Slate's Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Ian Bassin, former associated White House counsel from 2009-11 and co-founder of Protect Democracy for a look at the pain points, tensions, and glimmers of hope in how this constitutional democracy is handling the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19.  In the Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern on why Justice Elena Kagan is voting with the conservatives, the unanimous decision in Comcast Corp. v. National Association of African American Media and what it means for future civil-rights cases, and the crisis unfolding in the immigration courts. Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. Podcast production by Sara Burningham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Professor Michele Goodwin, Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy at the University of California Irvine School of Law. Professor Goodwin unpacks the oral arguments in this term’s big reproductive health case, June Medical Services, and delves into the history of racism and civil-rights trampling in the name of public health.  For plus members, Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia with what to expect from a SCOTUS closed to the public, the Obamacare case, and which record was met at the Supreme Court this week.  Podcast production by Sara Burningham. Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia Lithwick asks the new president of the American Constitution Society, Russ Feingold, if it’s too late for progressives to respond to the conservative steamroller that is the Federalist Society.  Slate Plus members have access to a bonus segment in which Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern breaks down the headlines, cases, cert grants, and conundrums from the Supreme Court and federal appellate courts. To start your free two-week trial go to slate.com/amicusplus Podcast production by Sara Burningham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brendan Nyhan is a political science professor at Dartmouth College who focuses on misinformation and so-called fake news. His views on how fake news affects election outcomes might surprise you.  Try Slate Plus free: slate.com/amicusplus Podcast production by Sara Burningham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the fifth and final part of this special series of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined live on stage in Washington by former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, MacArthur fellow Professor Danielle Citron of Boston University law school, director of the ACLU’s voting-rights initiative Dale Ho, and election law professor Rick Hasen of the University of California, Irvine. Together, they pick themselves up from the rug of despair with a pile of can-do fixes for the stress points threatening the integrity of U.S. elections.  Rick Hasen’s new book Election Meltdown forms the basis for this special series of Amicus.  Podcast production by Sara Burningham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices