Sneak Preview: What Trump’s First Big Loss At SCOTUS Means

Sneak Preview: What Trump’s First Big Loss At SCOTUS Means

Author: Slate Podcasts March 5, 2025 Duration: 7:14

On Wednesday morning the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Trump administration's effort to withhold $2 billion promised for foreign aid work. Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discuss the Court’s decision to reject the Trump administration's request to halt a lower court's order, by a five to four vote, compelling the State Department to resume payments. While Chief Justice John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett sided with the court's liberal justices, Justice Samuel Alito offered a “stunned” dissent, reacting to the Court’s surprising rebuke to the Trump administration with few facts but plenty of fury. 

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Dahlia Lithwick guides Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts through the complex and often opaque world of the American legal system. This isn't just a dry recap of rulings; it's a vital exploration of how the law shapes lives, freedoms, and the very fabric of society. The focus frequently rests on the Supreme Court, unpacking the philosophies, personalities, and profound consequences stemming from its nine justices. Each episode seeks to demystify the court's operations and its towering influence on everything from civil rights to everyday governance. You'll hear insightful conversations with legal scholars, journalists, and practitioners who provide clarity on landmark decisions and the simmering cases poised to change the nation. Produced by Slate Podcasts, this series operates with the understanding that justice is not a static concept but a living, breathing, and fiercely debated process. The podcast serves as an essential companion for anyone striving to understand the forces that govern us, offering narrative depth and analytical rigor far beyond the headlines. For those who want to dive deeper, a Slate Plus membership offers additional weekly episodes with extended legal analysis, alongside an ad-free listening experience across Slate's network.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts
Podcast Episodes
Preview: Trump’s Racking Up Supreme Court Loyalty Points [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:16
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.* There is a cluster-you-know-what of constitutional and legal news this week, so Amicus Plus is popping up a little early with a bonus episode to tackle the Trump prosecuti…
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Happy (?) New Year. Amicus is gingerly stepping into 2025 and into the coming onslaught of Trump 2.0 with one of the country’s very best legal, constitutional and human guides –– civil rights litigator and 14th Amendment…
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Duration: 57:51
Last week, we examined the deeply worrying prospect of Kash Patel, FBI director. This week, that possibility became even more worrisome with respect to the future of the FBI, all sparked by current director Christopher W…
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Duration: 46:49
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The Right’s About-Turn on Parental Rights [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:30
When it comes to gender affirming care for teenagers, parents’ rights no longer matter. Doctors’ opinions no longer matter. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in United States. v Skrmetti, challenging Tenne…
Can The Senate Save Us? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:53
If you had forgotten the chaos of Trump 1.0, the frenzied first two weeks of transition to Trump 2.0 has surely been a stark reminder. A pair of random billionaires are claiming in advance that SCOTUS will back their ext…
Matt Gaetz And The Clown Car Crash Into The Justice Department [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:19
Trump’s announcement of Matt Gaetz as his pick to head the Justice Department was met with gasps around the Capitol. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate’s senior legal writer Mark Stern to, yes, gasp together, but also to…
Trump’s Back, This Time Without Guardrails. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:11
We are, most of us, still very much in the post-election fog. It’s early days and while the fog persists, some of the shape of the future is very clear: despite his felonies, his lies, his promised mass deportations and…