Memorial Weekend Special: The Oath and the Office (with Jodi Kantor)

What is the Supreme Court doing when it acts without full briefing, oral argument, or a real explanation? This week on The Oath and The Office, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor joins the podcast to explain the Court’s shadow docket: the emergency orders process that has become one of the most powerful and least understood parts of American government. Kantor discusses the Supreme Court memos she obtained with Adam Liptak, what they reveal about Chief Justice John Roberts, and how they relate to the Court’s supposed image as a neutral “umpire". Corey and John also discuss Trump’s proposed “anti-weaponization” compensation fund, the politics of abortion and the abortion pill at the Supreme Court, and the Court’s emergency order allowing Alabama to move forward with redrawn congressional maps. In this episode: What the shadow docket is and why it matters Jodi Kantor on Supreme Court memos The two sides of John Roberts Why the “umpire” model of judging has collapsed Abortion, Alabama, and emergency Supreme Court power Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund and the politics of grievance The immunity case and presidential power Link to Jodi Kantor's book, How to Start: https://jodikantor.com/how-to-start Link to Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak's reporting on the secret memos of the Supreme Court: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.