The Supreme Court’s Past, Present, and Future: A Conversation with John Yoo

It has been a momentous few weeks for the Supreme Court. What better time to discuss the Court's history and future? We are therefore launching our "Summer of Law" series to shed light on the legal world .

Kicking the series off is John Yoo, the Heller Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has written 8 books and over 100 academic articles, and is a regular contributor at a wide variety of publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and National Review.

This episode discusses his latest book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Supreme Court (Regnery Publishing, 2023). Along the way, it unpacks legal thought on issues such as affirmative action, abortion, court-packing, the administrative state, and the unique position of the Supreme Court as an unelected institution.

We have not forgotten, however, that tomorrow is our nation's birthday. At the end of the discussion, our Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Research Scholar Allen Guelzo will recite Patrick Henry's famous speech "Give Me Liberty."

While this episode covers the court more broadly, here are some of Prof. Yoo's recent writings and appearances on these hot-button issues:

• Newsweek, "Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Was Always a Sham"
• National Review, "The Supreme Court Corrects a Grievous Error"
• His interview on Fox News, "Supreme Court says Congress, not the president, controls power of the purse"
• His interview on Fox Business, "Employers should rethink race-based hiring, programs after SCOTUS affirmative action decision"
• His interview on Fox News, "The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution is colorblind"

Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes.