Strict Scrutiny - Our Favorite Things, 2021

Episode Date: December 20, 2021

Leah, Melissa, and Kate round out 2021 with a discussion of their favorite things. To wearWool leg warmers from LunyaWashable silk pajamas from LunyaTrue BotanicalsKari Gran mini kitThe Lady Doth Etsy shopTaylor Swift merch To readMy Monticello, by Jocelyn Nicole JohnsonThe Silence of the Girls, by Pat BarkerThe Women of Troy, by Pat BarkerThe 1619 ProjectBorn on the Water, Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee WatsonHow to be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings, by Sarah Cooper To eatThis Little GoatSugargoatLevain Bakery cookie assortment To support women journalistsDahlia Lithwick - Slate PlusAlexandra Petri - Washington PostRebecca Traister and Irin Carmon - New York Magazine and The CutErinn Haynes and Shefali Luthra - The 19th To smellParks Project-- like this Yosemite Lodgepole Pine Candle  To spoil your dogThe Farmer’s Dog foodBuck BonesStuffing free toysDIY sock bottle And of course, to rep your favorite podcastStrict Scrutiny merch Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Threads, and Bluesky

Welcome back to Strict Scrutiny, your podcast about the Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it. We're your hosts. I'm Melissa Murray. I'm Kate Shaw. And I'm Leah Littman. And this is a very special holiday episode of Strict Scrutiny, the second annual Strict Scrutiny's Favorite Things. And listeners, we know we don't have Oprah's Market Cloud, but we do have our very own

favorites and we love getting a chance to share them with you, our loyal listeners. So just in time for last minute holiday gifts, we have a litany of fun gift ideas for you and yours. So buckle up. I feel like this is going to be the rare, very happy episode of this podcast. It's why we need to do this annually. Right. Except it's going to take a dark turn at the very first item on our but then it but then it settles it don't why are you giving it away Kate no spoilers you're canceled again over promise the uplift that people will experience in the next 30 people remember the end of the show Kate

and Kate all right Kate is officially canceled that the first gift. Like we're canceling you. Permanently this time or also temporarily? Temporarily. Okay, okay. Temporarily. Just always temporary. Like reproductive rights. Speaking of, let's get started.

Good segue. What's number one of our list of favorite things, Leah? Number one with a Bruin bullet on our list of favorite things is reproductive freedom. We estimate that we have only a few months left on our existing supply and no sign of replenishment. So live while you can, folks. Stock up on Plan B. Donate to causes that support reproductive freedom, like abortion funds, which help folks in reproductive rights deserts travel to more hospitable jurisdictions. So that was a bit of a downer, as Kate suggested.

I was right, by the way. No, but that's largely it for the show. Mostly uplifting from here. We'll see. We will get to the airing of grievances at the end of the episode. Which is also part of the holiday season. I mean, think about what a great song we could sing. Santa baby, put a Mirena under the tree for me.

You can't do that if you're going to make Melody take that out, Melissa. She can leave that one in. Excellent. Put an IUD under the tree for me. Okay. Number two on our list of favorite things. You all know, listeners, that we here at Strict Scrutiny are big, big fans of Justice Samuel Alito and his skin. Seriously, we don't always agree with the son of New Jersey on points of constitutional law, but we do agree that his skin care regime is on point.

So, yes, we know his skin, though thin, is moist and supple, not what one would expect in a man in his 70s. So we applaud him for the care that he's brought to his visage. And we asked the question, how can we ordinary handmaid, I mean mortals, achieve this kind of youthful glow? Well, fear not listeners. We did the research so you don't have to. One of our absolute favorite skincare regimens is San Francisco-based True Botanicals.

True Botanicals is all natural, it's all organic, and it's designed to meet a range of skincare needs from adult acne to anti-aging. And it smells divine, has lovely packaging, and can be delivered to your house on a subscription service. So they have a great set for the holidays of best-selling products that retails for $125.

It's a little pricey, but I think it's worth it to look like the supreme himself, Samuel Alito. More importantly, like Melissa Murray, actually, who in fact does use it and who I think our listeners would be more excited to emulate than Sam. Just saying. Listen, you may not agree with him, but I've said this over and over again. I don't know what he's doing for his skin, but it looks great. And I kind of suspect this is what he's doing. He's, you know, he may get his coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, but he's getting his skincare at

True Mechanicals. Trust. Bet. All right. And Kate, you use it too. So you like it very much. Well, so I have the serum, which is, I mean, we should say this is very pricey stuff, right? So $125 for this like, you know, range of I think mini bottles.

The full size serum is like $80 or $90. It lasts a while. You use like a drop or two or a little more than that, but not a huge amount. But wait, are there other products besides the serum that I should try, Melissa? I've used the whole line, the clear line. And it smells really good. It smells like lavender. I really like it.

But again, I agree with you, Kate. True Botanicals is pretty pricey. And so we want to be a podcast for the people. So if you still want organic Sam Alito-worthy skincare, we remain fans of last year's favorite things pick, Keri Grand Skincare Mini Kit, which is fantastic, lovely, organic, smells great, and retails for a more palatable $29 for the entire mini set. So it's a great introduction. If you like it, you can buy more.

If you don't, toss it. But I'm telling you, I think you're going to like that glow, that glow that says, let me overturn reproductive rights in one fell swoop. Uplift. Uplift is what we're supposed to say. happy thoughts i said holiday glow i said it with enthusiasm and a smile what's the next on our list um okay so next we want to talk about clothing we know you all love clothing with cheeky phrases on it. We have, after all, made shirts that say things like, assume I disagree. Some that say, have you filed a habeas or something?

Some that say, will this institution survive the stench? So on and so forth. If you haven't checked out our various merch lines, go to our website. Sometimes we are out of certain sizes and the website restocks pretty quickly. So I'm not sure what shipping times are like right now, so I can't promise any particular arrival date, but there's tons of great merch available. So get their ASAP if you're still looking for gifts. But if you have your own phrase you'd like to see emblazoned on a shirt

and a really nice shirt at that, like a cashmere sweater, we need to re-up one of our favorite things from last year, namely the Lady Doth Etsy shop. You can get a sweatshirt with a custom phrase or a sweater. And listeners, we are not lying when we say this is actually one of our favorite things. In fact, both Melissa and I gifted the entire Strict Scrutiny team different Lady Doth items. So there you go. So I actually am thinking about getting a new Lady Doth item made for myself. Maybe just like

a cashmere sweater, like maybe camel because it's like, you know, like reminds me of Jackie Kennedy and just putting on it. What's that stench? What do you think? that's a good one um i love my lady doth in camel that says fix your wig it is one of my all-time favorite clothing items i love my gray lady doth that says team megan oh that's a good one right i think it's i mean one day when i meet her royal highness the duchess of sussex i'm going to be wearing that and she's going to know I'm a true fan or a stalker. So the gifts you guys sent are my first Lady Doth items. I'm so excited to don them.

We should coordinate. Well, I think it's your first because last year, Kate, you noted that one of your favorite items was a Lingua Franca item that you received. But then it's not Lady Doth, right? So it's's very similar line to the friend sent me a lingua franca sweater we we note that lingua franca is a lovely line of also

hand-stitched cashmere sweaters it's pretty pricey um although they do donate some of the proceeds to various charities but lady doth is a really good dupe. And again, they let you put on your own message, which Lingua Franca doesn't always do. Oh, I see. Right. Yeah. So mine, I must have been a pre-existing line that said, when they were nine, which is a great, beautiful sweater. I see.

Okay. Lady Doth. And one that I made on the Lady Doth. Oh, nice. We will be wearing these to future live shows, hopefully someday in person. Imagine just all of us, a phalanx of gorgeous ladies of strict scrutiny wearing gloss Lady Doth sweatshirts. Amazing. Sounds right.

Okay, so next item, number four. We love supporting women entrepreneurs. And if you are into cooking, I really love cooking with Stephanie Iser's cooking spices and sauces which you can get at her shop This Little Goat. Stephanie was the first female chef to win top chef and she opened the Girl and the Goat the acclaimed restaurant in Chicago and now has something of an empire of restaurants and shops in Chicago and she sells sauce packages spice packages, and crunchy topping packages.

And one of the greatest things is her website has a million different recipes for how you can use these items to make easy, delicious food. So I would definitely recommend. Oh, I'm going to go do that. I love easy, delicious food. I'm totally going to order some of this stuff on the website right now.

This looks amazing. OK, Kate has literally turned off her camera. Kate's looking down at her phone. Apple Pay, quick delivery. And then there's like mixes for like an Indian. The magic green beans. Spiced apple cider spritz. But like there's like beverage mixers.

Oh, wow. Ooh, beverage mixers. It's really awesome. It's really awesome. Thanks, Leah. This is great. Hello. How about some book recommendations, ladies?

I mean, because we do more than just read opinions. I feel like we disparaged children's books on our last episode, and we need to rectify any impression that we've made. Which children's books did we disparage? Well, no, just the category of books as gifts. Remember, we were like, underwear, no books. Well, that was only by way of an analogy to the Supreme Court Commission report. We actually love books. That's right.

We love books. We're very proud of books. We love books. Last year, one of our favorite things was the Jambo subscription book service, which is fantastic. Which I got for my niece and nephew, which they loved. Here's a book that maybe isn't super hard reading, but is extremely entertaining. And that would be Sarah Cooper's book, How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men's Feelings.

Someone gifted me this book, and it has sparked joy every time I have opened it. So would really recommend. More generally, on the reading front, definitely encourage people to gift a way of supporting women journalists who are doing wonderful work. You know, We've highlighted on this show, obviously, Dahlia Lithwick, who you can support via Sleep Plus subscription, Alexandra Petrai on The Washington Post. Her recap of the DOMS versus Jackson Women Health Organization argument, by the way, is maybe the greatest piece of journalism ever. If you're inclined to support other kinds of authors, may we also recommend former strict scrutiny guest and hopefully future guest Ellie Mistal, who has a book coming out in March of 2022, but you can pre-order it and gift it now for someone who just needs the

gift of anticipation. The book is called Allow Me to Retort, A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution. And if the book is anything like Ellie's searing commentary in The Nation, it is going to be a rollicking ride through constitutional law. So watch that space. You can order it now and it will come to you in March. And again, support one of our favorite commentators, Ellie Mestal. I've already pre-ordered. I mean, same. And I think we're going to do a book talk with Ellie. Oh, definitely.

So yeah, but I mean, it would be great if you were prepared for the book talk by having actually read the book. So, you know, do the reading. In addition to Ellie's book, I'm actually reading some great work by women because I don't want to be canceled. And among them is Jocelyn Nicole Johnson's My Monticello. And if you've been listening to this pod for a while, you'll know that as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, wahoo wah, I was also a tour guide at Monticello. I mean, this was the heyday of the Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson controversy when that movie Jefferson in Paris came out. And so I worked with a guy who was very tall and had red hair. And you would not believe the questions that he and I got from tourists on a regular basis.

Like, were we descendants? Were we dating? No to both questions. But I had a really great time working at Monticello. That was sort of a low point. But otherwise, it was absolutely fantastic. I really loved it. And I love this book. It's a collection of short stories by this art teacher and writer who just kind of came into this amazing book deal. She's been teaching art in the Charlottesville public schools for years and then just submitted

this first collection of short stories and, you know, got an amazing book deal and a Netflix deal out of it. But the short stories are fantastic. One of them, Control Negro, was cited by Roxane Gay in her collection of the best short stories of 2020, I believe. But the centerpiece of the collection is the novella My Monticello, which offers a dystopian Walking Dead style narrative about a white supremacist takeover of Charlottesville, Virginia, which prompts this motley crew of neighbors to take refuge at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.

So it's really fantastic. Highly recommended. Also highly recommend Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls and The Women of Troy, which are both feminist retellings of various Silence of the Girls and The Women of Troy, which are both feminist retellings of various chapters of the Iliad. And they're all written from the perspective of Briseis, the Trojan princess who is captured by Achilles and taken as his concubine. The second book, The Women of Troy, also features our favorite Trojan princess, Cassandra, who not only predicts the destruction of Troy, the introduction of the

Trojan horse, and her death alongside her captor, Agamemnon, but does all of this and is never, ever believed. Ever. And sister, we feel you. Justice Alito called her remarks false and inflammatory, if I remember correctly. She was surely evidence of a cancel culture in the making. Exactly. Exactly. Cancel the horse. No, we're going to keep the horse. Let's see what happens. Like, yes, exactly. When cancel culture came to Troy. So check that out. Wait, can I go back to Thomas Jefferson and Machicello for a second? So that book collection sounds amazing. And it reminds me. I know what you're going to say. Wait.

I doubt – maybe you do. But my kids have been obsessed with – oh, oh, oh. I know what you thought I was going to say. But maybe I'll come back and say that. So what I was going to say, my kids have been obsessed with playing a song that maybe you guys are aware of but that I was not even though it came out last year, which is Daveed Diggs has a song called Puppy for Hanukkah that is so good. I'm playing it on repeat. And Daveed Diggs played Thomas Jefferson in addition to Lafayette in Hamilton. But if you're like my household is both a Hanukkah and a Christmas household,

and usually they're around the same time. It's so weird. Hanukkah feels like a million years ago. So around Christmas, if you want to feel some Hanukkah spirit and you're hanging out with your kids, highly recommend as a soundtrack Daveed Diggs' Puppy for Hanukkah. It's like a hilarious song. I'm going to go. It's really good. Well, you know, Daveed Diggs is a son of Oakland, California. So shout out to him. I did not, but he is a graduate of Brown University as well. First,

he was in Oakland. Leah, do you have a Daveed Connect anyone highlight? No. That was not what you thought I was going to say. Melissa, not what you thought I was going to say. Melissa, what did you think I was going to say? I thought you were going to talk about Clint Smith's How the Word is Passed, which was fantastic and so good. Basically, it's the story of all of these sites of American history and how they sort of reckon with the difficult questions in their past. Yeah, and because he has a chapter about Monticello, I have been waiting for the last year, I think the book came out about a year ago,

for someone to commission, Melissa Murray, to write the definitive review of Clint Smith's How the Word Has Passed. And that weirdly has not happened yet. And so... I think the moment has passed. Not just the word, but the moment. When the paperback comes out,

maybe it'll be written up again. I think it would be a poor book review, though, because usually in a book review, and we were going to find out what a true book review looks like when we read Leah's book review of Justice Breyer's book later this year. But I think generally the whole conceit of a book review is you either have to be hypercritical or you have to say something say something like I wish you'd written a different book and I don't wish he'd written a different book. No no no I'm just saying but he was not a young tour guide having the experiences that you had. Few were. You just have new perspective on that place and the evolving way it has tried to reckon with history that I feel like you could bring to bear on a review. I will say like few people have this experience and that's probably a good thing, but they really did wrestle with this question. And, you know, I was there in the early days of them sort of dealing with that. And, you know,

it was a model, I think, of how you tell a story that is complicated and constantly evolving. So hats off to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, another one of my favorite things. And if you're in Charlottesville, head up to the mountaintop and check it out. Sort of in the vein of books about history, one thing that I think we can't finish this book recommendation conversation without mentioning is Nicole Hannah-Jones' 1619 Project. So I was telling you two before we started taping that I ordered a bunch of copies for like cousins and uncles and family members who I thought, you know, this would be good gifts for.

And I stopped by my local independent bookstore where we should all be ordering our holiday book gifts. And the awesome proprietor of my neighborhood bookstore was like, oh, I saw, because I sent him an email ordering a whole bunch of books, like a little tiny neighborhood place and everyone in the neighborhood does that. And he said, and I had in stock a bunch of copies of the 1619 Project that Nicole Hannah Jones has signed. So completely unbeknownst to me, I have a bunch of signed copies. Melissa, you're not getting one of them because you said you didn't have one.

Wait, wait, I'm not getting one? No, you are. Melissa, you are now getting one. So I got to figure out what relative to X. I thought you said you are not getting one. I'm like, well, that is very specific. Well, you were before the show started and then you canceled me in like the first five minutes. And so I decided, no, you're getting one. Your cancellation will be revoked if you give Melissa one of these books. Done. Well, I'll give Melissa one of the books anyway.

Your cancellation is always revocable, Kate. But revocable, not revoked, just revocable. So just keep me on my toes. So anyway, so I got some of those. And then there's also a beautiful companion for the children in your life born on the water. So I think, you know, every household probably needs a copy of these. And so pick them up and pick them up as gifts. Leah, do you have another favorite thing that you'd like to see under the tree this year? I do. So this is a gift that would mean the most to me. But whether you're able to get it may depend

on whether you possess some constitutional powers of advice and consent or nomination. Specifically, I am talking about confirming some judicial nominees and nominating others. I want Judge Dale Ho to have those Article III powers very shortly, and I would also like a nominee to the D.C. Circuit soon. And if you possess another kind of constitutional power, specifically the judicial kind, we would direct you back to our last episode about whether now might be a good time to think about taking senior status. In fact, since we released that episode, it became public that several additional judges are taking senior status, specifically Judges Cole and White on the Sixth Circuit, Judge Motz on the Fourth Circuit, and others as well. This sounds like a really good occasion for a new holiday favorite song. So how about this one, Leah?

On the first day of Christmas, Joe Biden gave to me a slate of judicial nominees. You like it? I love it. Music to my ears. Almost like Justice Kagan. 12 Lucy Coes. 11 Myrna Perez. Almost like Justice Kagan invoking Taylor Swift or Justice Kagan explaining why the state should lose in a habeas case. Right. It's up there.

It's up there. Injected into my veins. Amazing. Speaking of Taylor Swift, do you have some thoughts on Taylor Swift merchandise that might be as good as some of ours, Leah? I mean, her merchandise is amazing. You can go and buy a red all too well scarf. Who doesn't want the red all-too-well scarf. It's everything. For the Swifty in your life, cannot think of a better gift. Did you see Dionne Warwick's Twitter?

Oh, yeah. Amazing. Where she said, that young man needs to give Taylor back her scarf. It was a great, a great scolding tweet. Like, all-time great. She's so good at Twitter. She is. Amazing.

Like, who do you, do you think she's getting help or she's just, like, doing it on her own? No, it's so authentic. There's no way. She's completely uncoached, unfiltered. No help. Exactly. It's hers. And just, like, I'll pay for the postage.

It's just, it's so good. It's like just big auntie energy. Give her back her smart. Exactly. Stop acting a fool. I like it. Speaking of Taylor Swift, it occurred to me as I went down that rabbit hole that you inspired, Leah, and I was listening to Taylor Swift all the time. Wherein my 14-year-old reminded me that the only people who listen to Taylor Swift are millennials and people trying to appeal to millennials. I was like, it me. She's so savage. Anyway, it occurred to me as I

was listening to the entire Taylor Swift oeuvre that some of these songs really map on pretty well to particular justices. So I wonder, as a gift, a holiday gift to our listeners, we might perhaps think about each justice and assign them a particular Swifty song. This is like when Katie Thurston, the second to last Bachelorette, went through and assigned her exes Taylor Swift songs. But we're going to do it for the current Supreme Court. So here we go. Let's start with I love this for us. I really do. I love I do to the Chief Justice in name only a listener suggested we should abbreviate this as Chino. John Roberts, so like a pair of khakis. Exactly. Like a pair of khakis. Exactly. Chief Justice in name only, Chino John Roberts.

Nominees for Taylor Swift songs. I say Dear John. That's a good one. That's a good one. How about... A little too on the nose. No, no, not necessarily. But just in light of some recent developments

slash some feels that he may be experiencing, everything has changed. Or I wish you would. Oh, I like that. Yeah. I like how Kate's knowingly going, mmm, what's your thoughts about it? Kate insisted she was a Swifty,

and therefore I sent her taylor swift shirts i designed i have a 10 year old who yeah i mean like one of the many many pandemic losses is we got we got her tickets two christmases ago for one of taylor's few u.s shows in boston and months and months and months went by as we like sat on the maybe someday list and at some point she was like I guess I'll just refund everybody um yeah like I've known Taylor related heartbreak guys come on um no I know I know I will not say I'm like a complete it's not a scarf but I too have felt and wet um okay so Justice Thomas oh Oh, sorry. Look What You Made Me Do? Oh, no. He's not there yet. That's Justice.

No, but I mean, I just feel like he's moving, and I feel like that's maybe directed at Sam Clarence. I'm just offering it up to establish my cred, I guess. You guys, I don't have to agree with it, but I think there's an argument to be made. If he wants to take this energy, we're here for it. Okay, that could be his future. This could be maybe next year be maybe next year this will be depending on what he does in the interim i will give him that song if he announces he is stepping down at the end of this term he will have earned it yes look what you made me do um justice thomas what about end game

because he is playing like, I mean, and I also think he sort of floats under the radar. People don't think he's playing five dimensional chess, but he totally is. Exactly. We see you though. We see you, Jessica Thomas.

Ready for it? Always. Oh yeah. Always. Always. Always. That's a good one. That's a good one.

That could work for a lot of them. That's right. Let's just be fair. Hold that one in reserve. Very true. Very true. I like good one. That's a good one. That could work for a lot of them. That's right. Let's just be fair. Hold that one in reserve. Very true. Very true. I like that one. Shall we go down to our favorite ally, prospective ally? One Stephen G. Breyer.

Questionable ally. He's going to work on it. He's going to go to a workshop. So stay tuned for more elaboration on this analogy but i do think hey steven is on point here specifically the line hey steven i've been holding back some feelings i've got some things to say to you oh my god very you use her you use taylor in your book review i mean of course she did duh i mean wait wait wait who among us has not a lot of taylor swift article just do you even know me it's just me wait melissa you have well no maybe not taylor

so i put a lot of like random like pop culture references like easter eggs in my law review articles go find them but not taylor swift yeah i think I actually did cite a Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher movie in Marriage is Punishment. What's that movie? What happens in Vegas where they have to get married or something. Yeah. Justice Alito? Mean. Why you got to be so mean?

Yeah, that's good. I think along similar veins, Bad Blood, you know, alluding to his anger at the Chief and disappointment in the court, not overruling employment division versus Smith. That's a good one. I think similar energy, similar point. I was gonna use Bad Blood for

Justice Kagan, who was like, I used to try to hang with you guys, now we're definitely not hanging. Yeah, that's fair. I went went duck hunting I'm not going duck hunting again um I'm just trying to think of what the occasion for this is but I've got today was a fairy tale but it may have not come yet for Sam Alito but like I feel like that's what he recognized it if it were I think he's like in total grievance mode even like I mean when it all comes together he's still going to be like could have been better could have been more extreme we'll see like, I mean, when it all comes together, he's still going to be like, could have been better. Could have been more extreme. We'll see.

But yeah, I mean, I think that what we saw in like Fulton was him like thinking his fairy tale just like evaporated. Yeah, that's true. That's true. But I think he's going to have more happiness, more satisfaction, more fulfillment this term. Dear John is Justice Alito's song. It's like the angry note to the chief. To John Roberts, yeah.

Oh, that's a good one. I like where your head's at on this. Justice Sotomayor, Speak Now. Oh, that's a good one. The Man, right? The Man is good. The Man is a good one. The Man is very good.

I also think Red. I don't know. I like Red for her. He drove his sports car into my reproductive rights. And destroyed them. Same idea. We are never, ever, ever getting back together. That's great.

That works too. Okay. So we've already kind of talked about some suggestions. Melissa, for Justice Kagan, you had mentioned bad blood. I thought bad blood would be – Yeah. The man would also be good for her, too. Another possibility, no body, no crime for all the murdering she does.

Oh, yeah. Justice Kavanaugh in her dissents or competing opinions. She does. She's like an assassin with a pen. Exactly. Exactly, exactly. Another kind of out there possibility would be Nothing New, you know, the From the Vault duet with Phoebe Bridgers.

And the only reason why that's applicable is because in my deepest fantasy and imagination, when I text her to ask her to appear on Strict Scrutiny, I don't have her phone number, but if I did, she would respond as Phoebe Bridgers responded to Taylor Swift when Taylor Swift asked her to do the duet, Nothing New. Do you know what Phoebe said? No.

I have waited for this text for my entire life. That's the response I'm looking for. I think you're going to get it. We'll see. It's only a matter of time, Leah. You and Elena, me and Megan. Exactly. These are our favorite things.

We also need No Body, No Crime because I don't think we've so far identified any Evermore or Folklore songs. And so I think we do need to draw from those two. Yeah. So yeah. Okay. we've so far identified any evermore or folklore songs and so i think we do need to draw from those two yeah so yeah okay i mean for the whole court exile because that's what's going to happen to all of us right yep okay that that's good we checked our folklore evermore box okay yeah neil gorsuch justice gorsuch you need to calm down. Especially this last couple of opinions. Yeah. No, I think that's right. Some other ones that I had in mind, maybe tell me why, you know, given his tendency to interrupt advocates and be like, you're not answering my question. Answer my question.

I don't know. I feel like somehow, somehow this is why we can't have nice things would work. Oh yeah. It's like, well, he's there and not Carlin. And also just,

he, he just, we can't. Yeah. Kate, Kate is like, Kate listened all night long. I now have to shore up my Taylor Swift bonafides.

I love this for you. And so I have and bring an actual knowledge, which I have. Kate, I mean, literally, Kate, I'm so taken aback by this. This wasn't what I was expecting at all. Justice Kavanaugh. So he's the one that I would have done. Look what you made me do for or don't blame me, you know, given his like the Constitution is like neither pro-life nor pro-choice. It's just neutral. So I don't know.

You took it to a very substantive place. I was thinking maybe blank space. And I'll write your name. Like the confirmation process. Just like I got a blank space. I'm'll write your name. Like the confirmation process. Just like I got a blank space. I'm just going to be a cipher. I'll be whatever you want me to be. Yeah.

So blank space I was actually going to use for the next justice, Justice Barrett. I mean, I didn't say they weren't. Also for the confirmation hearing when she held up the blank note. Oh, also good. Very, very specific. Yeah. That's good. That's good. That's good.

Or style, like big Harry Styles energy for Justice Kavanaugh. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's a good one. And finally, Justice Barrett.

I feel like Picture to Burn somehow, like, also works there. Oh, yeah. Maybe. From the Vault Cake, from the Vault. Love it.

Mine was more obvious in Pop 40. I knew you were trouble when you walked in yeah yeah i think that one wins wow that got depressing that went dark that's extremely fun i think we need to do this with sort of more like attaching more pop cultural production to the justices. I think that would be great. Back to our favorite things. Number eight, if you have a sweet tooth or if you are attending holiday parties, but you're not because we're still in a pandemic, but if you were attending a holiday party or if you're, I don't know, going somewhere where you have to give someone a host gift, look no further than the Lavon Bakery cookie assortment. So Lavon is one of my favorite spots in Greenwich Village

because it has cookies that are so massive and so delicious. The cookies are so big, I can actually eat one over the course of three days. And they freeze really well, so you can just heat them up later. They're fantastic. But don't worry, listeners, you don't need to be near NYU's non-campus campus in order to avail yourself of these delectables. Lavon ships their cookies across the United States and offers a variety of assortments, four cookies, eight cookies, 12 cookies, at various price points. So get on that. They still have delivery in time for the holidays and they're so, so good and you can freeze them and keep them for like months. They're so yummy.

Go for it. Another recommendation for my fellow sweet teeth is Sugar Goat, the bakery of Stephanie Isard. I give my wholehearted recommendation for her Cheez-It cake and Cheez-It cupcakes, as well as the chocolate french fry pie, which you can order for delivery via GoldBelly. So I have to say this chocolate french fry pie and the Cheez-It cake and Cheez-It cupcakes reminds me a little of Frito pie. Is it exactly what they sound like or are they actually delicious? They are delicious. Just incredible. So good. Really?

Yeah. All right. Okay good. Really? Yeah. All right. Okay. My personal favorite is the Cheez-It cake. I love Cheez-Its. I mean, I really, I mean, a very undersung savory treat. Yes, exactly. Also on my favorites, like get yourself a box of Cheez-Its for this holiday season.

For what comes next around June 2022, just arm yourself with a box of Cheez-Its. And an IUD. And an IUD. A Cheez-Its and an IUD. Thank you, Santa. That's how you would know Santa is a woman. Rudolph the Reproductive Rights Reindeer brought meat. Jesus, and an IUD.

I love it. Okay. If the latest doings at the court are getting you down, the best remedy is, of course, to get outside and let Mother Nature soothe your soul. But what if you're like Melissa and Kate and you live in New York City? How can you get that natural high? Leah, what is this next product?

It is not an ad placement for CBD products. Okay. All right. Cool. Carry on. Proceed. Well, so I think this is your recommendation since you're the ones that live in nature depleted areas. Leah does not need this. Leah can actually just get out there and commune with the trees. Well, Kate and I can't. So we recommend, if you need a little nature fix, going out to the Parks Project website, which features a range of items inspired by and from the American National Parks. And a particular favorite for me when I am missing California is the Yosemite Lodgepole Pine Candle. But they have a candle for almost every national park. So

check it out on their website. They have lots of great gifts here. You can make your apartment smell like the great outdoors with one of these candles. And while you're doing it, a portion of the proceeds goes to support the national parks. And I think right now they're having a site-wide 38% off sale. So really awesome. Also on the topic of getting outside, although Melissa tried to put the kibosh on this recommendation. If you are a runner or a biker or like practice a lot of yoga in a drafty old house, I am going to tell you something to acquire for the winter that will maybe change your life. Sort of I feel like these have changed mine. So get yourself a pair of leg warmers, like warm,

warm leg warmers. And head back to 1982. Well, yes, but you know what? I like feeling like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. I am not mad about feeling that way when I don these leg warmers. She was amazing. And those of us who are old enough to remember. She was a maniac on the floor, dancing like she'd never done before. So yes, if you want to relive that lost youth slash honestly, like just be warm, you know, leg warmers are obviously like, you know, ankle to knee, but somehow they warm your whole body. Anyway, I got a pair from Lunya, L-U-N-Y-A, which also makes like these very beautiful washable

silk pajamas that I have a pair of. But they either didn't previously have or I just didn't realize they had other like, you know, wear out of the house kind of gear. Anyway, so I got myself an expensive but amazing pair. Wait, you can't wear your washable silk pajamas out of the house? One could. I have not. But I'm not telling anyone else how to wear their pajamas. But the leg warmers I wear in and out and they're amazing and I go running in them and I recommend them. So there. Melissa, see, even though it was like a running related recommendation, I had a movie reference. So thank you for allowing it.

I'm not opposed to – No, I know. You love exercise, but you just didn't want me to hawk like running gear. I get it. Well, no. You're fine. I'm fine. I'm just like – I feel like running right now, I'm just like – it's hard to run in

the city. I actually don't know how you do it. Like I feel like it it's a lot of start and stop. Yeah, see, I'm right by Prospect Park in Brooklyn. And so I just like, I'm two blocks from the park and I go. If I ever try to go for a run from Cardozo, which is obviously right by NYU, you have to like fight your way to the west side in order to get someplace you can run. And you're sort of exhausted by the time you even get there. So I do think it depends on where you are. But if you're by Central Park or Prospect Park or any other, you know, New York City, Riverside, like there's lots of parks in the city. But if you're not close to one, it's not really feasible to go running on the sidewalk, like particularly around the holidays when the city is so crowded.

