Original Air Date: Sep 22, 2023
In the 1950s and 60s, Thurgood Marshall fights to tear down the segregationist system and uses the law to build a more just society, with the help of a Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Earl Warren. It’s an era of progressive decisions that expands the rights of minorities, criminal defendants, and the poor, as the Supreme Court’s role in American life becomes increasingly prominent and bitterly contested. Series premiere.
STREAM THIS EPISODEOriginal Air Date: Sep 29, 2023
In the 1970s and 1980s, a new conservative legal and political movement emerges as a backlash to the Warren Court and the later Roe v. Wade decision. This quickly becomes an increasingly influential coalition that sets the direction of the Court and the country over the ensuing decades.
STREAM THIS EPISODEOriginal Air Date: Oct 6, 2023
Most consequential cases of the 1990s rest with the decisive swing votes of Justices O'Connor and Kennedy—both nominated by Republican presidents and sometimes siding with the liberal bloc. Bush v. Gore divides the nation and challenges the perception that the Court operates independently from partisan politics. With George W. Bush's nominees and his chance to dramatically shift the balance, the Supreme Court enters a new era of ideological polarization.
STREAM THIS EPISODEOriginal Air Date: Oct 13, 2023
Following the Senate blocking of Merrick Garland’s nomination and the subsequent confirmations of Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett in the era of Trump, the Court moves decisively to the right. With highly controversial rulings such as the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Court of the 2020s increasingly faces charges of extreme partisanship as its relatively young, deeply conservative majority appears set to shape American life over the coming decades. Series finale.
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