Sam and Emma host Matt Ford, staff writer for the New Republic, to discuss the most important cases coming before the Supreme Court this month. Then Sam and Emma are joined by Akela Lacy, politics reporter at the Intercept, to discuss her recent piece “What’s Stopping Chesa Boudin?” ahead of his recall election. Emma and Sam first cover the indictment of 5 Proud Boys on the eve of the nationally televised 1/6 hearings, and John Cornyn finally comes to his senses on gun control and speaks out against easy access to… Elementary Schools. Matt Ford then joins as they walk through the massive consequences that we must prepare for regarding this conservative SCOTUS and their upcoming decisions. Matt begins by assessing the discord behind the scenes of the Court right now, from a difficulty in finding cohesion in rulings and reports of lacking amicability, to the news of the leak and the friction that has caused, before diving deeper into internal reactions to the leak, including the belief that it was a liberal-left attack on the institution’s integrity, and what role the justices could’ve played in the matter. Next, they cover the matter of what the leak covered, diving into Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the 15-week cut off as an effective reversal of Roe v. Wade, as well as looking at the greater implications of undermining 4A privacy rights, from an overturn of Obergerfell to a return to sodomy laws. Matt, Sam, and Emma also cover the upcoming New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen as the first 2A case since 2010, and look to West Virginia v. EPA as the next step in the conservative road to demolishing the administrative state. Then, Akela Lacy joins as she situates the recall attempt against Chesa Boudin as one of many recalls targeting reform-minded DAs, regardless of popularity or success, and a product of an effort that started before Boudin even effectively took office, with massive amounts of money flowing in from countless angles, including the former Chair of the San Francisco DNC  working as a paid “volunteer,” and mass investment from police unions and realty associations. Next, they cover the massive project that this recall effort has entailed, including the purchasing of the website days before Boudin took office and the creation of an “outlet” (it’s just a substack) on the talking points, before unpacking the lies and misinformation that fuels the establishment attacks, and wrapping up with a discussion on the relationship between Boudin and the San Francisco police.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Arnulfo Reyes’ heartbreaking recount of his class’ experience in the shooting at Robb Elementary, Sam from St. Paul dives into Minnesota infrastructure and redlining, John from San Antonio runs through upcoming CA primaries, and Grant Stinchfield and Stephen Crowder do their best ahistorical spin on the Holocaust. Charles from TN discusses owning a Tesla and having people try to talk to him about Musk, Kowalski from Nebraska celebrates international Antifa victory day (D-Day) and unpacks the Ukrainian wheat harvest, Kyle Rittenhouse spreads misinformation about himself, presumably, so someone will actually hold him to account, and Justin from Cincinnati discusses transphobia and Ohio, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Matt’s work here: https://newrepublic.com/authors/matt-ford

Check out Akela’s piece here: https://theintercept.com/2022/06/03/san-francisco-chesa-boudin-recall/