War Crimes, Christian Nationalism, and the 25th Amendment
Strict Scrutiny
Strict Scrutiny
4.6 • 5.7K Ratings
🗓️ 13 April 2026
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Even though the Supreme Court took a break from hearing oral arguments, there was still plenty of legal news breaking every day. Katie Phang joins Leah to recap that news, including Trump's threats against Iran, the overt Christian nationalist rhetoric coming from the Secretary of Defense, and a disturbing case that SCOTUS decided not to hear. Then, Emily Amick, joins Leah to talk all things 25th Amendment-- where it came from, why we probably won't see it invoked here and now, and why we should keep talking about it anyways.
Favorite things:
- Leah: Democracy in Retrograde by Sami Sage and Emily Amick; “Drunks, Lampposts, and the Birthright Citizenship Case” by Steve Vladeck; Levain Bakery’s carrot cake cookie
- Katie: her dog Lucky
Emily: Strangers by Belle Burden; Smitten Kitchen’s zucchini butter spaghetti; meet-ups with the EYP community
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE in New York City on June 20th. Learn more at http://crooked.com/events
Vote for us in the Webbys!
Preorder Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
Preorder a signed paperback of Leah’s book, Lawless, here.
Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
Join the Empire City Podcast Club from Crooked Ideas: https://crookedideas.org/empirecity/
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Strict scrutiny is brought to you by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. |
| 0:04.0 | Since the nation's founding, the values of religious liberty and pluralism have been central to the American identity. |
| 0:09.0 | Those values are now under accelerated attack. |
| 0:12.0 | The government has no authority to pick and choose which religious beliefs to promote and which to marginalize. |
| 0:18.0 | Religious freedom for only some is religious freedom for none. |
| 0:21.9 | The Trump Vance administration's Religious Liberty Commission is pursuing a culture of Christian |
| 0:26.1 | nationalism that seeks to divide and isolate people across our nation. The fatally flawed way |
| 0:31.3 | this commission was assembled makes clear that the predetermined outcome isn't just an American. |
| 0:36.1 | It's against the law. The Trump Vance administration has failed to uphold our country's proud religious freedom tradition, |
| 0:42.1 | and we need to hold them accountable. |
| 0:44.5 | Be part of the movement that's pushing back and standing up for freedom. |
| 0:47.8 | You can register today to attend the summit for religious freedom at the SRF.org. |
| 0:56.0 | Mr. Chief Justice, may it please support. |
| 1:00.3 | It's an old joke. |
| 1:01.8 | When I argue, men, argues against two beautiful ladies like this, they're going to have |
| 1:06.3 | the last word. |
| 1:08.5 | She spoke not elegantly, but with unmistakable clarity. She said, I ask no favor for my sex. |
| 1:19.2 | All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet or faunex. |
| 1:38.7 | Thank you. or for next. Hello and welcome back to strict scrutiny, your podcast about the Supreme Court and the |
| 1:42.9 | legal culture that surrounds it. |
| 1:44.5 | I'm your lone regular host for today, Leo Littman. Here to announce that I, too, have never |
| 1:49.2 | been friends with Jeffrey Epstein. Indeed, I have also never had a relationship with Epstein |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Strict Scrutiny, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Strict Scrutiny and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

