Advisory Opinions

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 more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 and alliteration play in the court? And why does language evolve so much over time? Show Notes:-History of English podcast-Law of Æthelberht Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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-Andy McCarthy in National Review: ​​The FBI’s Mar-a-Lago ‘Raid’: It’s about the Capitol Riot, Not the Mishandling of Classified Information-Marc Elias Twitter thread Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and David tackle the events of last week: the verdict in the Alex Jones case, and the story of Breonna Taylor and the court’s surprising indictments of several police officers. Should there be monetary limits on punitive damages? And why, in this day and age, does everything need to be entertaining? Plus: Our hosts explore what court precedent actually lurks behind the concept of shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater. Show Notes:-New York Times: What To Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death-French Press: Supreme Court Precedent Killed Breonna Taylor-U.S. v. Perez-Schenck v. United States-New York Times: I Didn’t Want It to be True, But the Medium Really is the Message Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and David have a lot to talk about as the midterm primaries wrap up and federal lawsuits are filed stateside. What is former President Trump’s role in the midterm elections, or does he even have one? Also on the agenda: near-total abortion bans and pro-life amendments face a difficult path in Idaho and Kansas, and Justice Samuel Alito goes to Rome. Show Notes:-The Sweep: What We Learned-Blake Masters campaign ad-Washington Post: Justice Dept. sues Idaho over near-total abortion ban coming Aug. 25-Idaho Statutes-French Press: A Crucial Court Case Exposes the Darkness of America’s Worst Industry-Fleites v. MindGeek-Justice Samuel Alito delivers keynote address in Rome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s August, and so David and Sarah are taking a break from court coverage and legal issues. Steven Pressfield, author of A Man at Arms, joins Sarah and David to kick off the month with a deep dive into what it’s like to write historical fiction set in the ancient world. Pressfield explains his mechanisms for creating fascinating stories and three-dimensional characters. What is the key to bringing history back to life? Plus: Steven gives some tried-and-true advice to aspiring writers. Show Notes:-A Man at Arms-Steven Pressfield’s books Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arkansas federal district judge Lee Rudofsky joins Sarah and David to give a guided tour of corpus linguistics, a recent but fascinating tool for jurists. How do corpus linguistics help define constitutional concepts and definitions? Plus, our hosts pick apart an article about the possible leaker of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health opinion. Show Notes:-Wilson v. Safelite-New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen-Salt Lake City Corp. v. Haik-Muscarello v. United States-United States v. Rice-CNN: The inside story of how John Roberts failed to save abortion rights Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices