The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has taken a hard originalist turn, citing history to justify rulings that have eliminated many long-standing American rights. What exactly does originalism mean? Should history be the sole source of rights? And what if the history that the Court has relied on is flat-out wrong?

Listen in on a discussion from October 12, 2023 moderated by Adam Serwer of the Atlantic with historians Laura Edwards, professor at Princeton University; Kate Masur, professor at Northwestern University; and Karen Tani, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Their conversation dissects how history has been used and abused in consequential recent cases and sketches out alternative views for how history can help us better understand the Constitution.

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Click here to read more from the Brennan Center’s Historians Council on the Constitution: https://www.brennancenter.org/historians-council-constitution

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Public support for the Supreme Court has plummeted to an all-time low in the last year as the highest court has been ridden with controversy and ethics scandals. Hard-right rulings from a conservative supermajority have also raised concerns about the judicial independence of the institution. Is it time to reform the Court?

Listen in on a discussion between Kenji Yoshino, the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Brennan Center President Michael Waldman about ethics reform, term limits, and other ways the public, the media, and Congress can bring accountability back to the Supreme Court.

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You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Presidential immunity, limits on gun control, governmental oversight for agencies — the fate of these issues is in the hands of the Supreme Court this summer. Not only is the current Court the most conservative we have ever seen, it is also plagued with ethics violations.

Brennan Center President Michael Waldman and Kareem Crayton, the Brennan Center’s senior director for voting and representation, discussed Waldman’s book The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America. Their conversation explores the threat of the current conservative Court, how this year’s decisions have built on or changed the Court’s previous rulings, and what can be done to shore up democracy.

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You can check out Michael Waldman’s latest book here: https://www.brennancenter.org/supermajority-how-supreme-court-divided-america

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing