We posted two new podcasts this week. This first is with Burt Solomon, author of FDR v. Constitution — a historical account of FDR’s attempt to transform the Supreme Court by expanding the number of justices. Would Obama, in the spirit of the New New Deal, try a similar stunt? Some have urged him to do so (see this piece in the NYT). Solomon and I discuss the possibility, and what history teaches us about it. I knew, but had forgotten, that the Constitution is silent on the number justices who sit on the Supreme Court.

Next is with Kim Phillips-Fein, author of Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan. In the last year or so, we’ve seen a big batch of new books on the history of conservatism. Kim has written one of the most original because it focuses on business leaders and what they did to assist the movement. This is an area that hasn’t received enough attention. Kim is not a conservative, but she takes conservatism seriously and studies it in the way of a good scholar.