Hey, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I am here with Elsa Chang. Elsa, introduce yourself.

I'm Elsa Chang. I'm a congressional correspondent at NPR.

And this is your first time on the podcast?

It sure is.

Woohoo!

And we have a gift for you of...no, we don't actually. Welcome.

A gift is being here with you.

Don't you go. Your presence is a present.

Speaking of presence, we had a Supreme Court justice up in the other day.

Yes, we did. It was so cool. It was Justice Stephen Breyer. He's known as one of the

courts' more liberal justices, and he's got a new book out now. But really, we thought

it was a great excuse to get him on the podcast and talk about the court.

And Justice Breyer is one of nine people who make huge decisions, like a marriage or just

this past week. The court heard some oral arguments challenging affirmative action

and colleges. They'll decide that later this year.

That's right. And you know, the court gets talked about way less than either Congress or

the executive branch. And it's treated with a certain kind of respect or a deference

that, frankly, the other two branches don't get to enjoy as much of.

Certainly not the branch, I cover Congress. Still, there's a lot about the court. The

public doesn't get to see. And you'll hear Justice Breyer talk about the magnitude of

his job. What it's like to be trusted with the power these nine justices have. What it's

like to do the job on a day-to-day basis, to prepare for the big cases, to sit on the

...