What are the costs for democracy when the Supreme Court decides cases on the “shadow docket?” Is the Purcell Principle a license for states to act illegally in running elections? What is going to happen with the Trump disqualification case at the Supreme Court? On Season 5, Episode 5 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Steve Vladeck, author of the book, The Shadow Docket.

Has the United States done enough to minimize the risk of election subversion in 2024? How might problems in Congress affect a fair tallying of electoral college votes on January 6, 2025? How much danger of authoritarian rule does the U.S. face going forward? On Season 5, Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Ian Bassin and Jess Marsden of Protect Democracy.

Do gag orders against presidential candidate Donald Trump in his civil or criminal trials violate the First Amendment? What should we make of Trump’s claims that his actions to overturn the results of the 2020 elections are protected free speech? How should we assess the dangers of government “jawboning” of social media platforms to remove objectionable conduct? On Season 5, Episode 3 of the ELB Podcast, we delve into these issues with First Amendment experts Genevieve Lakier and Eugene Volokh.

Is the Roberts Court shifting on its protection of voting rights? How has the addition of three Trump-appointed Justices changed the nature of the Supreme Court? Should we expect a new ethics code for Supreme Court Justices? On Season 5, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Joan Biskupic, CNN’s senior supreme court analyst and author of the new book, Nine Black Robes.

Will the multiple indictments and expected trials of former President Donald Trump lead to violence or unrest? Are the risks of political violence in the U.S. increasing or decreasing? What can the United States learn from other countries that reversed democratic backsliding? On Season 5, Episode 1 of the ELB podcast, we have a roundtable with Ben Ginsberg, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and Rachel Kleinfeld.

What are the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision in Moore v. Harper for American democracy? What will the case mean for 2024 election challenges? Does the decision shut down attempts to submit slates of fake electors and subvert presidential elections? On the Season 4 finale of the ELB podcast, a voting rights roundtable with Derek Muller, Carolyn Shapiro, Bertrall Ross, and Rick Pildes.

Why did two conservative justices on the Supreme Court join the Court’s liberals to save section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in Allen v. Milligan? Will voting rights plaintiffs see more success in Section 2 cases in other states including Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas? What are the political implications of the Court siding with minority plaintiffs in Milligan? On Season 4, Episode 9 of the ELB Podcast, we have a voting rights roundtable with Professors Guy Charles, Ellen Katz, and Rick Pildes.

To what extent have abortion politics been the driver of campaign finance fights in the courts? How much of a force has anti-abortion lawyer Jim Bopp been in the campaign finance cases? Are new efforts to make it harder to pass abortion initiatives going to change voters’ access to direct democracy? On Season 4, Episode 8 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with law professor and historian Mary Ziegler, author of the new book, Dollars for Life: The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment.

How do Republican voters think about Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen 2020 election? What are voters’ attitudes towards authoritarianism and the rule of law? How will election denialism play out in the 2024 Republican presidential primary? On Season 4, Episode 7 of the ELB podcast, we speak with GOP pollster and publisher of The Bulwark, Sarah Longwell.

Does our decentralized system of government create conditions to strengthen or weaken democratic institutions? Why have red and blue states adopted different sets of election rules, with some Republican states adopting restrictive registration and voting laws? Would more a more national election process in the United States protect against the risk of election subversion? On Season 4, Episode 6 of the ELB Podcast we speak with University of Washington Professor Jake Grumbach, author of the book “Laboratories Against Democracy.”