Season 2, Episode 13 (Show 65): The Hearings According To Durbin – Special Guest Vikram D. Amar

April 2, 2022

Dean Vik Amar is back with more on the SCOTUS Confirmation Hearings – this time, only hours after a lengthy session he spent with Senator Dick Durbin, the Chairman of those very hearings!  The insights thus gained are surprising, provocative – and only available here.

We’re a little late this week, but it’s worth it, as we are able to report on a lengthy conversation that our guest, Dean Vik Amar of the University of Illinois School of Law, had with the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, just hours before our podcast taping.  He offered Vik and his students a truly inside look at the Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings just conducted, as well as his perspective on confirmations in general, and some truly surprising perspectives and possible ideas for reform – and now, our listeners have this early access to them.

Show Notes:

Why Do Our Politicians Keep Pursuing a Losing Strategy? - The New York Times

Yuval Levin, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, writes on polarization and politics in a March 29, 2022 New York Times op-ed much praised by Akhil in this week’s podcast.

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A Liberal's Case for Brett Kavanaugh - The New York Times

Akhil wrote in the New York Times op-ed page in 2018, just moments after Brett Kavanaugh is nominated to the Supreme Court, addressing confirmation issues that remain relevant today.  Note: this was penned before any information or allegations related to Christine Blasey Ford surfaced.

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