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This term, the Supreme Court will decide landmark cases involving partisan gerrymandering, the census, abortion, voting rights, and free speech. With Chief Justice John Roberts as the new swing vote, and Justice Brett Kavanagh’s first full year on the court, the justices will signal their views on issues ranging from the future of Roe v. Wade to their willingness to confro...
June brings the end of the Supreme Court term and, once again, a historically low number of decisions — but those decisions have a tremendous impact on the lives of Americans. Our stellar panel will unpack the Court’s rulings and explore what they and recent ethics controversies might mean for ongoing debates about the Court’s legitimacy.
As the Supreme Court wraps its term, a team of legal experts debates the big decisions, partisanship on the Court, and how it all might shape the future. From affirmative action, to religious liberty, campaign contribution limits, and beyond, hear what the Roberts Court decided and why it matters to you.
Regardless the outcome of the 2016 election, a Trump or Clinton victory will transform the future of the Constitution, from affirmative action to campaign finance to voting rights and more. We will look at the history of how the Court has been transformed by pivotal elections in the past, examine the politics and prospects of the Garland nomination; and explore the Rober...
From same-sex wedding cakes and voting rights to gerrymandered congressional districts and public unions, the latest Supreme Court term was full of newsmaking decisions, even when they decided not to decide. Join Ideas Festival legal and policy experts for a lively and informative roundup, where they’ll parse the most consequential opinions, emerging trends, and what these...
Filmed live just days after the Supreme Court granted marriage equality for same-sex couples in the United States, former Solicitor General Ted Olson and star litigator David Boies — the legal dream team that argued the case — join moderator Neal Katyal to illuminate their path to victory. They discuss their immediate reactions to the decision, how they plotted the argumen...
Courts play a pivotal role in determining what health services American receive, and how they are paid for. That’s been apparent in the challenges to the Affordable Care Act and it will be evident as advocates respond to the restrictive new abortion laws being passed in multiple states. The judicial system is also deeply involved in decisions that affect commerce, many of...
Is the current chief justice of the United States a conservative activist, or a neutral umpire concerned first and foremost with preserving the institution of the Supreme Court? He may be a bit of both. An acclaimed recent biography, by a journalist who has known and observed Roberts for two decades, contends that Roberts is torn between two, often divergent, priorities: t...
When the US Supreme Court rolled back the 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion, attention immediately turned to the health and economic significance for women forced to carry an unwanted or risky pregnancy to term. Those profound concerns persist, but a year later, numerous unanticipated consequences are also coming into focus. The tentacles of impact stretch in al...
In the United States, there is growing debate over the role of antitrust and competition policy in protecting competition and American consumers. Digital platforms, corporate mergers, and consolidation are profoundly changing the global competitive landscape. Can antitrust law temper the power of digital platforms like Google and Facebook? Is the current antitrust legal re...
On Friday, the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, ending nearly 50 years of the constitutional right to abortion and sending the decision on whether to ban, restrict, or protect abortion back to the states. Legal experts, writers, and cultural critics will discuss the implications of this controversial decision.
A Conversation with Xavier Becerra, Interviewer: Kate Snow; A Conversation with Pavlo Kovtoniuk, Interviewer: Elizabeth Cohen; A Conversation with Deepika Chopra, Interviewer: Nicholas St. Fleur
Our signature event, the 2016 Afternoon of Conversation hosts an audience of more than 2,000 in the Benedict Music Tent. From criminal justice for the most vulnerable, to space exploration, to the changing Supreme Court, to artificial intelligence, and the state of the Grand Old Party, big thinkers and doers engage in serious ideas about their work and our collective futur...
As Alexander Hamilton famously wrote in the Federalist Papers, the judiciary is the weakest of our three branches of government. Without “purse” or “sword,” the US Supreme Court is dependent on the willingness of others to enforce its orders and on the public’s belief in its impartiality to ensure compliance. Yet in recent years, the increasingly popular sentiment that the...
Stephen Colbert says, "Everybody should listen to the Slate 'Political Gabfest.'" Featuring Slate's Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz, the Gabfest is the kind of informal and irreverent discussion Washington journalists have after hours over drinks. Join the show that iTunes listeners voted Favorite Political Podcast, live at the Aspen Ideas Festival, for the...
President Biden entered office identifying climate change as one of four historic crises facing the United States. Nearly two years later, detractors claim that a lack of urgency, the divisive state of Congress, and a combative Supreme Court could stifle his agenda. This conversation between Michael Regan, administrator of the EPA, and Gina McCarthy, the White House nation...
Today, the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, ending nearly 50 years of the constitutional right to abortion and sending the decision on whether to ban, restrict, or protect abortion back to the states. Public health and legal experts will discuss the implications of this controversial decision including how abortion access will change under sta...
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. This year, the Supreme Court is once again considering the constitutionality of race-based affirmative action programs, and its ruling may have a profound impact on the makeup of America’s most selective colleges and universities. How sh...
The historic candidacy of Hillary Clinton meets a Supreme Court vacancy and a presumptive Republican nominee with overwhelming unfavorables amongst women—suddenly feminism is front and center this election season. Be it wage inequality, women’s health, or paid family leave, many issues important to women at both ends of the economic divide are hotly contested this election...
Drawing on his forthcoming book Sex and the Constitution, Geoffrey Stone traces the fascinating history of attitudes towards homosexuality, from the ancient Greeks and Romans through early Christianity and the Middle Ages, nineteenth-century America, the post-World War II Lavender Scare, and finally to the emergence of a gay rights movement in the age of Stonewall and AIDS...