The filibuster is a tool that benefits the conservative side of the ideological spectrum

far more than the progressive side.

So on net, it is something that it overwhelmingly benefits progressives to get rid of.

It is a tool that makes it harder to pass things.

Anything that the Democrats want, anything that liberals want, anything that voting rights activists want,

will be frustrated by the Republican courts.

Hello, and welcome to Amicus.

This is Slate's podcast about the courts, the law, and the rule of law.

I'm Dahlia Lithwick.

I cover that stuff for Slate.

And this week is the inaugural summer show for us here on amicus. Through July and August, we like to

step out of the courtroom, put down the briefs, take a look around at some of the big books and the

films and the themes that might better inform are thinking about

the courts and the law.

And this week is a big theme that is fixing democracy.

Back in May, I hosted a session at the Crosscut Festival with Adam Gentleson and Elie Mistal

as my esteemed guests. Adam is former deputy chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid, and he's the author of Killswitch, The Rise of the Modern Senate.

Ellie is a familiar face and voice to amicus listeners, and he is the justice correspondent for the nation.

As I mentioned, this discussion was taped in May. And he is the justice correspondent for the nation.

As I mentioned, this discussion was taped in May.

And in the intervening weeks, it seems to me that the issues we were grappling with there,

which is the filibuster court reform voting rights, have actually only become more salient and more urgent with the end of the term

...