The faculty lounge moves west, as Professors Richard Epstein and John Yoo both check in from sunny California (while resident cat-herder Troy Senik stays behind in frigid New York). On this installment: Did the Supreme Court’s parsing of the vaccine mandate pass muster? Have we figured out Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett yet? Can Donald Trump be held civilly liable for the January 6 riots? Did the Supreme Court sell the former president’s claims of executive privilege short? Is reforming the Electoral Count Act the most essential element of election reform? Is higher education a cartel (there’s a split in the faculty lounge)? And why did a Georgia sheriff trying to keep trick-or-treaters safe fall afoul of the First Amendment?

It’s a festive year-end session in the faculty lounge, as Professors Richard Epstein and John Yoo dissect the latest drama before the Supreme Court. Is Roe v. Wade headed for annihilation? Is California’s attempt to use the logic of the Texas abortion law to go after guns, the beginning of 50-state chaos? And speaking of firearms, is SCOTUS about to upend restrictive gun control laws in blue states?

Then we leave the court behind for other legal controversies: why are lawsuits against opioid manufacturers failing around the country? Is the Biden Administration obligated to compensate immigrant families who were separated at the border? And, most important of all: exactly how many laws is Santa breaking every year? All that, plus Richard breaks down the economics of marriage, John reveals that he wants a Christmas gift from Vladimir Putin, and we get an after-action report on the professors’ joint trip to Italy.

Professors Richard Epstein and John Yoo are kicking off the fall semester with a bang, as they invite classroom participation in the form of questions from Law Talk listeners. On a wide-ranging episode, they cover the controversies over the Texas and Mississippi abortion laws, the crisis on the southern border, vaccine mandates, and a smattering of questions on everything from long-dead Supreme Court justices to the possibility of a new constitutional convention to revising the Declaration of Independence. You’ll hear all the wisdom and insight you’ve come to inspect from the professors plus a potentially career-ending gaffe from our intrepid moderator, who assures us he will submit to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

The faculty lounge has been closed for renovations, but Professors Richard Epstein and John Yoo are back to break down the biggest legal stories of the summer: What will come of the Biden Administration’s decision to defy the Supreme Court over the eviction moratorium? Who can (or can’t) mandate vaccines? Will a recent ruling from the Court buttress Republican states trying to change their voting laws? Is a Mississippi case the long-awaited culmination of the fight over Roe v. Wade? Why did antitrust efforts against Facebook get smacked down in federal courts? Is there any hope for Donald Trump’s class-action suit against the big tech companies? And finally, the professors reveal what they’d do if given the chance to amend the Constitution.

Summer school is in full-swing in the faculty lounge, where Professors Richard Epstein and John Yoo are breaking down the latest from the Supreme Court: Is college sports about to be turned on its head? Was the Court right to side with a foul-mouthed Pennsylvania cheerleader? Was the Court’s decision about Catholic adoption services in Philadelphia a Pyrrhic victory for religious liberty? Is a ruling about farmworkers in California the ultimate vindication of Richard Epstein? Plus, are states within their rights to clamp down on Critical Race Theory in schools — or are they running afoul of First Amendment protections? All that plus Epstein goes postal on Amazon, Yoo settles the great Philadelphia cheesesteak debate, and we get a handy tip as to how to determine when a piece of legislation is no good.

The men of Law Talk are getting Memorial Day weekend off to an early start with a spirited session in the faculty lounge. On the agenda: does a new Mississippi case mean Roe v. Wade is living on borrowed time? Does international law provide a remedy for a journalist’s imprisonment in Belarus? Or a potential lab leak in China? Will Florida get laughed out of court for attempting to regulate big tech on its own? And is the Supreme Court on the cusp of revolutionizing college sports? All that plus Professor Yoo has a gripe with President Biden that could go all the way to the Supreme Court, and Professor Epstein is … doing impressions of British economists?

It’s out of the frying pan and into the fire, as professors Richard Epstein and John Yoo take us from the just-concluded drama of the Amy Coney Barrett hearings to the just-emerging drama over the Supreme Court’s role in the 2020 election. Along the way they consider how seriously we should take the court-packing threat; whether super-precedents are actually a thing; if Roe v. Wade and the ACA are actually in danger with a Justice Barrett on the court; and what the newest Supreme Court justice’s judicial blindspot is most likely to be. Then it’s on to the Supreme Court’s unpredictable role in the 2020 presidential election. Will Chief Justice Roberts surprise us all again? Do any of the lessons of Bush v. Gore apply this year? And does ACB have a duty to recuse herself? Come for the top-shelf legal analysis, stay for Professor Epstein posing a grammar brainteaser for the ages.