About this episode
<p>Kate and Leah dig into a very busy week of legal news as Trump wields his SCOTUS-enabled executive power in increasingly unhinged ways. They also discuss continuing challenges to the president’s deployment of the National Guard in blue cities, ProPublica’s <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will">reporting</a> on “Kavanaugh stops,” and, for dessert, the bonkers <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna--lindsey-halligan-here">text exchange</a> between Trump lackey–turned–U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan and <i>Lawfare</i>’s Anna Bower. Then they speak with author Irin Carmon about her new book, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/unbearable-five-women-and-the-perils-of-pregnancy-in-america-irin-carmon/58ef27a6cc76796c?ean=9781668032602&next=t">Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancy in America</a>. Presale for the West Coast tour starts Tuesday, Oct 28 at 10am Pacific time and runs through Thursday, 10/30 at 9AM Pacific. The code is DISSENT. </p><p>Favorite things:</p><ul> <li>Leah: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/10/no-kings-protest-good-cringe-resistance/684595/?gift=DWZS7XsWkZZzV_Qd7Q3wdXOT-1QlgOfugyRIgb5TaSs&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share">Resistance Is Cringe—But It’s Also Effective</a>, Quinta Jurecic (The Atlantic); <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/opinion/democrats-attention-elections.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uk8.D9iD.PNAbGarmezT0&smid=url-share">The Democrats' Main Problem Isn’t Their Message</a>, Chris Hayes (NYT); <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/us/politics/white-house-boats-law.html">The Peril of a White House That Flaunts Its Indifference to the Law</a>, Charlie Savage (NYT); <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DQAwfwriTzP/">Everybody/Elizabeth Taylor Mashup</a> (Backstreet Boys/Taylor Swift)</li> <li>Kate: <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/five-tuesdays-in-winter-lily-king/bde5e0aa6ecef609?ean=9780802159496&next=t">Five Tuesdays in Winter</a>, Lily King; <a href="https://imstillhere-film.com/">I’m Still Here</a> </li> </ul><p></p><p>Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! </p><ul> <li>3/6/26 – San Francisco</li> <li>3/7/26 – Los Angeles</li> </ul><p></p><p>Learn more: <a href="http://crooked.com/events">http://crooked.com/events</a></p><p>Order your copy of Leah's book, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lawless/Leah-Litman/9781668054628">Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes</a></p><p>Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/strictscrutinypodcast/?hl=en">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.threads.net/@strictscrutinypodcast">Threads</a>, and <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/strictscrutiny.bsky.social">Bluesky</a></p>