Podcast
Strict Scrutiny
The podcast highlighted the title as an essential, award‑winning work for listeners seeking to grasp the origins and tactics of the Federalist Society and the broader conservative legal movement. Hosts Leah Lippman and guest Amanda Hollis‑Brusky, the author, discussed its academic, chapter‑by‑chapter analysis—including updates after the 2016 election and case studies such as Scalia’s Heller opinion—emphasizing its thorough “thick description” of the group’s influence. The overall tone was strongly favorable, presenting the book as a key resource for understanding the conservative counter‑revolution.
Episode: SCOTUS Dodges the Question of Emergency Abortions
This book, about the Federalist Society, was mentioned as an essential book for understanding the conservative legal movement.
Amanda is a professor of politics and chair of the politics department at Pomona College. Welcome back to the show, Amanda.
Thanks, Leah. So excited to analyze the fresh hell we've been delivered by SCOTUS today. All day, every day.
And the second guest host is returning guest Amanda Hollis-Bresky, who is the expert on the conservative legal movement and the author or co-author of the essential books Ideas with Consequences on the Federalist Society and Separate but Faithful on the Christian Legal Movement and Takeover of the Courts.
Episode: How the Federalist Society Took Over
The book was presented as an academic analysis of how the Federalist Society operated to shape constitutional law and facilitate a conservative counter-revolution. It was noted that the paperback edition included an update written after the 2016 election, reflecting on the increased relevance of the organization's work.
And I talk about this in the introduction to the paperback edition, which I wrote as an update after Trump was elected.
Ideas with consequences is divided into a series of chapters that use certain areas of law like an amendment or corporate political expenditures or federalism to do a thick description and analysis of what the Federalist Society actually does.
The reviewer said the book, while a solid contribution, he found it to be jarringly academic and as you're kind of reciting my findings there, I thought to myself, that does sound jarringly academic but it's important to note, you know, Ideas is an academic book.
The Federalist Society has absolutely helped keep justices in check.
Scalia's opinion in Heller is one of the ones I examine, where he's drawing from the Federal Society network and he's drawing on that outside what I call intellectual capital to justify reinterpreting the Second Amendment from a collective right to an individual right.
Episode: Moot and Rally
This book was mentioned as an award-winning work detailing the origins of the Federalist Society and the conservative legal movement.
She wrote the award-winning book Ideas with Consequences about the origins of the Federalist Society and the conservative legal movement.