Beyond Politics

The Supreme Court wrapped its term with a rush of rulings, including in a pivotal case that pitted issues of free speech against anti-discrimination laws. Except, the case was built on a fantasy: a web designer who had never designed a website, and a request from a gay couple that never existed. So was the Supreme Court duped? And is the Court veering outside the mainstream of public opinion, or reflecting it? Also, is Ron DeSantis flailing with a bizarre new ad as his poll numbers tank?

When the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful, rejecting affirmative action at colleges and universities around the nation, it created more questions than it answered about the future of racial diversity in elite college admissions. Dr. Stephanie Hall is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a leading expert on college accountability, and she joins us to describe what the impact of this decision could be in practical terms.

A major new poll has good news for Donald Trump. But somehow, it has even better news for President Biden. Strangely, it also brings unsettling news about how Americans view our system and the choice that they are determined to make, yet seem to hate.

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are descending on New Hampshire at this very moment to hold dueling political events, as new national polling shows a widening gulf between them, and between Trump and the rest of the field. Why is Trump growing his lead, and will that last?  Also, MAGA shenanigans hit the US House of Representatives, and the results would be funny if they weren’t so sad.

When the Supreme Court issued a surprise ruling on Congressional maps last week, it not only created a pathway for Democrats to re-take the House in 2024, it also kept critical protections first enacted in the Voting Rights Act that the Court has otherwise chipped away in recent years. Michaeleen Crowell worked on reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act for civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis, and she joins us to explain what has happened and what the future might hold for voting rights.

Matt Robison joins legendary radio broadcaster Howard Monroe to analyze the American crossroads that we reached yesterday: a twice indicted former President - whose case is being overseen by a political crony who could let him off the hook - and a minefield of bad outcomes ahead. What do we know from legal scholars, polling, and history about what could happen next?

Law Professor Steve Vladek was in the middle of explaining a pivotal Supreme Court decision to us when he delivered us some chilling news: a little-used legal rule would allow Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon to overturn a guilty verdict in the classified documents case and set Trump free even if he is convicted. Professor Vladek explains what this is all about. Plus: what does that key SCOTUS decision mean, and what is the Shadow Docket and why should we be paying more attention to it?

Matt Robison and Cliff Schecter tackle listener questions in part two of our mailbag. Can MAGA family members be persuaded? What is happening with the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas scandal since it disappeared from the news? Is Casey DeSantis even crazier than Ron? Did Mark Meadows flip? Can we, or should we, have Congressional term limits? What happened to Sydney Powell? Can we recall Congressman George Santos? Will a Trump conviction matter? All this and more!

Former President Donald Trump is going to be indicted again, this time on federal charges stemming from his secreting away classified documents from the White House. Former prosecutor and Congressman Paul Hodes runs through why we are seeing these charges, what we can read in to the fact that the Department of Justice is bringing them, and why they could spell deeper legal peril for Trump than the state charges we saw two months ago. Also: should Trump be treated differently than other defendants? Why does his history of criminal behavior matter? And why are so many Republicans so deep into the cult of Trump that they can't shake out of it as the charges mount?

One of the upsides of the fact that we now have 20,000 subscribers and climbing on the Blue Amp channel on YouTube is we have a really big interactive community that can throw questions at us and that we can give responses to, and vice versa. If you are interested in participating in a future mail bag, then just So when we asked them to throw questions at us, they came through bigly! Today, we cover three great ones about the Department of education, a pivotal Supreme Court ruling, and who needs a Supreme Court anyway?!?