The Gray Area with Sean Illing

The Supreme Court's power grab

Aug 1, 2022

Nikolas Bowie, a Harvard Law professor specializing in constitutional law, dives into the U.S. Supreme Court's recent controversial term. He candidly analyzes landmark rulings limiting EPA powers, expanding gun rights, and overturning Roe v. Wade. Bowie questions the radical structure of the court's arguments and explores the fate of legal liberalism in this new judicial landscape. The conversation also tackles potential reforms to curb the conservative majority's influence on American law, highlighting the urgency for democratic mobilization and grassroots efforts.

01:05:31

Episode guests

Nikolas Bowie

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Is this a Regime Change?

02:38

The Role of the Supreme Court

01:20

Intro

4min

The Supreme Court's Shift: Rights and Representation

28min

Reevaluating the Supreme Court's Political Nature

2min

The Supreme Court: Politics and Accountability

12min

Reforming the Supreme Court: Challenges and Imperatives

8min

Constitutional Challenges and Democratic Mobilization

9min

Insightful Reflections and Encouragement for Audience Engagement

3min

Sean Illing talks with Harvard Law professor Nikolas Bowie about the U.S. Supreme Court's recently-concluded term, which produced landmark opinions restricting the power of the EPA, expanding gun rights, and overturning Roe v. Wade. They discuss how the conservative court's arguments are structured and why they are in fact quite radical, what "legal liberalism" is and whether it has just been decisively repudiated, and whether there are any reforms that could stop the conservative majority from reshaping American jurisprudence.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), Interviews Writer, Vox

Guest: Nikolas Bowie (@nikobowie), Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

References:

Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court, Public Meeting, Panel 1 (C-SPAN; June 30)
"How the Supreme Court dominates our democracy" by Niko Bowie (Washington Post; July 16, 2021)
A Twitter thread on the repudiation of legal liberalism, by @nikobowie
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health (SCOTUS; June 24)
42 U.S. Code §1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights
14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1868)
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen (SCOTUS; June 23)
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (SCOTUS; June 29, 1992)
Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don't Talk about It) by Elizabeth Anderson (Princeton; 2017)
"A new Supreme Court case is the biggest threat to US democracy since January 6" by Ian Millhiser (Vox; June 30)

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This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Editor: Amy Drozdowska
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall

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