All right. So what's our final recommendation for this holiday season of good cheer as we await June? Well, actually, can I pose a question which is about gifts but that I actually want some guidance on and maybe listeners want guidance too. So what does one buy a new four-legged family member for the holidays, right? So you both know my family recently acquired a rescue dog, Shadow. She's amazing. And at my kid's insistence, we got her a Christmas dogging too, but I have to confess, I'm not even sure what to put in a dog's doggie. She has tons of treats. We give her treats all the time. Are there special treats, toys? Like, you know, I obviously need to get her a strict scrutiny bandana.

But what else do you get your dog for the holidays, if anything? Bully sticks, subscription to the farmer's dog, get them some, like, quality dog food. Fantastic. So what's Stevie eats? It's the farmer's dog. Is that what Stevie eats? The farmer's dog. Of course she does.

Well, Cousin Cole is also partaking. He's very thin. It's a dog treat subscription service? No, it's a dog food subscription service. Cole eats more vegetables than my human children. Let's put it that way. Additional special treats. One of Stevie's favorite treats are buck bones they are elk antlers you can

get them whole or split she loves them they don't smell they're amazing um there are also many wonderful toys so stevie's favorites are skin ease there are no stuffing toys so they can't rip the stuffing out but they have squeakers in them okay um oh we have some of those ones yeah great toys um so that would be a recommendation if you're looking for doggy fashion of course i will again plug this year the bandana companies that stevie is a model for which are hand-picked by Hadley, available on Etsy. And you can use Stevie's discount code, Stevie10, or L and Dill, that's E-L-L and Dill, D-I-L, also available on Etsy. Stevie's discount code is Stevie15. This is the dog momager in me. Okay, Kris Jenner. I swear I was not at all setting you up for that.

You're doing great, sweetie. You're doing great. I didn't realize Stevie was a model for two different dog gear lines. I'm telling you, once you put Shadow on Instagram, like my kids put our dog on Instagram and like people slid into the DMs. They're like, would he like to be a dog model? And I was like, well, y'all have gorgeous dog shadows, beautiful, but like,

I'm not sure she's like real model. Maybe I'm not sure she really has model. Have you trained her to smile for the camera? That's critical. Exactly. That's critical. Cole does smile on, on cue.

Okay. Another gift that I would offer to shadow. And this one I think is inspired by Justice Clarence Thomas. If you go to Dunkin' Donuts, they actually have a line of dog toys where they have like a donut and the bag and the bag crinkles. And I bought one for Cole. He loves it. He's super into it. This latte liberal dog loves his Dunkin' Donuts. No Starbucks dog toys. Oh, no. We're going with the Dunkin' Donuts dog toys. They don't have dog toys. They're not for the people, Kate. They're not for the people with dogs. All right.

Definitely not. Okay. Dunkin' Donuts. Stevie's favorite toy is actually a handmade sock bottle. You just take an empty water bottle and you put it in a long tube sock and you tie it, and she loves it. It's her all-time favorite toy. That's like you buy your kid all of these presents and they're like, I'm going to play with this box. Watch. And they turn into an amazing Ford. And you're like, oh yeah, the box that came in was actually the most important part. You know, you're making me really regret my choices.

I did not get a stocking for Cole. I obviously have to go get one right now. It's not too late. You can do that. Yeah, this is your first holiday with the dog too, right? Yeah, I just like have been doing all this other stuff and I forgot. Yeah, I'm going to go get that this other stuff and I forgot. Yeah, I'm gonna go get that. There's time to rectify it. I did get him a baby's first Christmas ornament for the tree. And my kids are like, do we have those? And I'm like, no, you don't. I was overworked and busy

when you were born and I did not do that. Or maybe I do have them. Maybe they're in California. I don't know. But I don't recall actually doing it. They're definitely not on your tree right now is what you're saying. They're not on this tree. They're not on this tree. They might exist. I got to go find them.

But yeah, right now the only baby having a first Christmas is Cole. Baby Cole. Well, we hope this episode brought you holiday cheer. We will hold the airing of grievances for the new year when we are sure we will have plenty to go over. Thanks to our producer, Melody Rowell. Thanks to Eddie Cooper for making our music. Thanks to all of you for listening. You can support the show by getting some of the merchandise we referenced earlier at our website, strictscrutinypodcast.com.