Divided Court, Divided Nation

10/26/21 • 46 min

In our ninth episode of Sidebar, we chronicle the pivotal cases the Supreme Court will hear over the next few months on divisive issues like abortion, gun control and the separation of church and state. Will the court's conservative majority pen rulings that could change the country's landscape?

Then, we dive into the conspiracy theory QAnon, the Jan. 6 insurrection, the events that followed the 2020 presidential election and the effects all of this has had on the American psyche. How did disinformation and conspiracy theories grow in the United States, and what sort of lasting effects may they have on the body politic?
Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.
Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.
Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

Previous Episode

International Intrigue, R. Kelly and the Fight to Free Britney

We are coming at you in our eighth episode with three stories of power, corruption and accountability.
To kick things off, we take a look with political science professor Cynthia McClintock at Peru's bid to extradite its former president, Alejandro Toledo Manrique, on charges of bribery and money laundering. Peru claims Toledo helped a Brazilian company win a lucrative contract for a major highway project in exchange for $35 million in bribes.
Then we break down R&B singer R. Kelly's trial and conviction for running a career-spanning sex ring that included the late singer Aaliyah among scores of underage girls.
And last, we take you outside the courtroom to the latest in pop star Britney Spears' effort to be free of the California conservatorship controlled by her father and bring you a conversation with the ACLU's Zoe Brennan-Krohn on how conservatorships work. #freebritney

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.
Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

Next Episode

Wolf Wars, a Border Emergency and the Trial of Elizabeth Holmes

We kick off the penultimate episode of our first season of Sidebar in the American West, where a dispute has been brewing for decades between ranchers, the government and environmentalists over wolves. This long-standing debate over the extent to which these carnivorous mammals should be protected or hunted down and killed isn't going anywhere soon.

Then we take a deep dive into a border emergency not often discussed: human waste flowing in the Tijuana River Basin. What will it take for the U.S. and Mexico to tackle the sewage crisis, expected to worsen as Tijuana's population increases?

Last, we hear from our own Matthew Renda on the Elizabeth Holmes trial. Holmes and her company, Theranos, promoted a portable blood testing device that promised to revolutionize the medical testing industry. The federal government says it was all a lie to bilk investors of millions.
Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.
Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

Sidebar by Courthouse News - Divided Court, Divided Nation

Transcript

[Intro Music]

Kirk McDaniel: Welcome to Sidebar, a podcast from Courthouse News. I'm Kirk McDaniel, Sidebar’s producer and a reporter in Austin, Texas. On this episode, we'll be diving into the divisive conspiracy theory QAnon, the January 6 insurrection and the events that followed the 2020 presidential elections and the effects all of this has had on the American psyche. Before we get into that, the Supreme Court began its new term this month, and Nicholas Iovino and Nina Pullano ha