The Supreme Court Conversation We’re Not Having

06/19/22 • 50 min

1 Listener

Last month, a leaked draft opinion offered a repudiation of a 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights. The historic leak was followed by both pro-choice and pro-life protests across the country.

While we await the Supreme Court’s decision, attorney Neal Katyal has been fighting back. Formerly the Solicitor General under the Obama Administration, Katyal joins us to discuss the historic nature of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion (4:18), the ‘super precedent’ that Roe v. Wade has set (6:24), and why the Constitution is designed to protect individual rights (9:45). We also look at the states that have begun restricting abortion (16:05) and their unnerving parallels to Margret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (20:23).

After the break, Neal outlines the aftermath of Alito’s draft opinion, should it come to pass: including other rights that could be in jeopardy (26:17), the erosion of public confidence in the courts (32:58), and a restrictive reimagining of the Judicial Branch (36:13). To end, Katyal reflects on a life in the courtroom and where he still finds hope—‘even in this darkest hour’ (44:29).

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Previous Episode

David Sedaris: A Life On and Off the Page

This week we’re joined by beloved author David Sedaris! We begin with the timely opening essay from his latest collection, Happy-Go-Lucky (4:05). Then, David describes growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina (10:07), his mother’s “Group Therapy” sessions at the dinner table (11:03), the night his father heckled him during a live performance (16:02), and what he learned about writing at the Art Institute of Chicago (26:55).

On the back-half, David reads a tribute to his mother from Calypso (32:55). We also unpack the way his work has evolved (35:09), the transformation that occurred in his father’s final days (39:20), and why, after forty years, he continues to keep his daily diary (46:45).

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Next Episode

Margo Jefferson: We Must ‘Go On’

Today, we sit with author and cultural critic Margo Jefferson. We begin with her new book, Constructing a Nervous System (6:54), an early Ella Fitzgerald memory (11:20), and the said (and unsaid) racial pedagogy of her childhood (16:24), defined by Condoleezza Rice (19:54), Bing Crosby (24:18), and a formative interaction at a high school party (27:49).

On the back-half, we walk through Margo’s entry into criticism (34:27), her role in the emerging feminist movement (36:46), and what real allyship looks like in the continued fight for reproductive rights (40:12). To close, Margo discusses her approach in the classroom at Columbia (41:52), finding ‘temperamental kinship’ in Nina Simone (48:59), Oscar Wilde on the role of the critic (53:15), and how, at 74, she continues to “go on” (1:04:50).

To learn more and find links to support abortion funds, visit https://talkeasypod.com/margo-jefferson/.

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Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso - The Supreme Court Conversation We’re Not Having

Transcript

Speaker 100:00:15.156

Pushkin Lets Talk Easy. I'm Samforgo, so welcome to the show today. I am joined by Attorney Neil Katio. Katia was formerly the Solicitor General under the Obama administration. He's since gone on to run one of the largest Supreme Court practices at a law firm in DC. He's also a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown Universe. If you've been following the Roe v. Wade debates or the most recent case around the Insurrection, there's a good ch