Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts
Slate Podcasts
A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America.Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
15 snips
Mar 28, 2026 • 54min
Trump Has a Plan for the Midterms, SCOTUS May Help
Ian Bassin, co-founder of Protect Democracy and former White House counsel, explains how democracy is retreating fast and why lawyers are changing tactics. He discusses the authoritarian playbook, courts acting as occasional speed bumps while others shift right, threats framed as deceive, disrupt, deny, and why mass participation and organizing are the ultimate safeguard.
36 snips
Mar 21, 2026 • 54min
The Roberts Court’s Internal Reckoning
Mark Joseph Stern, legal reporter known for sharp analysis of the Supreme Court, breaks down the Roberts Court’s chaotic term. He discusses the shadow docket's impact, high-stakes immigration and TPS fights, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s public objections, and the Chief Justice’s muted response to threats against judges. Short, urgent takes on how the Court’s procedures reshape real-world rights.
70 snips
Mar 14, 2026 • 51min
Immigration Myths and Birthright Citizenship
Anna O. Law, a constitutional and immigration scholar, explores the real history of American migration and the origins of birthright citizenship. She debunks myths of open early borders and explains colonial and Reconstruction-era policies. The conversation covers Wong Kim Ark, the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction," state versus federal control of migration, and why the 14th Amendment framed citizenship as constitutional law.
56 snips
Mar 7, 2026 • 50min
Church and State are Being Reunited, Thanks to SCOTUS
Rachel Lasser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and longtime church-state advocate, discusses the rise of Christian nationalism and its roots. She traces legal strategies that reshaped the Supreme Court. They cover recent rulings, shadow-docket moves, government actions, and the coalitions fighting to defend nonsectarian public life.
14 snips
Mar 2, 2026 • 8min
Preview: This War is Obscenely Illegal
Eugene Fidell, Yale Law School lecturer and armed conflict expert, gives a crisp legal tour of war powers and international law. He dissects constitutional limits, shifting presidential rationales for strikes, and why Congress must reclaim its authority. Short, urgent takes on legality, accountability, and the stakes for American democracy.
29 snips
Feb 28, 2026 • 59min
Yes, Supreme Court Decisions Really Matter
Donald B. Verrilli Jr., former U.S. Solicitor General and Supreme Court litigator, reflects on decades of court battles. He describes how current administration tactics test judges, wrestles with when to call government claims pretext, and debates whether recent opinions signal new skepticism toward presidential power. He also worries about delays, splintered rulings, and what that means for the rule of law.
106 snips
Feb 21, 2026 • 1h 15min
Trump’s Tariffs Overturned
RonNell Andersen Jones, a law professor focused on press freedom, and Sonja West, a First Amendment scholar, join Mark Joseph Stern, legal journalist and analyst. They unpack the Supreme Court striking down sweeping presidential tariffs and probe the shrinking protection for the press. Short, sharp conversations cover statutory limits on executive power and how attacks on journalism have shifted from words to regulatory and financial pressure.
38 snips
Feb 14, 2026 • 1h 20min
The Concentration Camp Next Door
Andrea Pitzer, journalist and author who studies concentration camps, warns about the ‘warehousification’ of detention. Linus Chan, clinical law professor who represents people held by ICE, explains how habeas has been hollowed out. They discuss sprawling warehouse detention, legal mechanisms enabling mass imprisonment, and grassroots tactics to resist and delay these projects.
57 snips
Feb 7, 2026 • 50min
Trump Has a New “Big Lie” for the Midterms
Mark Elias, a leading election and voting-rights lawyer who founded Democracy Docket, breaks down recent spikes in election denialism and novel tactics for subversion. He discusses raids and national-security framing, ICE-style intimidation at polls, the Fulton County search as a prototype, and legal strategies states and lawyers are preparing. Short, urgent, and focused on what to watch next.
41 snips
Jan 31, 2026 • 48min
Legal Blinkers, Moral Hazards
Joseph Margulies, a Cornell professor and civil-rights litigator who worked on post-9/11 Guantanamo cases, warns about legal language replacing moral judgment. He discusses how memos can justify torture and other abuses. He connects post-9/11 law to demonization, border expansion, and the criminalizing of dissent. He urges pairing law with popular moral pressure to prevent state overreach.
