Sidebar by Courthouse News – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

Sidebar by Courthouse News

Courthouse News

News

Society & Culture

Frequency: 1 episode/23d. Total Eps: 79

Sidebar by Courthouse News tackles the stories you need to know from the legal world. Join reporters Hillel Aron, Kirk McDaniel, Amanda Pampuro, Kelsey Reichmann and Josh Russell as they take you in and out of courtrooms in the U.S. and beyond and break down all the developments that had them talking.

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Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇫🇷 France - newsCommentary
05/05/2026
#77
🇩🇪 Germany - newsCommentary
03/03/2026
#90
🇩🇪 Germany - newsCommentary
02/03/2026
#53
🇩🇪 Germany - newsCommentary
01/03/2026
#35
🇩🇪 Germany - newsCommentary
28/02/2026
#18
🇩🇪 Germany - newsCommentary
27/02/2026
#12
🇩🇪 Germany - newsCommentary
26/02/2026
#10
🇩🇪 Germany - newsCommentary
25/02/2026
#22

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://law.rutgers.edu/directory/view/mutchers
2 shares
https://www.cato.org/people/walter-olson
2 shares
https://www.afp.com/
1 share

https://twitter.com/SportsLawGuy
1 share
https://twitter.com/brooklynmarie
1 share
https://twitter.com/russfeingold
1 share

RSS feed quality and score

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RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 72%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

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Predicting the Future

Season 6 · Episode 2

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 • Duration 27:00

In our second episode this season, we dive into the high-stakes world of online wagering. We trace the path of online sports betting from offshore sites like the World Sports Exchange to the landmark 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Murphy v. NCAA, which dismantled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act ban on sports gambling and launched a billion-dollar industry.

What was once a legal grey area has moved into the mainstream, as betting doesn't stop with sports and has led to the rise of digital prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi, where stats nerds and political junkies trade futures contracts on real-world outcomes on everything from Billboard charts to the next occupant of the Oval Office. Are these digital markets the new YouGov poll, or just a gamified version of the public square?

These markets often beat traditional polling by aggregating real-time data and financial incentives, but are they free from their users' biases?

Special guests:

Seth Shankle, avid sports bettor
Koleman Strumpf, professor of economics at Wake Forest University
Tom Miller, faculty director of the data science program at Northwestern University and operator of The Virtual Tout

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

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Pop Culture Court: Harry Potter, Star Trek and the Tinhatting of Originalism

Season 6 · Episode 1

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 • Duration 33:57

Welcome back! We're kicking off our sixth season of Sidebar by dissecting imaginary legal codes of fiction to uncover truths about our real-world search for fairness. From the ethical dilemmas of "How to Get Away with Murder" and "Better Call Saul" to the lawless world of Harry Potter, where a lack of attorneys often leaves characters in peril, we examine how pop culture shapes our understanding of justice.

The surprising top dog in fantasy law? "Star Trek," with its prophetic examinations of AI and ownership. Should rights be reserved for biological life alone? Does the Prime Directive offer a universal model for human rights?

We also dive into the connection between fanfiction tinhatting and Supreme Court originalism, exploring why interpreting 18th-century intent is not so different from fans extrapolating the secret lives of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.

Join us as we learn why 90% of Harry Potter's problems could have been solved with a lawyer.

[Editor's note: He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is indeed named, numerous times, within. Proceed with caution!]

Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

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City of Cracks

Season 5 · Episode 7

Tuesday, June 10, 2025 • Duration 20:08

Los Angeles is in crisis, facing a staggering $1 billion budget deficit thanks to dwindling tax revenues, rising workforce costs and legal settlements. Judgments against the city have skyrocketed, with payouts nearly quadrupling from $91 million to $320 million in just four years.

While much of this financial burden stems from lawsuits involving the Los Angeles Police Department, housing discrimination and crumbling infrastructure, the city’s broken sidewalks account for a small but growing portion of the pot due to over 4,000 miles of sidewalks in various states of disrepair. Throw in some outdated policies and inadequate tree management as invasive roots of ficus trees contribute to woes, and you have an untenable situation.

Could spending and prioritizing public spaces stave off future liabilities? Find out in our seventh episode this season.

Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

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Electric Sheep

Season 5 · Episode 6

Tuesday, May 13, 2025 • Duration 39:48

The future is here.

Sixty years ago, the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick wondered whether androids dream and what about. As artificial intelligence moves from the realm of sci-fi into daily reality, helping companies and governments analyze data and make decisions, the questions of what mechanisms motivate AI and whether these programs can overcome human limitations remain unanswered.

