Making the Case

Making the Case

For years, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island has been unmasking the scheme to capture and control the Supreme Court — or as he calls it, “The Court That Dark Money Built.” Now, this effort is hitting a new platform. In Making the Case, each episode uncovers a different component of the scheme. Whether you’re an avid Court watcher, or just tuning in to the ongoing crises at the Court, we hope you’ll join as we make the case.

Episodes

March 4, 2025 31 mins

Welcome back to Making the Case! After a brief hiatus, Senator Whitehouse is back for a second season of his podcast, which uncovers the decades-long effort to capture and control our Supreme Court. During Trump 2.0, it’s more important than ever to shine a light on the nation’s highest court. 

 

In this episode, Senator Whitehouse is joined by Professor Allison Orr Larsen and Professor Paul Collins, experts on amicus briefs and thei...

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Welcome to the new ‘wild, wild west’ of Supreme Court false fact-finding! (WANTED: A Supreme Court that doesn’t abuse the fact-finding process to reach the results it wants.)

In this episode of Making the Case, Senator Whitehouse is joined by Professor Allison Orr Larsen, an expert on judicial fact-finding at the William and Mary Law School. Some of the Supreme Court’s worst decisions, like Citizens United and Shelby County, got to...

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December 13, 2023 21 mins

The Supreme Court justices seem to think so. The Court recently adopted a so-called “code of conduct,” but with no enforcement mechanism in place, it stands no chance of cleaning up bad behavior. Lisa Graves of True North Research joins Senator Whitehouse on this episode to unpack the new code and its shortfalls.


Also on this episode, Senator Whitehouse breaks down what happened in the Senate Judiciary Committee as Republican ...

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November 17, 2023 27 mins

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a great example of government that works. So it’s no wonder corporate powers are rooting for its downfall.

In this episode of Making the Case, Senator Elizabeth Warren joins Senator Whitehouse and Representative Johnson to discuss her role in creating the CFPB and the threat it now faces at the Supreme Court. This case, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services ...

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November 1, 2023 26 mins

Step 1: Select the right justices for your cause. 

Step 2: Select the right cases for those justices. 

 

This podcast has unpacked the right-wing scheme to capture and control our nation’s highest court, but the justices sitting on the bench aren’t the only ones who have been carefully selected — the cases have been too. 

In this episode of Making the Case, Senator Whitehouse is joined by retired federal Judge Nancy Gertner to disc...

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September 28, 2023 24 mins

The Roberts Court is an unelected body, but its recent decisions have led to more restrictions on Americans’ right to vote.  

 

In this episode of Making the Case, Senator Whitehouse is joined again by Rep. Hank Johnson, and former Attorney General Eric Holder. They walk through the Court’s decision in Shelby County vs. Holder (yes, the same Holder on this episode), the ripple effect that decision had on voting in America, and some...

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July 19, 2023 27 mins

Most people agree that the highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards. But you may be wondering: if the Court refuses to police itself, can Congress step in? 


Yes — and they’ve done it before. 


In this episode of Making the Case, Senator Whitehouse is joined by Rep. Hank Johnson, Fix the Court Executive Director Gabe Roth, and Campaign Legal Center Senior Director of Ethics Kedric Payne. These e...

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July 13, 2023 30 mins

The Captured Court has delivered big for special interests at the expense of the American people. From campaign finance to gun safety to environmental protection, the Supreme Court is increasingly out of step with the American people on the key issues of our day. In this episode of Making the Case, Senator Whitehouse is joined by End Citizens United/Let America Vote President Tiffany Muller, Brady Campaign President Kris Brown, and...

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June 26, 2023 29 mins

Overturning Roe didn’t happen overnight. It didn’t happen on accident. It was the result of a decades-long effort to capture and control the Supreme Court.


In this episode, Senator Whitehouse is joined by NARAL President Mini Timmaraju, University of Michigan Law Professor and Strict Scrutiny host Leah Litman, and Rep. Hank Johnson. When the Supreme Court released the Dobbs decision last year, they shredded a constitutional r...

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June 22, 2023 31 mins

When most people think about the current Supreme Court, one of the first names that comes to mind is Donald Trump, who appointed three of its Justices. But there's another name that's arguably more important. And that is the right-wing billionaires’ fixer, Leonard Leo. In this episode, Senator Whitehouse is once again joined by Rep. Hank Johnson, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick, and Lisa Graves of True North Research to discuss the...

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June 11, 2023 30 mins

Welcome to Making the Case. In this episode, Senator Whitehouse is joined by Rep. Hank Johnson, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick, and Lisa Graves of True North Research. These experts begin peeling back the layers of the far-right effort to capture and control the Supreme Court.

 

Who was involved? When did this scheme begin? And how did it gain momentum?

 

Follow @SenWhitehouse on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest updates...

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June 9, 2023 45 secs

The Court is not in order.

Episode by episode, experts will join to expose the effort to capture and control our Supreme Court. Whether you’re an avid Court watcher, or just tuning in to the ongoing crises at the Court, we hope you’ll join as we make the case.

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