Oct 6, 2026 · 57 min
Alito’s precedent claims meet a record of reversals
Never Trust Alito (feat. Janet Reitman)
The episode links fights over constitutional rights, immigration enforcement, and extremism to a broader question of whether institutions can be trusted.
- 1The hosts challenge Samuel Alito’s distinction between Obergefell and Roe, arguing that his assurances about precedent deserve scrutiny.
- 2Reports on Cornell threats, ICE recaptures, and a B-1 withdrawal show institutions failing or retreating under pressure.
- 3Janet Reitman traces radicalization through trauma, military experience, prison culture, and post-9/11 policy failures.
Don't miss
Janet Reitman explains how trauma, military experience, prison culture, and post-9/11 disillusionment can combine in a path toward radicalization.
The brief
The hosts question Samuel Alito’s claim that Obergefell is settled law, contrasting his confidence with the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe and his earlier assurances about precedent.
The news roundup covers threats against a Cornell sexual-assault plaintiff, the reported recapture of a habeas petitioner, Roy Moore’s failed appeal, and allegations involving Jeffrey Epstein.
Reports of an Iran-linked threat prompting the rapid withdrawal of B-1 bombers from England add a security crisis to the episode’s portrait of institutions under strain.
Janet Reitman discusses The Inheritance, tracing radicalization through post-9/11 policy, trauma, military experience, prison culture, and failures by institutions meant to intervene.
The episode closes with voter-assistance resources and listener stories about organizing, recovery, new parenthood, and other forms of civic and personal hope.
Books & mentions
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