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How Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais ran contrary to the Voting Rights Act—both as written by Congress and as previously interpreted by the Supreme Court.

Guest: Jay Willis, editor-in-chief of Balls and Strikes.

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On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen answer a listener's question about becoming a ‘boy mom.’ They also share their latest triumphs and fails. Including: a newly-minted coach, the fastest homework ever completed, and some budding relationships.
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On Wednesday, Justice Samuel Alito delivered the latest, probably lethal blow in the Supreme Court’s decades-long campaign against multi-racial democracy in America, with a 6-3 majority opinion gutting what remained of the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v Callais. In this special extra episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick talks with Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the nation’s premier civil rights law organization. Nelson argued Louisiana v. Callais before the United States Supreme Court in October of 2025. Together, they examine the history ignored by the right wing majority, and look ahead to the disastrous consequences this ruling unleashes on American democracy, from school boards all the way to the halls of congress.

This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock weekly bonus episodes of Amicus—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

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This week, Dana, Steve, and Nadira Goffe assess if we as a culture can ever really escape Neverland— namely, the gigantic and fraught legacy of Michael Jackson. They unpack the biopic Michael. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, starring Jackson’s own nephew Jaafar Jackson, and produced by much of the Jackson family, the film is chock full of musical numbers and light on the troubling aspects of the singer’s life. Does it ever rise above King of Pop hagiography? They discuss.

Next, they take up Half Man, the new limited series from Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd. It’s a brutal look at a toxic male relationship. Is its unflinching eye too unflinching? Perhaps.

Finally, how can one become cultured? What does that even mean!? Such are the questions raised by T Magazine’s recent special issue “How to Be Cultured.” Our panel debates the package’s various high brow listicles, takes their quiz, and Nadira even makes her own culture list as rebuttal! (See below.)

In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, our hosts share which cultural figures they think would make for good biopic subjects.

Endorsements
Nadira: The new EP NAIL from Yves, particularly the title track, and Curtis Live! the live album by Curtis Mayfield, especially the song "The Makings of You."

Steve: The poem "Like the Train's Beat" by Philip Larkin.

Dana: The book On Michael Jackson by Margo Jefferson about Michael Jackson's complicated cultural place.

Nadira's Culture List:
(Editor’s Note: Nadira added two things since our discussion — we’re all still staying curious and expanding our cultural horizons!)

“Throw Some Ds on It” — Rich Boy (Song; 2007)
“Jealous Guy” — Donny Hathaway covering John Lennon live (Song; 1972)
Any vlogger on YouTube, but particularly the work of Casey Neistat
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (TV Show; 1995)
Fleabag (TV Show; 2016-2019)
Monster (Anime Series, currently avail. on Netflix; 2004)
Stop Making Sense (Movie; 1984)
The Devil Wears Prada (Movie; 2006)
Step Up 2: The Streets (Movie; 2008)
Tampopo (Movie; 1985)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Movie; 2018)
Original Cast Album Company (Movie; 1970)
Quo Vadis, Aida? (Movie; 2004)
Playing in the Dark — Toni Morrison (Book; 1992)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow — Gabrielle Zevin (Book; 2022)
Any painting by Kerry James Marshall, but particularly “School of Beauty, School of Culture” and “Portrait of the artist as a shadow of his former self”
Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright (Architecture; 1964)

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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by ex-Mormon content creator Alyssa Grenfell to discuss the new Secret Lives of Mormon Wives spinoff, Netflix’s Trust Me, and the pop-culturification of Mormonism. While the internet has long been a place for Mormon creators to thrive, now that they’ve gone mainstream, our obsession with MomTok and dirty sodas risks softening, and even obscuring, the religion’s conservative ideology. During a time in history when our conservative government feels more dangerous than ever, we can’t let pop culture give racism and sexism a sugar-coated rebrand.

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.
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