Strict scrutiny is brought to you by Americans United for separation of church and state.

We are all legal nerds here, and we know that precedents set in any area of the law ripples out across our lives in so many ways.

Our right to religious freedom is one of the most sacred areas of the law, protecting almost every aspect of our daily lives.

Rights we all hold dear, like LGBTQ rights,

freedom to choose the type of health care you need, and ensuring a well-funded and inclusive

public school system. Protecting the separation of church and state is in fact protecting the

very foundation of our democracy. If you're looking for ways to more deeply understand the

connection of and from religion

to so many of the civil justice issues we see today, you should check out the Summit for

Religious Freedom, or Surf, an annual conference held in Washington, D.C., and virtually, April 25th

to the 27th, 26. At Surf, advocates, organizers, faith leaders, atheists, and everyone in between come together to take on the growing threats of Christian nationalism and the efforts to impose one narrow religious belief on us all.

This is a movement for big change and collaboration across the entire spectrum of religious beliefs and non-belief that strengthens our democracy, protects public schools, reproductive

and LGBTQ rights, and more.

Be part of the movement that's pushing back and standing up for freedom.

Register to attend today at thesrf.org.

Mr. Chief Justice, may it please support.

It's an old joke, but when I argue, men argues against two beautiful ladies like this, they're going to have the last word.

She spoke not elegantly, but with unmistakable clarity.

She said, I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet

off our legs. Welcome back to strict scrutiny, your podcast about the Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it. We're your hosts. I'm Leah Littman. I'm Kate Shaw. And I'm Melissa Murray. And this is your first regular episode of 2026, the new year.

And here's what we have in store for you. First, we'll be previewing the cases the court will hear in its first sitting of 2026. And then we are going to chat about the array of legal news that happened over the last couple of weeks as the old year

ended and the new year started. And we couldn't let any of this pass without actually

...