Stanford Legal

Épisodes

• The Structural Declaration of Independence 07.07.2026 50min

  The episode argues the Declaration is both a statement of rights and a framework for legitimate government. Tino Cuéllar stresses the tension between universal ideals and state power, while Larry Kramer highlights the Declaration’s legal roots and its evolving meaning over time. Together, they show it as both blueprint and battleground.
• Birthright Citizenship and the Future of the Fourteenth Amendment 06.07.2026 33min

  Stanford’s Fred Smith examines the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship decision, its historical roots in the Fourteenth Amendment, and the questions the Court leaves unresolved.
• Inside the Supreme Court’s Key 2026 Decisions 02.07.2026 36min

  Jeff Fisher discusses a term marked by major rulings across executive power, voting, and civil rights, and what they signal about the Court’s trajectory.
• The Declaration of Independence as Obligation 30.06.2026 43min

  The episode examines the Declaration of Independence’s claim that people may have a duty—not just a right—to overthrow tyrannical government. Martha Minow explores possible foundations for that duty in natural law, religion, international norms, and psychology, while Jenny Martinez emphasizes the Declaration’s mutual pledge as an enduring obligation to fulfill its promises across American history. Together, they highlight the tension between universal ideals and the duties of a particular political community.
• The Case for a Public Share in AI 25.06.2026 25min

  Jeremy Bearer-Friend and Sarah Polcz discuss their proposal to require leading AI firms to pay taxes in equity, reshaping how the gains from AI are distributed
• The Declaration of Independence and Conditions for Democratic Flourishing 23.06.2026 52min

  In the opening episode of The Declaration at 250, Michael McConnell introduces a discussion with remarks by Condoleezza Rice and a response from David Kennedy on what makes democracy work. Rice emphasizes institutions and civil society; Kennedy traces evolving ideas of equality and warns about declining trust.
• Declaration at 250 Trailer 18.06.2026 1min

  Nearly 250 years after its adoption, the Declaration of Independence remains one of America’s most revered—and most disputed—texts. In Declaration at 250, Stanford Law’s Constitutional Law Center and Stanford Legal bring together leading scholars, historians, and jurists from across the ideological spectrum to ask a single urgent question: What does the Declaration mean for Americans today? Introduced by Professor Michael McConnell, the series explores the conditions that sustain democratic self-government, confronts modern criticisms of the founding, and considers whether the Declaration implies not only rights but duties. Across eight conversations, it examines the Declaration’s influence on state constitutions, its structural ideas about government, whether it has legal force, how its principles translate to emerging challenges like artificial intelligence, and whether it still serves—as Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. argued—as America’s enduring promissory note to the future.
• Inside the Trump Administration's Immigration Agenda 11.06.2026 33min

  Lucas Guttentag discusses the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the legal battles reshaping the U.S. immigration system
• The Law Must Be King 28.05.2026 55min

  Judge J. Michael Luttig on the Rule of Law in an Era of Executive Overreach
• When Government Lawyers Draw the Line 14.05.2026 1h 3min

  Former Justice Department officials reflect on an institution at a crossroads
• Voting Rights at a Turning Point 07.05.2026 35min

  Pamela Karlan and Nathaniel Persily on the Supreme Court’s latest decision on redistricting and minority representation.
• Who Gets to Vote? 30.04.2026 33min

  The ACLU’s Sophia Lin Lakin discusses voting access and the redistricting battles shaping political power
• Native Nations, Federal Indian Law, and the Birthright Citizenship Case 16.04.2026 32min

  Stanford’s Greg Ablavsky on the history behind the birthright case
• The Politics and Promise of a Billionaire Tax 02.04.2026 31min

  Stanford Law Alum Darien Shanske on Wealth, Fairness, and California’s Proposed Billionaire Tax
• Trump's Immigration Raids and State Pushback 19.03.2026 36min

  Jennifer Chacón discusses how immigration crackdowns are reshaping policing and public life
• Stanford’s Alan Sykes on the Future of Trump’s Tariffs After the IEEPA Case 03.03.2026 31min

  Supreme Court limits IEEPA tariff power in a 6–3 ruling as Al Sykes and Pam Karlan explain the impact on Congress, trade, and what’s next
• A Seismic Shift in Climate Law 24.02.2026 31min

  Deborah Sivas on the EPA’s Rescission of the Endangerment Finding
• Inside the ACLU’s Docket: Anthony Romero on the Front Lines of Civil Rights 19.02.2026 34min

  The ACLU’s Anthony Romero unpacks a sweeping docket—from a Supreme Court showdown over birthright citizenship to voting rights and free speech—as the rule of law is tested.
• The Importance of Critical Thinking and Civil Discourse in Today's Polarized World 05.02.2026 31min

  Stanford’s Robert MacCoun shows how scientific habits can sharpen judgment and strengthen civil discourse in a polarized society.
• How Democracies Collapse from Within 22.01.2026 36min

  What happens when the legal tools meant to protect democracy are used to weaken it? Kim Scheppele explains.