A List of Appellate Law Podcasts That Are Worth a Listen

Upon Further Review

In early 2021, HarperCollins published a book titled “Everybody Has a Podcast (Except You).” For those who have been hiding off the grid for the past several years, a podcast is defined as a collection or series of digital audio files that are made available for downloading or listening via the internet.

Not surprisingly, appellate law and practice, and the US Supreme Court in particular, are the subject of a burgeoning number of podcasts. Here is a list of my favorite appellate law-related podcasts, followed by some others that I don’t listen to regularly but that you might find worthwhile.

The first major US Supreme Court-related podcast with which I am familiar arrived on the scene in October 2016 and was titled “First Mondays.” Due to circumstances beyond the scope of this article, the “First Mondays” podcast came to an end in mid-February of 2019, but not before law professor Leah Litman (University of Michigan) became one of its co-hosts, together with original co-host law professor Dan Epps (Washington University School of Law).

That history is relevant because Litman now serves as co-host, together with law professors Melissa Murray (New York University Law) and Kate Shaw (Cardozo School of Law). of what is now my favorite US Supreme Court-related podcast, “Strict Scrutiny.” While the US Supreme Court is in session, this podcast usually produces a new episode each Monday and frequently posts bonus episodes shortly after important developments that happen later in the week. It is now a part of the Crooked Media podcasting empire, which is known for hosting liberal-leaning programming.

Those looking for more centrist to conservative leaning commentary on the Supreme Court may enjoy listening to the “Divided Argument” podcast, which is where you can now find Dan Epps and his co-host, Will Baude (University of Chicago Law). This podcast does not adhere to any particular schedule, so the best way to learn of new episodes is to follow the podcast’s Twitter feed.

For an even more conservative-leaning podcast that frequently discusses US Supreme Court cases and intermediate appellate court rulings, you can listen to the “Advisory Opinions” podcast hosted by David French and Sarah Isgur. French is a well-known conservative/libertarian commentator, and Isgur is a Harvard Law graduate who served as spokeswoman for the US Department of Justice during the Trump administration while Jeff Sessions was attorney general.

Returning back to the more liberal side, another Supreme Court-related podcast that I regularly enjoy is Slate’s “Amicus” podcast, hosted by well-known Slate legal commentator Dahlia Lithwick. This podcast ordinarily posts a new episode every other week, although sometimes new episodes appear more frequently.

Before moving to appeal-related podcasts more generally, two other Supreme Court-related podcasts are worthy of mention, although I do not count myself as a frequent listener of either. The justifiably renowned SCOTUSblog produces the “SCOTUStalk” podcast hosted by that blog’s Supreme Court reporter, Amy Howe. And Bloomberg Law produces the “Cases and Controversies” podcast focusing on the US Supreme Court, hosted by Bloomberg Law reporters Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin.

The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit, public-interest law firm that often litigates causes from a libertarian perspective. That organization hosts the “Short Circuits” podcast, which is self-described as a place to “listen to the experts tackle controversial circuit court decisions in our bi-weekly podcast.”

One of my favorite locale-specific appellate law podcasts is the “Texas Appellate Law Podcast,” which is now hosted by the Butler Snow law firm. Although the podcast frequently has a Texas focus, it also regularly discusses issues of interest to appeal to lawyers more broadly. Please note that my high regard for this podcast could partially be the result of bias, as I was a guest on one of its episodes back in December 2020.

If you are looking for an appellate law podcast hosted by actual appellate court judges, look no further than “Lady Justice: Women of the Court,” which is hosted by three female justices who serve on the highest courts of Arkansas, Michigan and West Virginia .

If Texas has an appellate podcast, then so should California, and it does. “The California Appellate Law Podcast” describes itself as “an appellate law podcast for trial lawyers.” Like its Texas counterpart, this California-related appellate law podcast frequently records episodes of broader interest.

Although in the interest of full disclosure I have yet to listen to any of its episodes, Attorney Corrie Woods, who also blogs about the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, is the host of a podcast titled “The Standard of Review,” which focuses on Pennsylvania’s highest court. I would be remiss to exclude this Pennsylvania-focused appellate-related podcast from this list.

My final appeal-related podcast recommendation should not be missed. The “This Land” podcast, also produced by Crooked Media, is a podcast that focuses on various Native American issues such as land rights, sovereignty issues and the Indian Child Welfare Act. Its host, Rebecca Nagle, is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

Season one of the podcast focused on the US Supreme Court case that sought to have a large part of Oklahoma declared to be a Native American reservation. And season two focused on the Indian Child Welfare Act case from the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that the US Supreme Court recently agreed to review.

The detailed reporting that the “This Land” podcast brought to both of these incredibly important US Supreme Court cases shows that appellate-related podcasting can be much more than just talking heads sitting around an office or convening over Zoom. Rather, it can be as captivating as any true crime podcast.

If I have overlooked any appellate law-related podcasts that you enjoy, please email me to let me know and I will be happy to consider mentioning them in a future column. For now, I bid you happy listening!

Howard J Bashman operates his own appellate litigation boutique in Willow Grove and can be reached by telephone at 215-830-1458 and via email at [email protected]. You can access his appellate Web log at http://howappealing.law.com/ and via Twitter @howappealing.

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