Many tech leaders seem to believe we are on the cusp of having self-aware AI with intelligence that surpasses humans. Even if we don’t get there, we’re already facing places where current laws don’t really protect us.

Join us in our sixth episode this season for a tour through a not-so-post-apocalyptic landscape as companies and experts try to navigate how humans bring AI more and more to life.

Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

Trump's Cannibalization of Big Law

Season 5 · Episode 5

Tuesday, April 29, 2025 • Duration 24:54

In February, President Donald Trump started signing a series of executive orders and presidential memorandums against individual “Big Law” firms, accusing them of engaging in “conduct detrimental to critical American interests” and directing federal agency heads to review and scrutinize security clearances and any government contracts, as well as barring attorneys from government buildings.

These targeted executive orders — and the looming threat of more to come — ultimately triggered several major American firms to quickly agree to provide tens of millions of dollars in pro bono legal work aligned with the administration’s priorities.

In our fifth episode this season, we look at what this means for Big Law, the $340 million of pledged pro bono legal work on Trump’s behalf and which firms are fighting back in the courts.

Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

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The Imperial Presidency

Season 5 · Episode 4

Tuesday, April 1, 2025 • Duration 32:18

Welcome to the age of the imperial presidency, dear listener.

After President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office in January, he flexed a newfound authority unlike his predecessors as he spent the first few weeks legislating through executive orders.

Whether you think Trump is above the law in practice or theory, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last July in Trump v. United States feels particularly poignant as his administration faces over 100 lawsuits under 100 days into his second term.

How does the court’s finding impact how Trump legislates from the executive branch? Does he really have the power to fire federal employees and the heads of nonpartisan bureaus? With the help of our D.C. reporters Ryan Knappenberger and Benjamin S. Weiss, we break this down and more in our fourth episode this season.

Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

Post-Conviction Purgatory

Season 5 · Episode 3

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 • Duration 44:03

It took decades for death row inmate Richard Glossip to convince Oklahomans and, later, the U.S. Supreme Court that he deserved a new trial. Glossip is just one of many inmates who say they faced convictions for crimes they did not commit. Read about enough of these cases, and you’ll be asking, “Is innocence enough?”

For the wrongfully convicted, tearful reunions and proclamations of justice from the courthouse steps only come after an arduous exoneration process paved with years of litigation.

The average person wrongfully convicted loses a decade of their life behind bars, learning the legal system and advocating for their innocence. As the number of exonerations rise annually, there is still no way to track how many people have suffered unjust convictions.

In the third episode of our fifth season, we journey through the highs and lows of post-conviction purgatory for people claiming innocence, from one Oklahoma man’s hand-written petitions to a New York man who waited nearly two decades for evidence to emerge for a lawyer to take his case.

Special guests:

Mother of Mercy! What the Hell Is RICO?

Season 5 · Episode 2

Tuesday, February 18, 2025 • Duration 28:02

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, otherwise known as RICO. It's famous as the law used to take down organized crime, with then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani bringing the Mafia Commission Trial in the 1980s after indicting nine high-level organized crime figures, including the heads of New York's "Five Families."

But that's not the only time it comes up in court. It's been used in criminal court to go after motorcycle clubs, wealthy investors, the Key West Police Department in Florida, R&B singer R. Kelly and even President Donald Trump, but also in civil cases, like against Big Tobacco and sex abuse claims against the Catholic Church.

RICO is the subject of our second episode this season: What it is, what it isn't and why it's used so much in one particular state.

Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

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The War for Infowars

Season 5 · Episode 1

Tuesday, January 28, 2025 • Duration 29:30

Welcome back, listeners, to our humble show’s fifth season.

As America welcomes a new president, a particular media company welcomes a new owner. Well, almost.

That’s why we’re here to guide you through the uncertainty of a certain bankruptcy process, promising to determine who will own one of the nation’s most controversial media companies, one whose name sums it all up with a bow: Infowars.

Despite over a billion dollars in defamation judgments, Alex Jones remains vocal online as he continues to operate his media empire while a bankruptcy court determines its future owner.

Will satirical news outlet The Onion eventually wrest control away from Jones? And what sort of implications does the case have on disinformation and free speech? All we know is the battle for Infowars is far from over.

Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

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Sidebar Season Five - Official Trailer

Season 5

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 • Duration 02:00

Hello, doughty listener! Season five of Sidebar is just around the corner. Join our hosts and reporters as they take you around the nation to break down our legal system and how it impacts the life you live. Follow us on Twitter @SidebarCNS and www.courthousenews.com for more.

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

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Sidebar by Courthouse News – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Sidebar by Courthouse News – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

Spotify2

Twitter30

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

Spotify2

Twitter30