Divided Argument
Episodes
Non-Cake Physical Object
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're back to break down a month's worth of shadow docket activity -- three recent summary reversals, plus the stay in the Texas gerrymandering case (...
Counter-Counter-Counter-Designations
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Will and Dan record a rare live show in an unusual venue: the Salamander Resort in Middleburg, Virginia, at the annual attorney retreat for trial bout...
Proximity Mines in the Facility
15 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After a predictably unpredictable set of detours through Latin grammar, parenthing philosophies, and 90s video games, we catch up on the latest shadow...
Crazy Half-Drunk Unreliable Research Assistant
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Divided Argument is in its sixth season! Our first episode of the term focuses, of course, on the latest developments on the shadow docket. These incl...
Proust or Plato
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the season finale, we're joined by Yale law professor Justin Driver to talk about his new book, "The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme...
Byzantine Wall
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We extend our record-breaking run with a discussion of the Court's two big recent emergency docket rulings: Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo and NIH v. America...
Bedrock Con Law 101
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're joined by Michigan law professor Richard Primus to talk about his new book, "The Oldest Constitutional Question: Enumerated and Federal Power." ...
Originalism Hulk
09 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing our long slog through the end-of-Term opinion dump, it's fraud day! We dig into Kousisis v. United States and Thompson v. United States, tw...
The Country of the Future
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We finally circle back to the two big structural constitutional law cases from the last day of the term. First is Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, whi...
The Thunder Docket
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Acting with unpredictable alacrity and unpredictable brevity, we break down the Supreme Court's recent interim order in Trump v. Boyle, and discuss wh...
Snake-Charmer-Specific
19 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moving with shockingly unpredictable efficiency, we respond to feedback, debate which of us is more composting-friendly, catch up on the emergency doc...
Didactic and Inculcatory
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We look at the final orders list before summer break, and then continue to work through last month's opinions, this time with an extended analysis of ...
Schrödinger's Innocence Right
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We talk a bit more about Trump v. CASA, revisit the usage of "general," answer some voicemails, and then turn to Gutierrez v. Saenz, a procedural tang...
Why Are We Here?
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast with a special cross-over episode with Sarah Isgur at Advisory Opinions! Sarah, Will, and Dan break down...
Loose Signification
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're joined by a special guest, Harvard Law Professor Stephen Sachs, to talk about Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization. Fuld is last week's big...
Caesar's Face
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After some feedback and further thoughts on our Skrmetti episode and a shocking revelation about "LabCorp," we circle back to an earlier June opinion ...
Low Horse
21 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Without much introductory ado, we interrupt Will's vacation to give you a thorough breakdown of United States v. Skrmetti, the trans health care case ...
Truth and Reconciliation
07 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We start out by debating who's responsible for Dan's audio snafus last time before digging into a various odds and ends, such as the Chief Justice's t...
Delete This. Call Me.
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With apologies for Dan's horrendous audio quality: we catch up on the latest emergency-docket happenings and debate whether Trump v. Wilcox is a big d...
Gorsuch Genie
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're joined by NYU law professor Rachel Barkow to talk about her new book Justice Abandoned: How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabl...
Friends with Oprah Winfrey
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're back with another unexpectedly short and timely episode, focusing on last Friday's emergency docket decision in AARP v. Trump. We also spend a f...
A Trees Guy in a Forest Court
16 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We reflect on the death of Justice Souter and sort out some loose ends from the last episode. We then dig into the Court's only opinion from Thursday,...
Moot, Wrong, and Irrelevant
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The shadow docket strikes once again! We break down the Court's unusual immigration ruling in AARP v. Trump (no, not that AARP!), and then briefly dis...
Vaxxed and Relaxed
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have another short administrative law episode, analyzing the Supreme Court's decision about e-cigarettes in FDA v. Wages and White Lion. But first ...
In Whack ASAP
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to the Harvard Law Review, we recorded a live episode in the famed Austin Hall at Harvard Law School. While we hoped to discuss merits cases, t...
Sufficiently IKEA-like
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are back with an unexpectedly concise episode focused on last week's "ghost guns" decision, Bondi v. Vanderstok. But first we talk about the calls ...
Stunned But Respectful
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We announce the new Divided Argument blog! After discussing the blog and some listener feedback, we break down two recent 5-4 decisions -- the shadow ...
Natural Side Effect
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Back in the studio after a couple of fun live shows, we discover that the Court has finally given us too much to talk about. We discuss the new Trump ...
Hypothetical Unicorn
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Divided Argument is live from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, hosted by the Northwestern Federalist Society! We discuss whether we are in the...
Double Negatives
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Divided Argument is live from Stanford Law School, hosted by the Stanford Constitutional Law Center! We review an unusual summary reversal in a capita...
Reference Check
19 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In unpredictable fashion, we record a shockingly timely episode to reflect on the Court's hasty per curiam in the TikTok case. Along the way, we catch...
Aide-de-camp
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After an unpredictably long hiatus, we're back to break down what we missed. We debate the off-the-rails FedSoc panel Dan was on, work through some sh...
Separation-of-Powers Police
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After a long hiatus, we're particularly unpredictable with an episode that isn't about the Supreme Court. We're joined by NYU law professor Daryl Levi...
Not the Best Founder
09 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We take a long last look at two more end-of-term cases, where the Court made news with what it did NOT decide: Moyle v. United States (the abortion/EM...
Hype Music
05 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Unpredictably, our recent torrent of episodes continues. We take a deep dive into Moore v. United States, which addressed the scope of Congress's cons...
Reticulated Python
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our breakneck pace and dig into two substantive criminal law opinions: Fischer v. United States and Snyder v. United States.
Ultimatum Game
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're back just a few days after our last episode to dive in to Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, a 5-4 decision about the power of the bankruptcy system t...
Libertarian Legal Morality Tales
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As the dust settles on the end of the term, we look back to examine two of the Court's criminal procedure cases: Smith v. Arizona (applying the Confro...
Evil Batman
19 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After a vacation-related hiatus, we're back to discuss Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (overruling Chevron) and Corner Post v. Board of Governors...
Back on the Island
04 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Will makes Dan interrupt his vacation to talk about the case you've all been clamoring for: Trump v. United States.
Hope Springs Eternal
30 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We break down SEC v. Jarkesy and City of Grants Pass v. Johnson.
Felony-Adjacent
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We cut to the chase with extended discussions of two of last week's cases: United States v. Rahimi, which upheld a federal gun law against Second Amen...
Small Victories
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After another discussion of Supreme Court ethics and legitimacy (hopefully our last for a long time), we discuss three of last week's decisions. We co...
Vexillology
02 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Unpredictably, we take a new approach and record immediately after the Court drops new opinions. We dig into Alexander v. South Carolina State Confere...
p(doom)
24 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing our pattern of staying a week behind the Court's latest output, we discuss last week's opinions: CFPB v. Community Financial Services Assoc...
Poison Pill in Your Pocket
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We follow up on feedback, puzzle over the Court's apparent continued lack of interest in Fourth Amendment cases, and then discuss two of the latest op...
Radical Agreement
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After taking some listener questions, we analyze the lengthy shadow docket opinions in Labrador v. Poe, dealing with universal relief, emergency appli...
Bootlegging-Adjacent
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After discussing a few pending issues at the Court, we look back to analyze several decisions from last month-- FBI v. Fikre, a mootness case with nat...
Dinkus
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After grappling with listener feedback ranging from the acoustic to the typographical, we catch up on last month's decisions in Great Lakes v. Raiders...
Political Hacks Pretending to be Lawyers
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We (of course) break down the Court's opinions in Trump v. Anderson, the Section Three case from Colorado. We also discuss the Court's cert. grant on ...
Votin' for Lincoln
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After quick review of an order about admissions at West Point and two new unanimous opinions, we spend almost all of the episode breaking down last we...
Into the Brick Wall
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After catching up on a few odds and ends, we decide to give the people what they want and discuss Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment and whethe...
Muppetproof
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the passing of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, then turn to two interesting opinions on the shadow docket (in Griffin v. HM Florida and DuPont...
Easy Win
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the Court's new Code of Conduct, catch up on shadow docket happenings, and debate what historians can teach originalists. We then recap the...
Good Dig
27 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The October Term is now underway, and that means it's time for Season 4 of the show. We catch up on the inevitable shadow docket happenings before div...
Screaming Clown
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Court hasn't done too much while the summer recess drags on, but we're back for what might be our last episode of Season 3 before Season 4 kicks o...
Lib Fanfiction
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Justices have beenoff on their European vacations for a couple of months but we're still cranking out episodes breaking down last Term. We start...
Map Guy
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We recap some shadow docket happenings and catch up on the latest SCOTUS ethics news before continuing our march through June opinions we missed. This...
Triple Threat
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What could be more unscheduled and unpredictable than our fourth episode in little more than a week? We briefly discuss the latest developments in the...
Dishonorable Tradition
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We defy all predictions by releasing a third episode in a week. This time, we talk about the intersection of public accommodations law and the First A...
Peak SG
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the spirit of keeping things unpredictable, we're back with a new episode barely days after the last one. This time, we take a deep dive into two j...
My Despised World
21 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After some inevitable self-flagellation for our lengthy hiatus, we catch up on some recent news and debate SCOTUS ethics. We then talk about implicati...
Demokratia
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We record our first inter-continental episode, as Will reports in from a visit to Tel Aviv. We then dive in to two of this month's opinions: Haaland v...
Justified True Belief
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss a recent effort to identify the least interesting SCOTUS case, and then discuss Tyler v. Hennepin County, United States ex rel. Schutte v. ...
Pale Fire
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We debate Justice Gorsuch's unusual "statement" in Arizona v. Mayorkas. Then, we don't let our complete lack of knowledge of intellectual property law...
Break the Fourth Wall
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After catching up on news and bemoaning some listener feedback, we look at some opinions that the Court dropped last week. We take a deep dive into Na...
