An adultery and poisoning case examined whether federal treaty power supersedes state law

Hear about the Supreme Court case so divisive that it caused a justice's breakdown

This podcast episode examines Baker v. Carr, a landmark redistricting ruling that Earl Warren called the most important of his tenure. The case was so divisive it triggered a justice's breakdown and permanently reshaped American democracy.

This American Life explored Ohio's gerrymandering battle

In 2022, Ohio lawmakers repeatedly drew congressional districts that the state Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. This defiance violated a voter-approved reform intended to prohibit partisan gerrymandering.

Marbury v. Madison also has implications for presidential power and transitions

This podcast episode explores how Marbury v. Madison extends beyond judicial review, examining its implications for presidential authority, administrative control, and the tensions that arise during transitions of power between outgoing and incoming administrations.

Learn about the long and contested history of free speech in America

This podcast examines how American free speech protections evolved—from the Founders' debates to landmark Supreme Court rulings—and why the country arrived at one of the most expansive speech regimes in the world.

Gibbons v. Ogden expanded federal power over interstate commerce

In 1824, the Supreme Court unanimously invalidated a New York steamboat monopoly, ruling that navigation between states constitutes interstate commerce. Chief Justice John Marshall held that Congress has authority over such commerce and that conflicting state laws are void under the supremacy clause.

How uploading your consumer genetic testing could lead to a distant relative's arrest

This podcast includes a discussion about how law enforcement can compare DNA samples from a crime scene against voluntarily uploaded DNA on consumer genealogy databases to close cases. Investigators can and have cross-referenced a suspect's crime scene DNA with that of a suspect's relatives who happened to have chosen to upload their genetic information to an open-source genealogy database.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

A deep dive into the Murdaugh murder saga

Former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison for the double murder of his wife and son. In 2024, 40 more years were added to the sentence for theft-related charges. The case gained nationwide coverage and revealed a twisting saga of drugs, deceit, violence, and more. Dive into this 93-episode podcast series with journalist Mandy Matney, who reported on the family for years.

Immigration enforcement shows how federalism plays out on the ground

In recent years, federalism has shifted from allowing policy diversity across states to open conflict, with states and the federal government increasingly trying to impose their preferences on one another over issues like abortion, voting, immigration, and public health.

How a Cleveland woman who slammed the door on police changed the Fourth Amendment

In 1957, a bomb exploded under the front porch of boxing promoter Don King in Cleveland. When police received a tip to search Dollree Mapp's home, she refused to let them in. Her case went to the Supreme Court, resulting in a ruling that barred illegally obtained evidence from state criminal trials.

Explore jury nullification, the little-known power that lets jurors ignore the law and acquit anyway

When jurors disagree with a law, they can simply vote to acquit regardless of the evidence; however, this practice is rare, and the legal system actively discourages it. This podcast traces its history from a Quaker prayer meeting in London to the LA riots.

A legal scholar argues that the existing war powers framework may collapse in the event of a major power conflict

The legal tests presidents have used to avoid seeking congressional authorization were designed for weaker adversaries. This piece argues that those tests fail against similarly armed competitors, where even limited strikes risk significant escalation, potentially triggering a constitutional crisis over who has the authority to respond.

'Statelessness: Citizens of Nowhere' podcast examines how statelessness erodes identity

This podcast series explores how millions live without citizenship or legal status. Through expert interviews and personal stories, it examines how history, borders, and policy can leave entire populations without citizenship and rights.

Explore nuclear policy debates with this biweekly podcast

Hosted by Jeffrey Lewis and Aaron Stein, Arms Control Wonk offers biweekly analysis of nuclear weapons, disarmament, proliferation, and missile threats. Drawing on the hosts' deep arms‑control expertise, it makes complex security issues accessible.

Tribal courts handle justice on reservations, but face strict limits on whom they can prosecute

Reservation-based courts handle civil and criminal cases, but federal law sharply limits their authority over non-tribal members. As a result, non-Native individuals who commit crimes on reservations often fall outside tribal jurisdiction, creating potential gaps in accountability.

When state and local laws conflict, state law almost always prevails

Courts generally side with state law when it conflicts with a local ordinance. Whether the contradiction is explicitly stated or merely implied by the two laws, state authority typically prevails.

The 1979 murder trial of Ted Bundy was the first nationally televised trial

Most of the world's known serial killers are made in America, a country with a seemingly bottomless appetite for true crime. Masses of viewers watched the trial of Ted Bundy, who admitted to killing 30 girls and women. "It was the first time serial murder and serial rape was made into live entertainment," says Joe Berlinger, director and "godfather of true crime."

Pierce v. Society of Sisters limited state power over how parents educate their children

In striking down Oregon’s attempt to ban private schools, the Supreme Court held that forcing children into public education violated substantive due process, affirming that parents—not the state—have a fundamental right to direct their children’s upbringing and education.

'The Chinatown Sting': Unraveling an international drug smuggling ring

In the late 1980s, a group of women connected through the mahjong parlors in Manhattan’s Chinatown were caught in a massive undercover drug bust. But this bust was just the beginning of an even bigger case.

Hear from a NYC public health official who led the first US investigation into West Nile

This podcast walks through the investigation into the first US outbreak of West Nile, and how the virus had never been seen in the Western Hemisphere. The official discusses how she thinks the origin of West Nile in the US may have been birds or other animals that were brought here illegally.

Go inside the global effort that led to the Montreal Protocol in this narrative podcast

Nobel laureate Mario Molina and other key voices recount how science and diplomacy converged to develop a plan to close the ozone hole, offering insight into history's most successful environmental treaty.

The Agent podcast reveals the true story of a long-term KGB agent in America

Narrated through firsthand interviews, The Agent tells how Jack Barsky (born Albrecht Dittrich) spent a decade undercover as a Soviet KGB “illegal” in the US, balancing dual identities in Queens—from insurance programmer to deep-cover spy—until a crisis forced him to choose between loyalty and family.

Experience the political intrigue that followed Lincoln's assassination in 1865

It is April 15, 1865, and Abraham Lincoln is dead. Follow Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in this historical fiction audio drama as he hunts Lincoln's killer and battles to preserve the Union's fragile legacy in the aftermath of the assassination.

Abigail Adams sailed to Europe to join John during his diplomatic posting in Paris in 1784

This podcast chronicles Abigail's voyage across the Atlantic to join John in Paris during his diplomatic service, then follows the couple's return to America and their rise to the White House.

The Fifth Amendment covers a wide range of legal protections for those accused of a crime

While it is widely known for the right against self-incrimination, the Fifth Amendment also protects against being charged for the same crime twice, requires grand jury indictments for serious crimes, and mandates compensation when the government takes private property for public use.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Ghost hunting in the 19th century

This 40-minute podcast explores what it meant to hunt ghosts during the 19th century, when studying the paranormal was considered a mainstream scientific field. In 1847, a pair of sisters reportedly communicated with the spirit of a dead man...

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.