For Rhiannon Hammam, it was a tossap between the Bush v. Gore case and the Castle Rock v. Gonzales case.
Bush symbolized the court’s opposition to democracy when it came to what she considered the worst decision of the modern Supreme Court. She overturned the Florida Supreme Court’s manual recount order and effectively decided on the 2000 presidential election. Meanwhile, Castle Rock talked about her inhumanity and denied her right to sue police whose three children were killed by her husband and her mother did not enforce a detention order against him. ..
Then last month, a decision from the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization came to barge at the top or bottom of her list by overturning Roe v. Wade and revoking her constitutional right to abortion.
“It was absolutely terrible,” Hammam said. “It’s hard to avoid the feeling that something went very wrong.”
Like millions of Americans, Hammam, a public defender and one of the three hosts of the popular podcast “5-4,” has spent much of this spring and summer in court and its 6- Spent sticking to the imminent consequences of a conservative majority of three. According to Gallup’s annual survey released in late June, it was after the leak of the initial draft of the Dobbs judgment. Public confidence in the Supreme Court has plummeted.. Only 25% of respondents said they were “very” or “quite” confident in the agency. This is the lowest level in nearly 50 years of research history.
However, Hammam and her fellow podcast hosts Michael Lilov and Peter have asked their employers to be identified by their own name because they are unaware of the podcast, but hating the High Court is new. Not. In fact, it’s like a call. In the “How Much the Supreme Court Sucks” show, “5-4,” published on the tagline, spending more than two years claiming that nearly 150 episodes are its many sins and weaknesses. I am boldly enumerating that.
This approach is profane and meticulous and attracts a fast-growing audience of like-minded listeners.
Since the beginning of this year, subscriptions to “5-4” Patreon accounts have increased by more than 30% and are now bringing more than $ 35,000 per month. The company said that the first day downloads of podcasts produced and distributed by the Prologue project have more than doubled in the last two years, leaking Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death and Dobbs. In June, the month of Dobbs’ decision, the entire podcast catalog received more than 400,000 downloads, an increase of more than 90% over the same period last year.
As Hammam said, the host himself, “three no-body”, has been accepted by the left-wing Cognosenti. 33-year-old Hammam MSNBC When cut, Website with New Yorker She released the profiles of Lilov (former associate of law firm Sullivan and Cromwell) and Peter (in-house lawyer) last fall.
Elizabeth Warren, a progressive and professional senator in Massachusetts and a self-proclaimed “5-4” fan, recorded an interview with the next episode last week.
“She took us to school,” said 40-year-old Rylov.
Peter, 36, said the growing attention “proves in a darker way.”
For Rylov, the growing popularity made podcasts worthwhile. “For a long time, I think much of the legal system and the Democratic Party have been linked to this mythical idea of the Supreme Court, which denied the vocabulary and framework to really understand what was happening,” he said. Said. “Hopefully we played a small role in starting to change that.”
In conversation, like the show, the host is the bottomless well of Sardonick judicial analysis. In a video interview last Wednesday, they discussed which of the nine judges deserves the most contempt (unanimous: Clarence Thomas) and which is the most painful to read (Lilov:). Brett Kavanaugh “You talk to a talented law student”) and pet ideas for reform (all want to expand the court with at least four judges. Lilov adds additional judges every two years Proposed to be appointed on a regular basis).
Their central dissatisfaction is the more holy attitude than you in court, illustrated by the black robes that judges wear in public. (The “5-4” goods store offers T-shirts with the slogan “No Robes No Masters.”) The host was fundamentally enlightened by political actors due to the mystery of the facility. I believe I can impersonate a neutral arbitrator.
“It’s a systematic issue burned into the structure of our democracy,” Hammam said.
Similar criticisms of the court have been made most of the time since its inception. Thomas Jefferson, a frequent adversary of federal justice, Hurt an unelected judge As “a subtle army of sappers and miners who are constantly working underground to undermine the foundation of our coalition cloth.” And over-the-top complaints of the judiciary were once most commonly associated with conservatives, many of whom opposed a series of rulings in the 1950s and 1960s that ended separation and expanded civil rights.
For Peter and Hammam, the moment of conversion happened almost 10 years ago at law school. As Peter said, the judge noticed that he “winged it like any other person.” Rylov’s awakening came earlier. He was an 18-year-old high school student in Florida when the court ruled in Bush v. Gore.
“They bust in like a Kool-Aid guy and said it was over,” Rylov said. “I didn’t even know if my vote was important.”
Carrying a cultural flair, the host wants to help build a community of young left-wing lawyers and law students who have a more pragmatic view of court and law. The Slack group for “5-4” Patreon subscribers is full of fans who talk to the trio about advice, moral support, and the dark humor of people in general. (The chatbot’s response to a reference named “Scaria” begins with a four-letter word.)
The expanding scope of the show also brought about a newly discovered sense of responsibility. They originally recorded more or less from the cuff, but it is estimated that the host now spends more than 20 hours a week preparing each episode. The extra preparation time allows for more research and clarification of the discussion. However, the host says there are no plans to soften or mitigate the core message, regardless of who is listening to it.
“It was our unique perspective that made us successful,” said Hammam. “I’m not fooling it because I know someone in Senator Warren’s office is listening.”
They want the podcast to keep growing, but none of the three have plans to quit his or her day-to-day work. Ultimately, the organizers say that the show, like the law, is just a means to an end.
“I hope the Democratic Party is reforming and expanding the courtroom and making the podcast obsolete,” Rylov said. “But I’m not very optimistic.”