Provocative Subtitle
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We talk (and argue) with special guest Steve Vladeck about his new book, The Shadow Docket, just published by Basic Books. Steve explains why it is im...
Creator of the Stars of Night
06 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We cover many developments -- Justice Alito's unusual interview in the Wall Street Journal, the release of Justice Stevens' papers, more news on Supre...
Best Suits
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We revisit a story about Justice Scalia from last episode and then discuss recent allegations about Justice Thomas's financial disclosures, and Suprem...
A Chanting of Morrison v. Olson
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We spend most of our time on some meaty opinions on the orders list -- including separate opinions in Chapman v. Doe (starting at 25:41) and Donziger ...
Mr. Jurisdiction
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're back to break down two of the Supreme Court's recent 5-4 opinions—Bittner v. United States, about penalties under the Bank Secrecy Act, and Cr...
Least Incorrect
18 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're live at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis! After a check-in with our most faithful corrector, Prof. Ron Levin, we take a deep div...
Marching Orders
11 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We revisit the leak investigation, catch up on recent news, and then take a deep dive into the recent dispute in United States v. Texas (starting at...
Soft Target
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're back sooner than expected to talk about the Court's release of the Marshal's report about the investigation of the Dobbs leak!
Expanded Universe
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We catch up on some odds and ends, take a long detour through a debate about the merits of the Star Wars trilogies, and then dig into Türkiye Halk Ba...
Unpersuasive Scholar Trolling
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We talk through the implications of the story about an alleged leak in the Hobby Lobby case, respond to a mysterious voicemail, and then break down tw...
Relentless Personal Attacks
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this mega-episode, we catch up on the orders list, circle back to Mallory, which we talked about last episode, and the dive into oral arguments in ...
For Liberty and not for Fascism
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We check in on some Court-related news and developments and Dan gives Will a hard time for his recent bold claim about the conservative justices. We t...
Horse Sausage
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We provided an extended preview of the arguments in one of the October cases, National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, which takes us into a long disc...
Maoist Takeover
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We open Season 3 with a live show at William and Mary Law School, part of the Scalia-Ginsburg Collegiality Speaker Series. With our first-ever guest, ...
I Say "Timbre"
30 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We catch up on listener questions and feedback (both positive and negative), and then spend a while on the neglected case of Vega v. Tekoh, about the ...
Settling of Scores
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We reflect on the Supreme Court term as a whole, and the direction and politics of the Court. We focus on West Virginia v. EPA, which canonized the "m...
Character Sketches
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our longest episode yet, we break down two massively consequential cases: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and New York State Rifle & P...
COBRA
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We try to catch up after the Court's big opinion dump this week, and end up focusing on Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas, Denezpi v. United States, Viki...
SMUGLER
11 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're back to talk about Wednesday's decision in Egbert v. Boule and the problem of constitutional remedies. But first we catch up on the Court's pace...
Marshal Law
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're back to talk about the big news: the draft of Justice Alito's opinion in Dobbs, and the questions that surround it -- how and why this might hav...
Hoosiers
03 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We try to clear our backlog after a break. We manage to make it through United States v. Tsarnaev, Ramirez v. Collier, and a few other odds and ends. ...
Shmoland
12 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We try to catch up on what the Court did since we last recorded, but end only making it through the Court's opinions in United States v. Zubaydah and ...
Knife in the Back
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We catch up on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a new opinion by Justice Breyer, revisit a debate about who the greatest law professor o...
Speakin' to the Youth
12 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're back after a long absence, but there's a good excuse. We catch up on the biggest developments from the last couple months, including the Breyer ...
Completely Naïve Idiot
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Will and Dan try to make sense of the Court’s decisions in the two cases addressing the possibility of preenforcement challenges to Texas’s novel ...
Out of Whack
10 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve been waiting for months to bring you this one: we can finally talk about the President’s Supreme Court Commission, which just finalized its ...
First in Flight
06 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dan and Will catch up on what the Court's been up to other than dealing with the Texas abortion law, including cert grants addressing the EPA's power ...
Fast and Loose
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Divided Argument is back after an unscheduled, unpredictable break to kick off a brand new season. We dig into this week's oral arguments in two cases...
Sovereign to Sovereign
25 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The road show continues as Will and Dan record another live episode at the National Association of Attorneys General's State Solicitors General and Ap...
Unspeakable Cruelty
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Divided Argument is live from the University of Chicago Law School! In our first ever episode in front of a live studio audience, we catch up on recen...
The Lightning Docket
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Will and Dan break down the Court's late-night refusal to block the implementation of Texas's controversial "fetal heartbeat" law, and what it might...
Out on a Limb
14 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dan and will try to catch up on the flurry of news from Thursday afternoon, including an update on the Acting Solicitor General and the Court’s surp...
Beyond The Pale
14 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As Will, Dan, and the Court all navigate their August vacations, we learn how a controversy over the qui tam statute indirectly saved Roe v. Wade. We ...
Secondary Trolling
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As October Term 2020 recedes in the rear-view mirror, Dan and Will take a moment to reflect. We ponder the current balance of power on the Court and h...