This is a HeadGum Podcast. I don't know what you think I don't know what you say

you're the got to ride

and it's okay

I don't know anything.

Hello, welcome to factually, I'm Adam Conover

and look, we all care about equality. We want America to be a more equal

country. But how do we achieve that? How do we actually make it happen when there are so many forces and so many people

who are fighting against it?

Well often we do it through the courts, right?

The courts have incredible power in our political system.

Heck they have their own entire branch of government and when they make big decisions about say school integration abortion or marriage equality

There's always a chunk of the American population that's going to be well pissed off about it right that's going to fight back that's going to say hey

fuck you Supreme Court I disagree with you and now I'm mad and now look in many of those cases those people are wrong but here's the problem it's not like the Supreme Court's decisions are backed up by an army of robed warriors and

Enforcing their constitutional analysis city by city block

courts rely on our societal belief in their authority they actually can't just

weigh the evidence and render a decision as much as we think that's what they do.

Chief Justice John Roberts is not only thinking about the Constitution when he writes an opinion,

he has to think about how it's going to play into the vibe of the American public,

how people are going to take the decision.

He has to think about how the decision will maintain

or reduce the court's priestly aura

because it is that very insubstantial aura that gives it what power it has.

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