“Deciders”, “Honey Badgers”, and “Lonely Liberals”: Sarah Isgur on a Divided Supreme Court

“Deciders”, “Honey Badgers”, and “Lonely Liberals”: Sarah Isgur on a Divided Supreme Court

From GoodFellows: Conversations on Economics, History & Geopolitics by Hoover Institution

May 12, 2026 · 1h 8m · Episode 182

About this episode

Sarah Isgur discusses her book on the US Supreme Court and the implications of its ideological divisions.

Is it time to rethink the configuration of the US Supreme Court – not nine justices divided along lockstep ideological lines, but three groups of three justices, each clique with a different approach to jurisprudence? So argues court watcher and legal analyst Sarah Isgur, who discusses her new book, Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court, and explains where the justices stand on a series of contentious issues (“birthright citizenship”, the administrative state, abortion, the court’s relationship with an antagonistic president on matters like tariffs and executive authority, plus maintaining a semblance of impartiality in a polarized Washington). After that: the three fellows discuss what’s next in Iran with peace negotiations seemingly at an impasse, what to expect from this week’s US-China summit in Beijing, plus what challenges lie ahead for Hoover fellow Kevin Warsh as he takes over as the Federal Reserve’s new chair. Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

People in this episode

Guest: Sarah Isgur

Topics covered

  • US Supreme Court
  • jurisprudence
  • political polarization
  • Iran peace negotiations
  • US-China summit
  • Federal Reserve

Keywords

  • Supreme Court
  • Sarah Isgur
  • jurisprudence
  • political polarization
  • Federal Reserve
  • Iran negotiations
  • US-China relations

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court

Places: United States, Iran, Beijing

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