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Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best SCOTUStalk episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to SCOTUStalk for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite SCOTUStalk episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

09/21/20 • 8 min
As soon as the public learned of the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday evening, mourners began gathering outside the Supreme Court. Leaving flowers, candles and messages in chalk written near the courthouse steps, thousands of people have paid their respects to a woman who inspired a generation and, late in life, attained an iconic status in American culture. Over the weekend, SCOTUSblog’s deputy manager, Katie Bart, interviewed members of the public who gathered in remembrance and mourning. Their words make up the latest episode of SCOTUStalk.
Full Transcript:
[00:00:00] Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!
Amy Howe: [00:00:03] This is SCOTUStalk, a nonpartisan podcast about the Supreme Court for lawyers and non-lawyers alike, brought to you by SCOTUSblog.
Katie Bart: [00:00:13] Welcome to SCOTUStalk. I'm Katie Bart. Thanks for joining us. On Friday, September 18th, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away from complications related to pancreatic cancer. She served on the Supreme Court for 27 years. The Supreme Court released statements from the eight justices and two retired justices on Saturday. Chief Justice John Roberts called her a “tireless and resolute champion of justice.” Justice Thomas said that she was a “superb justice who exacted the best from each of them, whether in agreement or disagreement.” Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor said that to them, as to countless others, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a hero. Justice David Souter, who retired from the bench in 2009, said that he “loved her to pieces.” Almost immediately after news of her passing, thousands of people were drawn to the steps of the Supreme Court to mourn and celebrate her life. Here's Tiffany Thompson on why she visited the court and what Ruth Bader Ginsburg meant to her.
Tiffany Thompson: [00:01:15] We have suffered an extraordinary loss and we need to, I think, come together in a way that we haven't had a chance to come together. That's sort of how I feel. She gave us hope. She gave us an extraordinary power that we didn't know that we had. She gave us an opportunity to be free in a way that we didn't know how to. We never had a chance to do that before.
KB: [00:01:42] Here's Jill Marie Bussey on why she visited the court.
Jill Marie Bussey: [00:01:46] I couldn't help but be here. I felt called to come to the court. I'm a woman lawyer. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a tremendous role model in my life and so many women in my field. When she was appointed to the Supreme Court, I remember that day vividly. I was in college at that time and I remember them doing the background on the news and learning about how she learned from Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall's approach to challenging the law. And not just inspired me because I had already heard of Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall, but I didn't know that she took a page from their book and applied it to trying to achieve equality for women. And I then realized that I was able to play high school sports because of her, like there was so much. I just remember that all coming to me when I was in college and I knew I wanted to go to law school at that time. But it was her inspiration that made me think of how I could apply a law degree for good. And now I'm an immigrant attorney, immigrant advocate, and I've seen her. I've come here to the court and seen cases before her in the court, and I'm just very grateful for her service. And it's a tremendous loss. But her legacy will live on.
KB: [00:03:14] Here's Dawn Popp, who drove in from Elkridge, Maryland, on why she visited the court.
Dawn Popp: [00:03:19] I just felt such a tremendous sense of loss when I heard yesterday. I was just so devastated. And as soon as I heard that something was happening today, I knew I had to be here. I'm a lawyer. And I mean, I think every female lawyer in this country is inspired by her. I mean, she's a role model and she's someone that I have looked up to for as long as I can remember. She's just such an incredible trailblazer in terms of her career before being on the court. And then her decisions on the court have been just so groundbreaking in terms of women's rights. I mean, I just I every female attorney I know idolizes her. It's just it feels like a huge, very personal loss. Her whole career. I feel like I have been I've been following her. And I always I mean, her dissents are just works of art. And, you know, in addition, in addition to sort of the law that that she has been part of making, you know, just as a writer and as a thinker, I'm just you know, she's the kind of lawyer that that I aspire to be.
KB: [00:04:33] Here's Emma on why she visited the court and why RPG inspires her.
Emma: [00:04:39] Sure, she was pretty much a legend to so many young ...

The Dobbs draft
SCOTUStalk
05/09/22 • 43 min
Amy sits down with SCOTUSblog’s media editor, Katie Barlow, to discuss the leaked draft in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the repercussions such an opinion would have on reproductive rights. Plus Amy explains the court’s request for additional briefing in Biden v. Texas, answers listener questions, and gives a look ahead at the coming weeks.
Send us a question about the court at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at (202) 596-2906. Please tell us your first name and where you’re calling from.
(Music by Keys of Moon Music via Soundcloud)
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Prayer at the 50-yard line
SCOTUStalk
04/25/22 • 41 min
On Monday, April 25, the court hears oral argument in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, a case concerning a public school coach’s right to pray on the football field. In a two-part episode, Amy talks with Rachel Laser and Kelly Shackelford, representatives from the legal teams on each side.
Rachel Laser, President of Americans United for Separation of Church and State representing the school district — 00:52
Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of First Liberty Institute representing Coach Joseph Kennedy— 18:54
Send us a question about the court at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at (202) 596-2906. Please tell us your first name and where you’re calling from.
(Music by Keys of Moon Music via Soundcloud)
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07/19/21 • 25 min
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07/07/21 • 18 min
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01/24/22 • 30 min
Amy Howe and Katie Barlow review a busy Supreme Court week, including a new cert grant in a religious-freedom case, the latest action on the shadow docket, and “maskgate.”
SCOTUStalk is launching a new Q&A feature. Send us your questions about the justices, how the Supreme Court works, or a case that’s pending before the court. We may answer your question on future episodes. You can email your questions to [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (202) 596-2906. Please tell us your first name and where you’re calling from.
(Music by Keys of Moon Music via Soundcloud)
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Breaking down the vaccine arguments
SCOTUStalk
01/10/22 • 24 min
Sean Marotta, a partner at Hogan Lovells and an expert on the legal challenges to Biden vaccine policies, joins us to dissect Friday’s remarkable oral arguments.
If you have questions about the court, the justices, or an upcoming case, please email us at [email protected]. We may answer your question on a future episode of SCOTUStalk.
(Music by Keys of Moon Music via Soundcloud)
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12/27/21 • 28 min
Gabe Roth, the executive director of Fix the Court, discusses the Biden court commission's final report and why he believes term limits are the superior court reform.
If you have questions about the court, the justices, or an upcoming case, please email us at [email protected]. We may answer your question on a future episode of SCOTUStalk.
(Music by Keys of Moon Music via Soundcloud)
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12/13/21 • 20 min
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SCOTUStalk Host Amy Howe spoke this week with two groups of former law clerks for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In the first of these interviews, Kelsi Brown Corkran, Lori Alvino McGill, and Amanda Tyler share their memories of meeting Ginsburg for the time and working for a boss who herself was such a hard worker.
Full Transcript:
[00:00:00] Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!
Amy Howe: [00:00:03] This is SCOTUStalk, a nonpartisan podcast about the Supreme Court for lawyers and non-lawyers alike, brought to you by SCOTUSblog.
AH: [00:00:13] Welcome to SCOTUStalk. I'm Amy Howe. Thanks for joining us. Members of the public generally knew her as the Notorious RBG or as a tiny but mighty figure in the courtroom. For her law clerks, though, Ginsburg was a warm and thoughtful role model and mentor. We're so lucky to have three of her law clerks with us to talk about the time they spent working with Ginsburg as well as their relationships with her after they finished their clerkships. Kelsi Brown Corkran is the head of the Supreme Court practice at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe. Lori Alvino McGill is an appellate lawyer who clerked for Justice Ginsburg during the October term, 2005. And Amanda Tyler is the Shannon Cecil Turner professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
Let's start at the beginning. Talk about how you came to be a clerk for Justice Ginsburg. What was the interview process like? You're all relatively young lawyers going to talk to Justice Ginsburg, who was not much of a small talker. What was the interview like?
Kelsi Brown Corkran: Yeah, so I was actually a little bit older. I was pregnant with my son when I clerked for Judge Tatel on the D.C. Circuit.
So I waited until after my kids were born before I applied to clerk on the court. It's pretty well documented that when Justice Ginsburg was recommended to clerk for Justice Frankfurter by the dean of Harvard Law School, that he was initially willing to consider a female clerk, but when he found out that she was a mother, that was just too much. He could not have a mother in chambers. And so she missed out on the opportunity to do a clerkship on the Supreme Court. And so that interview was just incredible in so many ways. I mean, to see her in person, I still am not over that. And it was almost a decade ago, and I ended up working with her for a year. But I can still remember walking into chambers and seeing her there in real life. But we ended up talking about my kids. I brought them up at some point and she smiled and asked how old they were. And then a few minutes later offered me the clerkship. And it was it was very special to me. I think it was a joy to her to be able to give that opportunity to so many of the clerks that she lost out on. And I was just one of many clerks who came to chambers, both male and female, who already had kids. So, it was a particular piece of it that was special to me.
AH: [00:02:51] Lori, how about you?
LAM: Well it’s hard to follow that story. But I have a couple of sharp memories from my interview process. The first was when I was extended the interview. I was working on the DC Circuit for Douglas Ginsburg. No relation, but they were friends.
[00:03:12] But they come from a very different ideological background, I would say.
[00:03:17] So the first thing I remember is DHC coming into my little part of chambers and letting me know that Justice Ginsburg had called him about me, and I was elated. Of course, I was really excited. And he said, but so here's the thing. I think she's going to call you and extend an interview. And I think if she interviews you, she's going to hire you. And he looks very serious. And I'm like, well, that sounds great. And he said, well, you understand, if she extends an offer to you, you have to accept that.
[00:03:50] Yeah.
[00:03:53] And then he looks at me like, what, Lori? I just want to make sure that there's not some other justice who would prefer to clerk for me. I looked at him like, wow, you had no idea there was one of us here in chambers. And so I was a sleeper liberal with nothing to indicate as such on my resume. But so he was surprised, as surprised that I was excited as I was surprised that she was interested in the interview. The process was stressful, as you'd imagine. I was busy on the D.C. Circuit. I was also studying for the bar exam, and I remember studying a lot for the interview. And I got there and I could not have been prepared for the first question that she asked me, which was, Lori, we've had a lot of trouble with our panel. And I have to tell you, I just secured it was beautiful new grand piano for the West Conference Room. The reason we have a new piano is the old piano would not stay in tune. Would you mind going downstairs and playing the piano after we're done h...
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FAQ
How many episodes does SCOTUStalk have?
SCOTUStalk currently has 97 episodes available.
What topics does SCOTUStalk cover?
The podcast is about News, Supreme Court, Court, Law, Justice, Podcasts, Politics and Government.
What is the most popular episode on SCOTUStalk?
The episode title 'Section 230 and the internet' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on SCOTUStalk?
The average episode length on SCOTUStalk is 25 minutes.
How often are episodes of SCOTUStalk released?
Episodes of SCOTUStalk are typically released every 13 days, 23 hours.
When was the first episode of SCOTUStalk?
The first episode of SCOTUStalk was released on Mar 1, 2019.
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