While Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation process wends through the Senate, the Court is keeping up a fast pace of orders, arguments, and opinions. Your hosts discuss those, including one particularly exciting new case that GianCarlo has dubbed “The Bacon Case.” Your hosts then jointly interview Ilya Shapiro to review Judge Jackson’s hearings. With bacon on the mind, GianCarlo tries to fry Zack with some breakfast-at-SCOTUS trivia. You can find Ilya’s excellent book about judicial confirmations here, and GianCarlo’s previous interview with him about it here.

The confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson filled the airwaves this week, but there were plenty of other Supreme Court goings on. Zack and GianCarlo give an overview of the hearings and then discuss this week’s opinions. The Court decided cases involving racial gerrymandering, free speech, and a fascinating issue of religious liberty and the death penalty. Zack then interviews Supreme Court litigator and former acting Solicitor General Jeff Wall. Lastly, GianCarlo quizzes Zack with trivia about the two (and, perhaps, soon to be three) Justices Jackson.

In this special episode, your hosts moderate a three-way discussion all about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination. But first, we have some news about the lawsuit challenging the Texas heartbeat law and one opinion in a criminal-law case that sounds more like a law school exam than a real fact pattern. After discussing those developments, your hosts welcome Carrie Severino of The Judicial Crisis Network, Ed Whelan of the Ethics & Public Policy Center, and John Malcolm of The Heritage Foundation to discuss Judge Jackson’s judicial philosophy (or lack thereof), how Republican Senators should approach her confirmation hearing, whether she’d have to recuse from the Harvard racial preferences case, and much more.

The show and the Court are back from their mid-winter hiatus, and we have a lot to catch up on! There is, of course, Justice Breyer’s retirement and President Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace him, in addition to all of the usual goings-on of our favorite branch of government. We have orders galore and five opinions on topics including the Boston Marathon Bomber’s death sentence, FBI secrets, and a possible CIA black site in Poland. Your hosts discuss all of that, and then Zack interviews veteran litigator and former head of the Office of Legal Counsel, Steven Engel. At the end of the show, Zack quizzes GianCarlo with trivia about Judge Jackson. Stay tuned for a special episode all about the nominee in the coming weeks!

This episode has a little bit of everything: orders, arguments, opinions, and SCOTUS gossip. Zack and GianCarlo discuss this week’s noteworthy orders, including the Court’s decision not to block the release of certain documents over which former president Trump claimed executive privilege. They also look at this week’s oral arguments, GianCarlo explains this week’s one opinion, and Zack interviews Sixth Circuit Judge John Nalbandian. On the gossip front, your hosts explain how NPR correspondent Nina Totenberg landed in hot water by reporting some anonymously sourced Supreme Court gossip that three justices said was false. With leaks (false or otherwise) on the docket, Zack grilled GianCarlo with trivia from other famous inside scoops about the Court.

The Court is back from its Winter recess, and so are your hosts. The Court heard arguments in six cases including the challenges to the OSHA and HHS vaccination mandates, and it issued opinions in those cases less than a week later. GianCarlo and Zack explain those opinions and give you the highlights from the Court’s other arguments and orders this week. GianCarlo then interviews District Judge Sarah Pitlyk, and quizzes Zack with trivia about constitutional conundrums.

Last week your hosts said that you wouldn’t hear from them until the new year, but the Supreme Court had different plans. The Justices handed down their decision in the Texas Heartbeat Bill case, declined to take up a Free Exercise challenge to New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and granted several new cases. Zack and GianCarlo unpack those decisions, and then GianCarlo interviews D.C. District Judge Trevor McFadden. Tune in to hear about his fascinating career in law enforcement from police officer, to prosecutor, to DOJ lawyer, to judge. Lastly, Zack quizzes GianCarlo with trivia about the earliest SCOTUS confirmations.

In the last week before the Court’s Christmas break, it heard oral arguments in several interesting cases concerning immigration courts, the fiduciary duties owed by retirement plans administrators, habeas corpus proceedings, and the big school choice case, Carson v. Makin. Your hosts discuss all of those cases, and Zack offers his predictions for Carson. Zack also interviews preeminent Supreme Court litigator Charles “Chuck” Cooper about his storied career. Finally, GianCarlo tests Zack’s knowledge of the Supreme Court’s use of scholarly articles in opinions.

