How the Supreme Court claimed supreme power

The Supreme Court's 2025-26 term has been punctuated with some high-stakes cases: birthright citizenship, voting rights, presidential powers and consequential civil rights cases. Some of the most anticipated and significant cases have yet to be decided. As the justices make the final sprint to the end of the term in early July, we take stock of how the Supreme Court evolved from the weakest branch of government to the powerhouse arbiter it is today. This episode originally aired in 2020.

Guests:

Larry Kramer, former dean of Stanford Law School and author of The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review

Rachel Shelden, associate professor of History and director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at Penn State University, and author of The Political Supreme Court

Lucas Powe Jr., professor of Law and Government at the University of Texas

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