Advisory Opinions

On today's combative pod, David and Sarah revisit the Stacey Abrams lawsuits and check in on the state of election laws. They then turn to the question of expressive activity and whether a state can force a beauty pageant to include transgender contestants. They conclude with an examination of Washington state's approach to "unconscious bias" in trials. Plus: the duo offers a few pronunciation mea...

Time to talk about Harvard. Returning to the affirmative action debate, David and Sarah consider the differences between UNC and Harvard, unpack the justices’ questions and comments, and ask what kind of diversity Harvard hopes to promote, if at all. They also discuss the preemptive backlash to Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s upcoming book, and the attack on Paul Pelosi. Show Notes: -Court filing deta...

Two universities defended their admissions process before the Supreme Court on Monday. Starting with the University of North Carolina (with a Harvard tease), David and Sarah grapple with – and at times disagree about – the difficult questions at the heart of the hearing: how should we understand diversity? Is seeking justice for centuries of slavery and discrimination compatible with race neutrali...

Yes, David and Sarah will be teasing their initial thoughts on the Harvard case and the likelihood of the Supreme Court changing the game on affirmative action... but only after checking in on the real legal scandal currently gripping the nation: cheating allegations in the chess world. Show Notes: -Grutter v. Bollinger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scandal of scandals! Things get weird after a 19-year-old grandmaster is accused of cheating in a chess tournament against a world champion and David and Sarah are here for it. Plus: Let’s talk CFPB funding and a court decision that gets a direct ticket to SCOTUS. Out of context: “a limited public figure for the purposes of Donkey Kong.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

In today’s packed episode, David and Sarah check in on the Durham investigation after recent failures to reach convictions. They then turn to updates on the special master and the Mar-a-Lago case, and on the growing list of challenges (of varying quality) to Biden’s loan forgiveness plan. Not enough? They conclude with an overview of the Texas Pete Hot Sauce lawsuit. -Texas Pete lawsuit Learn more...

What options does the former president (and his legal team) have in response to the subpoena? Did Judge Ho’s response to critics mollify Sarah’s concerns? And what does Clarence Thomas think about Prince? Plus: how early should you get in line for a chance at attending a Supreme Court hearing? -Andy Warhol Foundation v. Lynn Goldsmith -Judge Ho’s speech on Cancel Culture Learn more about your ad c...

In an episode dedicated to our pig friends, Sarah and David are joined by two guests from The Humane Society of the United States: Vice President for Farm Animal Protection Josh Balk and Chief Counsel Jonathan Lovvorn. Josh offers insight into the fight against animal cruelty and Jonathan, who chaired a defense of California’s pig farming regulations before the Supreme Court this Wednesday, discus...

Recording live at George Mason University, David and Sarah open with a critical WAP correction to last week’s show, followed by updates on The Onion amicus brief and the never-ending Yale drama. Plus: Amy Coney Barrett takes on Common Good Constitutionalism and the Fifth Circuit decides a “zero-pence case” on religious coercion. Show Notes: -Fifth Circuit decision on Freedom From Religion v. Wayne...

An Alabama redistricting case receives a contentious Supreme Court hearing, weighing race neutrality against a history of racial discrimination. Donald Trump files an emergency request with the Supreme Court and it’s… technical. Oh, and did we mention The Onion’s amicus brief? Also: stick to the end for a letter from the best compliance supervisor in America. Show Notes: -The Onion’s amicus brief...

Trump’s legal drama — Judge Cannon returns! Ken Paxton opines! Fraud alleged! — will be discussed at last... But first, Sarah and David preview what promises to be a spicy term for the Supreme Court (with not one, but two Section 230 cases!). They then pass through a culture war cul-de-sac via Judge James Ho’s clerkship boycott of Yale law students, and conclude with a tribute to Judge Laurence Si...

From the first legal challenge to President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program to a bad precedent in the making involving the NRA, from nation-wide injunctions to budding Supreme Court friendships — today’s show is packed with non-Trump content! (For a hard look into the ex-president’s legal woes, tune in again on Monday!). Also: Sarah and David put on their tin foil hats as they try answeri...

Sarah and David tape a live episode at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and they have a special guest: Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Chad Readler. After making it very clear on how to pronounce the judge’s name, David and Sarah discuss what the judge look for in clerks, his career as a judge and at the Department of Justice, and Wolverine football. Stick around to the end t...

Texas joins an amici brief in Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago case, and Sarah and David ponder… why? Plus: a listener’s astute follow-up question about Yeshiva University gets the full AO treatment. Show Notes: -David’s French Press on “Segregation Academies” -Trump’s response to DOJ’s motion for partial stay -Red states amici brief for Trump v. USA -Class action lawsuit against Ron DeSantis Learn more...

Back in the saddle, Sarah and David explain the Supreme Court’s decision on Yeshiva University v. Youth Pride Alliance (spoiler: this isn’t over yet). Plus: Who gets to censor who in the battle between Texas and tech platforms? Show Notes:-Yeshiva University v. Youth Pride Alliance-NetChoice v. Ken Paxton-Donald Trump v. the United States-Ilya Somin Reason Magazine piece on Texas’ social media law...

While David is still away on his well-earned vacation, it’s time for some career advice! Megan L. Brown – partner at Wiley Rein LLP – joins Sarah to talk about choosing (and getting hired by) the right law firm. How to get your best self across in interviews? How to judge a firm’s work culture? Is it wise to inquire about a firm’s work-life balance? And, most importantly, should you take career po...

A federal judge ordered the appointment of a special master to review the sensitive documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. Orin Kerr, law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, joins Sarah to break down the ruling. Then, Sarah is joined by Thomas Lee, former associate chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court, for another discussion of corpus linguistics.   Show Notes: -A Corpus Linguistic An...

David and Sarah are here to make sense of the latest back and forth between the Justice Department and Trump’s legal team over classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. Plus: a closer look at the legal merits of the student loan forgiveness plan and two religious liberty cases.   Show Notes: -DOJ response to Trump's special master request -OLC opinion on student loan forgiveness plan -Fellowship o...

David and Sarah are joined by Will Baude, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, to discuss his review of Adrian Vermeule's new book Common Good Constitutionalism. What is “common good constitutionalism” and can David and Will convince Sarah that it’s a thing? Is international law real? And does anyone have standing in any upcoming legal challenges to President Biden’s student l...

David and Sarah are joined by ​​Bruce Friedrich, founder and CEO of the Good Food Institute, to discuss cultivated meat and the next agricultural revolution. What’s the difference between plant-based meat and cultivated meat? What’s the environmental impact of reimagining meat production? If it’s August, it’s our meat episode.   Show Notes: -Bruce Friedrich’s TED Talk -Good Food Institute Learn mo...

David and Sarah discuss two Florida free speech cases and a very strange North Carolina one too about whether a court can strike down legislation if some of the legislators were elected from gerrymandered districts. And there's a very special guest at the end with a song to share. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bret Devereaux is an ancient and military historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is here to discuss military tactics of some of fiction's biggest battles from The Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones. Can David contain his excitement? Does Sarah understand anything being said?   Show Notes: -A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

Ed O'Callaghan, partner at WilmerHale and former principal associate deputy attorney general, joins David and Sarah to discuss the news that the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s home is part of an investigation into possible violations of the Espionage Act. What does that mean? How does this all work?   Show Notes: -French Press: Apply the Hillary Clinton Rule to Donald Trump Learn...

Kevin Stroud, creator and voice of the History of English podcast, joins David and Sarah for an exciting deep dive into the history of the English language and the roots of legalese. Stroud traces the complex history of Old English, Old Norse, French, and Latin words within the American legal system, and details the story behind the first written Old English code of law. Plus: What roles do poetry...

Sarah and David get together for an emergency episode to discuss the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. What does it all mean? How does a federal investigation of a senior official work, and what happens next? Plus: some possible theories and explanations that might shed some light on the events of yesterday.   Show Notes: -TMD: The FBI Raids Trump’s Home...