Abortion is on the docket this week as the Court hears oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which asks the Court to overrule Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Dobbs filled this week’s headlines, but the Court heard several other important cases too. Your hosts discuss them all, saving the oral arguments in Dobbs for after GianCarlo’s interview of renowned legal theorist and political philosopher Robert P. George. Professor George explains the history of the Court’s abortion jurisprudence, its relation to our American legal and philosophical tradition, and the implications of Dobbs. He also gives his prediction of how the case will turn out and what overruling Roe and Casey would mean for the future of the pro-life movement. After that, GianCarlo summarizes the Dobbs oral arguments, and Zack peppers him with trivia about the Court’s abortion cases.

This week at oral arguments, the Court heard cases about the scope of the state secrets privilege, whether a death-row inmate may have his spiritual advisor present at his execution, and the extent to which local governments can regulate billboards. Your hosts explain those cases, and then GianCarlo interviews Fourth Circuit Judge Allison Jones Rushing. Judge Rushing talks about singing in restaurants with Judge Sentelle, singing in the Supreme Court with Justice Scalia, fly fishing with Justice Gorsuch, becoming part of Justice Thomas’s clerk family, and more. Last up, GianCarlo quizzes Zack with trivia about music at the Court.

It was a big week for oral arguments with two about the Texas’ abortion law, SB 8, and another about New York’s firearm restrictions. GianCarlo explains the issues in the SB 8 cases and answers the pressing question of what, if anything, do they have to do with Dobbs. Zack unpacks the oral arguments in the Second Amendment case and covers other newsworthy items, like the confirmation of our new Solicitor General, Elizabeth Prelogar. Chief Judge Bill Pryor of the Eleventh Circuit joins us again to discuss his recent speech, “Politics and the Rule of Law.” Last up, in honor of S.G. Prelogar’s confirmation, Zack grills GianCarlo with Solicitor General trivia.

There were no oral arguments this week, but there were a few noteworthy orders and a great milestone: Justice Clarence Thomas’s 30th year on the bench! Zack discusses the orders, which include an expedited briefing and oral argument schedule in two challenges to the Texas abortion law. Your hosts also discuss the recent symposium hosted by The Heritage Foundation and The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State celebrating Justice Thomas’s life, legacy, and jurisprudence. You can find recordings of that event here. GianCarlo also interviews Fifth Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham, who talks about his unexpected journey to a career in the law, his studies at Cambridge, and his clerkships for two legendary judges. Lastly, GianCarlo quizzes Zack with Justice Thomas themed trivia!

Two weeks into the term, the full Court is back on the bench and hearing oral arguments in their storied courtroom. Among the arguments this week was the death-penalty appeal of the Boston Marathon bomber. Your hosts discuss how in-person oral arguments are going, and some of the newly granted cases. Zack interviews George Mason professor Todd Zywicki and they talk about his career and his recent lawsuit against the university’s vaccine mandate. Lastly, Zack grills GianCarlo with some very surprising SCOTUS trivia.

A new SCOTUS term is right around the corner! Your hosts, GianCarlo and Zack, are primed and ready to follow along with you this year. But before it begins, they’ve got a preview of this term’s biggest cases delivered by two legendary Supreme Court advocates: former Solicitors General Paul Clement and Noel Francisco. Zack interviewed both of them at a Heritage event, and your hosts replay that discussion here.

After an epic sprint to the finish, the Court has wrapped up the term. The justices handed down two of the term’s biggest cases this week–the Arizona election-law case and the First Amendment challenge to California’s nonprofit donor disclosure rules. Your hosts unpack those and the other three cases of the week. GianCarlo also interviews Louisiana Solicitor General, Elizabeth Murrill, who recently won Edwards v. Vannoy at the Court. Lastly, GianCarlo tests Zack’s knowledge of the rate of agreement and disagreement between the justices this term. Can you guess how many unanimous opinions we got?

The Court is making it rain opinions on us—ten in one week! We got some of the big ones too including the NCAA antitrust case, the “Cussing Cheerleader” case, and a significant property rights case. Your hosts discuss those cases and all the rest, which involve warrantless entry into the home, the Appointments Clause, securities fraud, the standing doctrine, and Alaskan Native Corporations. Because there was so much to cover, your hosts didn’t interview anyone this week, but they did not skip trivia. Zack hits GianCarlo with trivia about Justice Steven Breyer’s life and career, and GianCarlo hits it out of the park. Can you keep up with our resident Justice Breyer expert?