Samuel Alito [TEASER]

I had the honor this term of writing, I think, the only Supreme Court decision in the history of that institution that has been lambasted by a whole string of foreign leaders.

Hey, everyone, this is Leon from Fiasco and Prologue Projects.

On this week's premium episode of 5-4, Peter, Rhiannon, and Michael are talking about Justice Samuel Alito.

Alito is a reliable member of the court's conservative majority, but his judicial philosophy is hard to pin down.

Though he is willing to use conservative tools like originalism and textualism to reach his desired conclusions, a survey of Alito's jurisprudence shows a much more idiosyncratic approach to legal analysis, which sometimes puts him to the right of even his most conservative colleagues.

The only thing that's consistent about Alito is his steadfast commitment to his ideology and his disdain for those who don't share it.

This is 5-4, a podcast about how much the Supreme Court sucks.

Welcome to 5-4, where we dissect and analyze the Supreme Court cases that have torn apart our civil liberties like our cats have torn apart the arms of our couches.

I am Peter.

I'm here with Michael.

Hey, everybody.

And Rhiannon.

Hi.

I want a cat.

Do you?

I do.

You go to West Elm and you think you're treating yourself.

And then the cat has other plans.

We don't have a cat, but my dog chewed a hole in our bed frame.

And so now it's in the guest bedroom.

Yeah.

Actually, right behind me.

I don't know.

For me to stay on when I come.

Yeah.

I'll know.

Big hole right there.

Charlie chewing it while we were sleeping.

Woke up at 2 a.m.

to this.

And we're like, what the fuck is that?

There's a weird thing with pets where, like, at some point you end up having to downgrade a bunch of the things in your life because they just keep destroying it.

Right.

And you're just living like a college student, like, here's my shitty couch.

Well, we're like, we're talking about making changes to the house, and one of them is like, we're like, we want to put doors in certain rooms so we can like, we can just put nice stuff in there and then just close the doors.

And then the dogs can't go in, and that'll be the room that they can't go into.

Adding doors to my house so that I can have nice things.

Forced carpentry.

Yeah.

That's right.

The wonders of pet ownership.

Yeah.

The things we do for just a small amount of affection from a a little creature that barely understands what's happening at any given moment.

This week's premium episode is a deep dive into Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

Justice Alito is, of course, the first Supreme Court justice to be summoned to existence by a dark witch rather than emerge from a human womb.

While scientists and priests inquire into that matter, we will be diving into his career and his his somewhat anomalous legal philosophy, which does not quite align with any of his contemporaries.

We will also be looking at his public presence, which has become increasingly acrimonious over the last couple of years, as he has directed various bitter comments towards his colleagues and critics.

And we will be answering the question that is lingering in the back of everyone's minds.

Is Sam Alito an oddball conservative intellectual with a unique but coherent legal perspective, or is he just an asshole?

I think I know the answer.

Yeah, I have thoughts.

Don't spoil it.

All right, Rhiannon,

I will let you tell me about a young Samolito, perhaps.

Hey, folks, if you want to hear the rest of this episode, you're going to have to subscribe.

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