Episodes 49
Avg. Duration 42m
Activity Dormant
Apple Rating 4.8 (14,436)
Since May 2016
Latest Episode Nov 2025

Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Serial
Hosting
feeds.simplecast.com

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

We’re taught the Supreme Court was designed to be above the fray of politics. But at a time when partisanship seeps into every pore of American life, are the nine justices living up to that promise? More Perfect is a guide to the current moment on the Court. We bring the highest court of the land down to earth, telling the human dramas at the Court that shape so many aspects of American life — from our religious freedom to our artistic expression, from our reproductive choices to our voice in democracy.

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Recent Episodes

S4 The Harvard Plan

Nov 18, 2025 47m Bonus

Reporter Ilya Marritz—a longtime fan of More Perfect—drops in to share a new series he’s made with The Boston Globe and WNYC’s On the Media. The Harvard Plan investigates how the Trump…

S4E13 No More Souters - Revisited

May 09, 2025 49m

Justice David Souter has died.  Souter was one of the most private, low-profile justices ever to have served on the Supreme Court. He rarely gave interviews or speeches. Yet his tenure was anything…

S4E12 Andy Warhol and the Art of Judging Art

Aug 03, 2023 41m

The law protects creators' original work against copycats, but it also leaves the door open for some kinds of copying. When a photographer sues the Andy Warhol Foundation for using her work without…

S4E11 The Original Anti-Vaxxer

Jul 27, 2023 40m

In 1902, a Swedish-American pastor named Henning Jacobson refused to get the smallpox vaccine. This launched a chain of events leading to two landmark Supreme Court cases, in which the Court…

S4E10 Not Even Past: Dred Scott Reprise

Jul 20, 2023 35m

Dred Scott v. Sandford is one of the most infamous cases in Supreme Court history: in 1857, an enslaved person named Dred Scott filed a suit for his freedom and lost. In his decision, Chief Justice…

S4E9 No More Souters

Jul 13, 2023 48m

David Souter is one of the most private, low-profile justices ever to have served on the Supreme Court. He rarely gives interviews or speeches. Yet his tenure was anything but low profile. Deemed a…

S4E8 Off the Record, On the Stand

Jun 29, 2023 33m

Recently, On the Media’s Micah Loewinger was called to testify in court. He had reported on militia groups who’d helped lead the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Now the government was using his work…

S4E7 Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl Reprise

Jun 22, 2023 46m

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act in a case called Haaland v. Brackeen. The decision comes almost exactly 10 years after the Supreme Court ruled in Adoptive Couple v.…

S4E6 Part 2: If Not Viability, Then What?

Jun 15, 2023 35m

Now that the “viability line” in pregnancy — as defined by Roe v. Wade — is no longer federal law, lawmakers and lawyers are coming up with new frameworks for abortion access at a dizzying rate. In…

S4E5 Part 1: The Viability Line

Jun 08, 2023 44m

When the justices heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the landmark abortion case, one word came up more than any other: viability. The viability line was at the core…

S4E4 The Political Thicket Reprise

Jun 01, 2023 45m

This week, we revisit one of the most important Supreme Court cases you’ve probably never heard of: Baker v. Carr, a redistricting case from the 1960s, which challenged the justices to consider what…

S4E3 The Court’s Reporters

May 25, 2023 35m

Unlike other branches of government, the Supreme Court operates with almost no oversight. No cameras are allowed in the courtroom, no binding code of ethics, and records of their activities are…

S4E2 Clarence X

May 18, 2023 57m

To many Americans, Clarence Thomas makes no sense. For more than 30 years on the Court, he seems to have been on a mission — to take away rights that benefit Black people. As a young man, though,…

S4E1 The Supreme Court v. Peyote

May 11, 2023 57m

More than 30 years ago, a Native American man named Al Smith was fired for ingesting peyote at a religious ceremony. When his battle made it to the Supreme Court, the decision set off a thorny debate…

S4 The Preamble: Introducing More Perfect Season 4

May 04, 2023 7m Trailer

To kick off the new season, host Julia Longoria returns to high school, where she first fell in love with the Supreme Court. She was a star on her high school’s nationally-ranked “Constitution team”…

S1E33 More Perfect Is Coming Back

Jul 14, 2022 2m

More Perfect has been dark for four years now. But next year, hosted by Julia Longoria, we're coming back! The past few weeks have been historic, to say the least, in Supreme Court history. So in the…

S3E9 The Unfinished Amendments with Kevin Devine

Dec 04, 2018 24m

In More Perfect's final episode of the season, listen to liner notes for two amendments that contemplate the still-unfinished status of our Constitution. "27" is an album that marks a particular…

S3E8 The Democracy Amendments with Stef Chura

Nov 30, 2018 31m

This week, More Perfect takes a look at three amendments on the more obscure end of the spectrum. The 12th, 17th, and 20th Amendments made fine-tune adjustments to the way we pick our leaders. More…

S3E7 The Power Player Amendments with Devendra Banhart

Nov 20, 2018 41m

The 25th and 26th Amendments — ratified in 1967 and 1971, respectively — are some of the newest additions to our founding document. However, they tackle some pretty basic questions: who gets to rule,…

S3E6 The Sleeper Amendments with Post Animal

Nov 14, 2018 26m

On first read the 16th and 22nd Amendments are at best sleepers and at worst, stinkers. In a list of Constitutional hits like the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, and birthright…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does More Perfect have?

More Perfect has published 49 episodes since May 2016, covering topics in Courses, Documentary.

Is More Perfect still active?

More Perfect is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 42m.

How do I contact More Perfect for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for More Perfect, including email and social media links.

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