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KQED's Forum

Running on ‘Vibes’: Leah Litman on the Supreme Court’s Grievance Politics

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2726 Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In recent years the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has struck down the constitutional right to abortion, delivered a blow to the administrative state and ended affirmative action at universities. To Michigan law professor Leah Litman, it’s not just conservative legal theory that’s driving the Court’s decisions. “The Supreme Court is running on conservative grievance, fringe theories and bad vibes,” Litman writes in her new book “Lawless.” We talk to Litman about the political and personal dynamics dictating judicial outcomes and review key cases before the Court. Guests: Leah Litman, professor of law, University of Michigan Law School; co-host Strict Scrutiny podcast; author, "Lawless:How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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From KQED.

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From KQVD in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim. Coming up on Forum, in the year since the U.S. Supreme Court became a conservative supermajority, it has struck down the constitutional right to abortion, ended affirmative

1:11.8

action at universities, and delivered a blow to federal administrative agencies.

1:16.7

To Michigan law professor, Leah Lippman, it's not just conservative legal theory that's

1:21.5

driving the court's decisions. The Supreme Court is running on grievance, fringe theories,

1:26.2

and bad vibe, she says.

1:28.3

We'll talk to Lippman about the political and personal dynamics she sees behind their rulings

1:33.1

and review key cases before the court. Join us. Mina Kim here.

1:48.0

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producing our segment last year on boys and eating disorders. In that episode, we featured

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