became clear on Thursday that this is the worst case for the court to use to rein them in.  Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 3m
  7. Bonus: The Week of Sweet and Bitter

    11 MAY · BONUS • SLATE PLUS ONLY

    Bonus: The Week of Sweet and Bitter

    In this week’s bonus episode exclusively for Slate Plus members, the news comes in good and bad waves. Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern and Dahlia Lithwick remember former Supreme Court justice David Souter who died this week at the age of 85. They talk about the demise of “Eagle” Ed Martin’s bid to be the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Justice Allison Riggs’ court victory allowing her to keep her seat at the North Carolina Supreme Court, as well as the dangerous precedent set by the legal fight over her reelection. Finally they discuss Trump’s transgender military ban, and Justice Sotomayor’s charge to lawyers to stand up and fight. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock weekly bonus episodes of Amicus—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

    30 min

  8. 10 MAY

    SCOTUS, Meet The Broligarchs

    After Silicon Valley’s yeet to the right after Donald Trump was elected in 2016, and the DOGE-ification of the federal government (read: chaos and abuse as the driving ethos of HR), it felt like high time to delve into the evolving relationship between tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and the U.S. government. Their influence has massive implications for core constitutional issues such as mass surveillance, privacy, and deregulation. Kara Swisher joins Dahlia Lithwick on this week’s Amicus to highlight the dangers of tech giants' encroachment on government oversight and the implications of AI and cryptocurrency.  This week’s episode concludes with a heartfelt tribute to Justice David Souter who died on Thursday. Dahlia and former Souter Clerk Mary-Rose Papandrea reflect on the late Justice’s humility, judicial philosophy, and the profound loss felt by his former clerks and the legal community. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 8m
See All (472)

Trailer

Shows with Subscription Benefits

  • Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.

    • 3.3 (4)
    • RELATIONSHIPS

  • You’ve got questions. Together, we get answers. We all need advice, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to turn. Each week, Courtney Martin and Carvell Wallace bring a listener on to the show to solve their toughest problems with the help of world-class experts. It’s free therapy, and you’re invited.

    • 3.8 (5)
    • HOW TO

  • Voted “Favorite Political Podcast” by Apple Podcasts listeners. Stephen Colbert says "Everybody should listen to the Slate Political Gabfest." The Gabfest, featuring Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz, is the kind of informal and irreverent discussion Washington journalists have after hours over drinks. Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen.

    • 5.0 (2)
    • POLITICS

  • Decoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters.

    • 3.7 (3)
    • DOCUMENTARY

  • Slow Burn illuminates America’s most consequential moments, making sense of the past to better understand the present. Through archival tape and first-person interviews, the series uncovers the surprising events and little-known characters lurking within the biggest stories of our time. Want more Slow Burn? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Slow Burn and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slow Burn show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen. Season 10: The Rise of Fox News How a cable news channel became a cultural and political force—and how a whole bunch of people rose up to try and stop it. Season 9: Gays Against Briggs A nationwide moral panic, a California legislator who rode the anti-gay wave, and the LGBTQ+ people who stepped up and came out to try and stop him. Season 8: Becoming Justice Thomas Where Clarence Thomas came from, how he rose to power, and how he’s brought the rest of us along with him, whether we like it or not. Winner of the Podcast of the Year at the 2024 Ambies Awards. Season 7: Roe v. Wade The women who fought for legal abortion, the activists who pushed back, and the justices who thought they could solve the issue for good. Winner of Apple Podcasts Show of the Year in 2022. Season 6: The L.A. Riots How decades of police brutality, a broken justice system, and a video tape set off six days of unrest in Los Angeles. Season 5: The Road to the Iraq War Eighteen months after 9/11, the United States invaded a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. Who’s to blame? And was there any way to stop it? Season 4: David Duke America’s most famous white supremacist came within a runoff of controlling Louisiana. How did David Duke rise to power? And what did it take to stop him? Season 3: Biggie and Tupac How is it that two of the most famous performers in the world were murdered within a year of each other—and their killings were never solved? Season 2: The Clinton Impeachment A reexamination of the scandals that nearly destroyed the 42nd president and forever changed the life of a former White House intern. Season 1: Watergate What did it feel like to live through the scandal that brought down President Nixon?

    • 5.0 (8)
    • HISTORY

  • The people and struggles that changed America—one year at a time. In each episode, host Josh Levin explores a story you may have forgotten, or one you’ve never heard of before. What were the moments that transformed politics, culture, science, religion, and more? And how does the nation’s past shape our present?

    • 2.0 (1)
    • HISTORY

Unlock weekly bonus eps + ad-free listening

SAR 42.99/mo or SAR 429.99/yr after trial

View Subscription FAQs

Hosts & Guests

About

A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

Information

More From Slate Podcasts

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada
OSZAR »