Affirmative Action for Mediocre Men

About this episode

Leah and Melissa discuss the Supreme Court's decision on racially discriminatory voting maps and interview Yale Law Professor Judith Resnik about her book on prison and democracy.

Leah and Melissa break down what may be a new low for the Court: granting Alabama’s request to reinstate racially discriminatory voting maps. Then, they turn to the big questions: how dead is Trump’s slush fund for insurrectionists? Just how awful are Acting AG Todd Blanche and Acting DNI Bill Pulte? Will Michigan’s Democratic senators stand up to Trump’s appalling nominee for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan? They also cover three SCOTUS opinions from last week before Melissa speaks with Yale Law Professor Judith Resnik about her recent book, Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy . Favorite things: Leah: Maria Collett’s speech to the PA Senate on LA v. Callais ; Autocratic Judging , Rebecca L. Brown and Lee Epstein (UCLA Law Review); AOC for President , Megan Wachspress (Liberal Currents); A Shocking Betrayal of Black Americans , Mara Gay (NYT) Melissa: Imar Lyman at the Kreeger Museum in DC Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026! 6/20/26 – New York City Learn more: http://crooked.com/events Preorder Lawless in paperback (out June 16) Buy Melissa’s bestselling book, The U.S…

People in this episode

Hosts: Leah, Melissa

Guest: Judith Resnik

Topics covered

• affirmative action
• voting rights
• Supreme Court
• politics
• legal analysis
• democracy
• insurrection

Keywords

• Supreme Court
• voting maps
• Trump
• insurrection
• Judith Resnik
• democracy
• prison
• law
• politics
• affirmative action

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Alabama, Michigan, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Books & works: Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy, LA v. Callais, Autocratic Judging, AOC for President, A Shocking Betrayal of Black Americans, Lawless, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader

Places: Kreeger Museum, Washington, D.C.

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