And the answer to that is we’re all scared. It’s scary. This was really an overwhelming amount of anxiety and fear that we could feel in these questions. Obviously, really bubbling over into people’s lives. It’s very real, and it’s very uncertain the time that we live in. We should all recognize that.
But also, hear us recognize it. Everybody is recognizing it right now. There’s power in that. You have got to be able to think. Your question can not begin and end right now at “How scared should I be?” Think about what information you get from that answer. That’s not actually good information that addresses any of those fears. If I tell you “you should be fucking scared” like, okay, then what?
You have got to come into community with people, and decide, and be doing those risk assessments. These are reasoned and rational and you can be doing that in community with your loved ones and the people that you live with or the people that you work around. What is the highest possible risk? What is the highest possible consequence? What is everything in between? Nothing happens to the highest consequence. Okay. What is my plan for every single one of those things happening? How do I mitigate my risk? How do I mitigate harm to the people that I love?
You can do something. I just want to recognize – it’s a tough time. It’s a scary time, if you want to hear us say it. It is a scary fucking time. But there are things you can do. You’ve heard me say this a million times before. You are a person with power. Now is the time to use it.
The Supreme Court sucks. We know that. We’ve always known that. But no one points it out the way that Peter, Michael, and Rhiannon do. There is no myth-making, no heroes, no sacred cows. They talk about the Supreme Court as a deeply political and partisan endeavor. They call out William Rehnquist for being a documented segregationalist because, well, he was. They made the argument that RBG should have retired and made T-shirts push Steven Bryer to do the same.
Yes, 5 to 4 is about all of the different ways the Supreme Court sucks. Most episodes revolve around a single case. Some of these cases you’ll recognize, like Bush v Gore or Tik Tok v. Garland. Each episode starts with the history behind the case, the ruling by the Court, and then any notable concurrences or descents. What sets 5 to 4 apart isn’t just the witty banter between the three cohosts as they rift on the law. What makes them stand out is how they talk about political power and personal power. Few people do a better job diagnosing the rot at the heart of the Democratic party than Michael. Few speak about the horrors of the criminal justice system better than Rhiannon.
As Rhiannon noted, we have power. Now is the time to use it.