Episodes

  • The Fall of Affirmative Action | Interview: Justin Driver

    The Fall of Affirmative Action | Interview: Justin Driver
    Sep 23 2025
    Sarah Isgur and David French sit down with Justin Driver, the Robert R. Slaughter Professor of Law at Yale Law School, to talk about his new book, The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Higher Education. They explore the landmark case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a ruling celebrated by conservatives as a victory for colorblind principles and criticized by progressives as a blow to racial equity. But according to Driver, both perspectives miss the mark. The Agenda:—DMing Pam Bondi?—Brendan Carr weaponizing the FCC—‘I sued the Obama administration.’—Victimization and mismatch in affirmative action arguments—SFFA and race neutral mechanisms—The future of race-neutral policies Show Notes:—The Morning Dispatch on the FCC Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • The Oldest Constitutional Question | Interview: Richard Primus

    The Oldest Constitutional Question | Interview: Richard Primus
    Sep 18 2025
    Sarah Isgur and David French invite Richard Primus, author of The Oldest Constitutional Question: Enumeration and Federal Power, to discuss his unorthodox argument that the constitutional system does place limits on Congress, but those limits don’t actually come from the enumeration of powers—and never have. But first: a grab bag of legal cases and responding to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s very anti-conservative remarks. The Agenda:—Will hate speech be prosecuted?—Partisan divides on the interim docket—Listener insights on delegated powers—Elite law schools and Rehnquist v. Souter clerk hiring—Granting mootness on a SCOTUS case—The oldest constitutional question—Originalism and the 10th Amendment Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Superhighways of Foreign Influence

    Superhighways of Foreign Influence
    Sep 16 2025
    In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Sarah Isgur and David French explore the evolving battle over free speech and examine modern threats posed by social media. The Agenda:—Rising acceptance of violence in discourse—Student protests and free speech—David’s favorite pro-free speech essay—Understanding stochastic terrorism—Online bots and foreign influence—The implications of Section 230—The assassination’s veto—South Carolina v. Doe Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    59 mins
  • Congress Won’t Contradict Trump

    Congress Won’t Contradict Trump
    Sep 11 2025
    When the president orders a strike, who decides if it’s legal? Sarah Isgur and David French unpack the commander in chief’s powers after a hit on an alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessel. The Agenda:—The laws of armed conflict—Violating the Constitution?—The complexity of terror designation—SCOTUS to decide fate of Trump's tariffs—Interim docket before the emergency docket—Sarah name-drops Jonah Goldberg—SCOTUS interim docket decision on immigration stops in L.A. Show Notes:—Orin Kerr on Los Angeles immigration enforcement case Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Listening to a Justice | Interview: Justice Amy Coney Barrett

    Listening to a Justice | Interview: Justice Amy Coney Barrett
    Sep 9 2025
    Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett joins Sarah Isgur and David French from the Lawyer’s Room at the Supreme Court. They begin with a lightning round of questions (Emergency docket? Certiorari pronunciation?) before diving into ACB’s thoughts on originalism and discussing her new book, Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and the Constitution. The Agenda:—Lightning round!—Give up, “equity docket,” David—Do oral arguments even matter anymore?—All about originalism—Life as a Justice Antonin Scalia clerk—Law school: to go or not to go? Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Free Speech and ‘The Executive Power’ | FIRE Crossover

    Free Speech and ‘The Executive Power’ | FIRE Crossover
    Sep 4 2025
    David French and Sarah Isgur speak with Nico Perrino to discuss the origin story of Advisory Opinions and the few free speech issues where they disagree with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Show Notes:—Origin story of Advisory Opinions—Disagreements between FIRE and AO—Why FIRE doesn’t editorialize on the content of speech—Limits of presidential power—Free speech, the dread of tyrants—The prosecution of political figures—Cracker Barrel—State of the conservative legal movement Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • When Flag Burning Becomes a Crime | Interview: Sanford and Cynthia Levinson

    When Flag Burning Becomes a Crime | Interview: Sanford and Cynthia Levinson
    Aug 28 2025
    Sarah Isgur and David French talk about flag burning and protected free speech in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order on the same subject. Then, husband-wife duo Sanford and Cynthia Levinson, authors of Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today, join to discuss why they believe some of our contemporary political problems stem from our founding document. The Agenda:—President Trump's executive order—Texas v. Johnson—Dinkus vs. Dingus—Greenbag.org—NIH v. American Public Health Association—Intro to constitutional law for non-lawyers Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr
  • Political Retribution? | Interview: Saikrishna Prakash

    Political Retribution? | Interview: Saikrishna Prakash
    Aug 26 2025
    Sarah Isgur and David French analyze the legalities of the FBI’s raid on former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s home. Then, an interview with Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash on his forthcoming book, The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History. The Agenda:—What could have triggered an FBI raid on John Bolton?—Is Chris Christie next on the investigation list?—Mortgage fraud investigations—More and more norm violations—The double-edged sword of pardons Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr