How to Lose a Democracy in 10 Laws (with Elie Mystal)

<p>Leah, Kate, and Melissa are joined this week by Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation, whose new book is <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/bad-law-ten-popular-laws-that-are-ruining-america-elie-mystal/21644222?ean=9781620978580&amp;next=t">Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America</a>. They talk about what rotten laws should be done away with while touching on the latest news, including the detention of Mahmoud Khalil and the dismantling of the Department of Education. </p><p>Hosts’ favorite things this week:</p><ul>

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<strong>Melissa:</strong> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-trouble-of-color-an-american-family-memoir-martha-s-jones/21616977">The Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir</a> by Martha Jones; Paradise (Hulu) </li>

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<strong>Leah:</strong> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/bad-law-ten-popular-laws-that-are-ruining-america-elie-mystal/21644222?ean=9781620978580&amp;next=t">Bad Law</a> by Elie Mystal; <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-bee-sting-paul-murray/18789047?ean=9780374600303&amp;next=t">The Bee Sting</a> by Paul Murray; <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/martyr-kaveh-akbar/20032523?ean=9780593537619&amp;next=t">Martyr!</a> by Kaveh Akbar; <a href="https://executivefunctions.substack.com/p/corruption-and-the-maximalist-theory?r=n7gw1&amp;triedRedirect=true">Corruption &amp; the Maximalist Theory of Presidential Power</a> by Bob Bauer (Executive Functions); <a href="https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/131-five-questions-about-the-khalil">Five Questions about The Khalil Case</a> by Steve Vladeck (One First)</li>

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<strong>Kate:</strong> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/character-limit-how-elon-musk-destroyed-twitter-kate-conger/21224329?ean=9780593656136&amp;next=t">Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter</a> by Kate Conger and Ryan Mac; <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/mahmoud-khalils-constitutional-rights-and-the-power-of-ice">Interview with Lindsay Nash on Mahmoud Khalil</a> by Isaac Chotiner (New Yorker)</li>

</ul><p></p><p>Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! </p><ul>

<li>3/6/26 – San Francisco</li>

<li>3/7/26 – Los Angeles</li>

</ul><p></p><p>Learn more: <a href="http://crooked.com/events">http://crooked.com/events</a></p><p>Order your copy of Leah's book, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lawless/Leah-Litman/9781668054628">Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes</a></p><p>Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/strictscrutinypodcast/?hl=en">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.threads.net/@strictscrutinypodcast">Threads</a>, and <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/strictscrutiny.bsky.social">Bluesky</a></p>