First America – Details, episodes & analysis

Neil Gorsuch may not be the most well-known justice on the Supreme Court, but he might just be the key to understanding how and why the current court has come to wield so much power over our day-to-day lives. In the 11th season of Slow Burn, host Susan Matthews traces the rise of Neil Gorsuch, from his formative years as a young conservative through his nomination to a “stolen seat” on the U.S. Supreme Court. Through interviews, legal analysis, and archival research, this mild-mannered Westerner emerges as the court’s most unpredictable—and most important—sitting justice. 

In this first episode, Matthews examines Gorsuch’s early years, what he took away from his iconoclastic mother’s rocky tenure in the Reagan administration, and how his worldview was shaped by his time on a liberal college campus and in 1980s conservative circles. Plus: the controversial court case that might have gotten Gorsuch noticed by just the right people at just the right time.

Follow and listen now to the entire season on Slow Burn from slate.com. 

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The police tell us they are here to protect us. But what if their original purpose was something else altogether? Peabody Award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika takes listeners on a journey to uncover the hidden history of the largest police force in the world – from its roots in slavery, to rival police gangs battling across the city, to everyday people who resisted every step of the way. As our society debates where policing is going, Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD explores where the police came from.

From Wondery, Crooked Media and PushBlack.

Follow Empire City wherever you get your podcasts and listen to the second episode, available now. You can listen ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.

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The Brackeens aren’t the only ones suing to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act. So are Danielle and Jason Clifford, a foster couple from Minnesota.

Show Notes

• This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/
• Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/
• Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/
• Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brackeens' case would have been a normal adoption dispute, but then one of the most powerful corporate law firms in the United States took it on and helped the couple launch a federal lawsuit.

Show Notes

• This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/
• Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/
• Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/
• Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/
• Blood Memory documentary https://www.bloodmemorydoc.com/
• “Indian Adoption Project Increases Momentum” April 18, 1967 press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior https://www.indianaffairs.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/indian-adoption-project-increases-momentum

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ALM – as referred to in court documents – is a Navajo and Cherokee toddler. When he was a baby, a white couple from the suburbs of Dallas wanted to adopt him, but a federal law said they couldn’t. So they sued.

Show Notes:

• This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/
• Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/
• Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/
• Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/
• Jennifer Brackeen’s Personal Blog https://web.archive.org/web/20201221201802/https://thebrackeens.blogspot.com/
• "An Untold Number Of Indigenous Children Disappeared At U.S. Boarding Schools. Tribal Nations Are Raising The Stakes In Search Of Answers." https://theintercept.com/2018/09/25/carlisle-indian-industrial-school-indigenous-children-disappeared/
• "My Relatives Went To A Catholic School For Native Children. It Was A Place Of Horrors" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/30/my-relatives-went-to-a-catholic-school-for-native-children-it-was-a-place-of-horrors
• "Indigenous Children Finally Headed Home" https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/indigenous-children-officially-headed-home
• "Indian Boarding School Investigation Faces Hurdles In Missing Records, Legal Questions" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/indian-boarding-school-investigation-faces-hurdles-missing-records-legal-questions-n1273996
• "U.S. Boarding Schools To Be Investigated" https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/us-boarding-schools-to-be-investigated

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ALM – as referred to in court documents – is a Navajo and Cherokee toddler. When he was a baby, a white couple from the suburbs of Dallas wanted to adopt him, but a federal law said they couldn’t. So they sued. Today, the lawsuit doesn’t just impact the future of one child, or even the future of one law. It threatens the entire legal structure defending Native American rights. 

In season 2 of This Land, host Rebecca Nagle investigates how the far right is using Native children to quietly dismantle American Indian tribes. 

Tune in beginning August 23rd.

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The Supreme Court has ruled, delivering a historic decision on the reservation status of Eastern Oklahoma. Rebecca Nagle talks to the lawyer who argued the case at the High Court, Native law professors, scholars, and journalists to break down the significance of this decision and share what it means to the future of Muscogee (Creek) Nation and all Five Tribes.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.

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Today, the Supreme Court made a historic ruling on the reservation status of Eastern Oklahoma. Rebecca Nagle is here to break down the decision, talk through the implications, and hey, celebrate a little. Because this win -- it’s huge.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.

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A murder case sparked an investigation into the treaty rights of five tribes. But another case -- a simple case about an adoption -- could actually dismantle America's tribes as we know them. 

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.

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Tribes are asking that the Supreme Court keep the promises that it made to them, because what's lost when those promises are broken is much more than just land.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.