About Susan Liebell

Susan Liebell is a political theorist working at the intersection of public law. Currently, she is researching and publishing on originalism, Stand Your Ground, reproductive rights, and the Second Amendment. Recently, her work has appeared in the Monkey Cage, The Journal of Politics, and Polity. Her teaching during COVID was featured in the Washington Post. She provides political commentary for many outlets including KYW in Philly, PHL 17's In Focus, and Wisconsin Public Radio's Central Time.

Susan Liebell is a Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

Susan's website

NBN Episodes hosted by Susan:

Kirsten Widner and Anna Gunderson, "The Haves and Have-Nots in Supreme Court Representation and Participation, 2016 to 2021" (Cambridge UP, 2024)

October 31, 2024

The Haves and Have-Nots in Supreme Court Representation and Participation, 2016 to 2021

Kirsten Widner and Anna Gunderson
Hosted by Susan Liebell

There has been a lot of commentary from scholars and journalists as to the meaning of Donald Trump’s three appointments to the United States Supreme …

Melissa Deckman, "The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy" (Columbia UP, 2024)

October 28, 2024

The Politics of Gen Z

Melissa Deckman
Hosted by Susan Liebell

As the 2024 American presidential election approaches, it is common to hear scholars and journalists discuss the role of particular groups such as Lat…

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, "Corporatocracy: How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicians" (NYU Press, 2024)

October 7, 2024

Corporatocracy

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy
Hosted by Susan Liebell

What threatens American democracy and the rule of law? In her new book, Corporatocracy: How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicia…

Jon Michaels and David Noll, "Vigilante Nation: How State-Sponsored Terror Threatens Our Democracy" (Atria/One Signal, 2024)

October 3, 2024

Vigilante Nation

Jon Michaels and David Noll
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Law professors Jon Michaels and David Noll use their expertise to expose how state-supported forms of vigilantism are being deployed by MAGA Republica…

Emily M. Farris and Mirya R. Holman, "The Power of the Badge: Sheriffs and Inequality in the United States" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

September 30, 2024

The Power of the Badge

Emily M. Farris and Mirya R. Holman
Hosted by Susan Liebell

The image of the sheriff is deeply embedded in American culture – from pacifist Jimmy Stewart in Destry Rides Again and gun averse Roy Scheider in Jaw…

David M. Driesen, "The Specter of Dictatorship: Judicial Enabling of Presidential Power" (Stanford UP, 2021)

September 23, 2024

The Specter of Dictatorship

David M. Driesen
Hosted by Susan Liebell

At the end of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin was asked whether we have a republic or a monarchy. He replied “A Repub…

Kevin J. McMahon, "A Supreme Court Unlike Any Other: The Deepening Divide Between the Justices and the People" (U Chicago Press, 2024)

September 16, 2024

A Supreme Court Unlike Any Other

Kevin J. McMahon
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Many scholars and members of the press have argued that John Roberts’ Supreme Court is exceptional. While some emphasize the approach to interpreting …

Anthony Michael Kreis, "Rot and Revival: The History of Constitutional Law in American Political Development" (U California Press, 2024)

September 9, 2024

Rot and Revival

Anthony Michael Kreis
Hosted by Susan Liebell

One of the great divides in American judicial scholarship is between legal scholars who take the justices at their word and assume that those words de…

Joanna Wuest, "Born This Way: Science, Citizenship, and Inequality in the American LGBTQ+ Movement" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

August 27, 2024

Born This Way

Joanna Wuest
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Scholars often narrate the legal cases confirming LGBTQ+ rights as a huge success story. While it took 100 years to confirm the rights of Black Americ…

Peter Charles Hoffer, "The Supreme Court Footnote: A Surprising History" (NYU Press, 2024)

August 12, 2024

The Supreme Court Footnote

Peter Charles Hoffer
Hosted by Susan Liebell

When the draft majority decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health was leaked, the media, public officials, and scholars focused on the overturning o…

Does the June POTUS Debate Matter?

July 1, 2024

Does the June POTUS Debate Matter?

Daniel E. Ponder
Hosted by Susan Liebell

On Thursday, June 27th, President Joe Biden and Trump debated for 90 minutes without a live audience or the usually provided by the Commission on Pres…

Robert G. Boatright, "Reform and Retrenchment: A Century of Efforts to Fix Primary Elections" (Oxford UP, 2024)

June 10, 2024

Reform and Retrenchment

Robert G. Boatright
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Until 1900, most political parties in the United States chose their leaders – either in back rooms with a few party elites making decisions or in conv…

James Wolfinger, "If There Is No Struggle There Is No Progress: Black Politics in Twentieth-Century Philadelphia" (Temple UP, 2022)

May 6, 2024

If There Is No Struggle There Is No Progress

Stanley Keith Arnold, Alyssa Ribeiro, and James Wolfinger
Hosted by Susan Liebell

If There Is No Struggle There Is No Progress: Black Politics in Twentieth-Century Philadelphia (Temple UP, 2022) provides an in-depth historical anal…

Christopher Michael Blakley, "Empire of Brutality: Enslaved People and Animals in the British Atlantic World" (Louisiana State UP, 2023)

April 8, 2024

Empire of Brutality

Christopher Michael Blakley
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Historians of early America, slavery, early African American history, the history of science, and environmental history have interrogated the complex …

Lisa A. Baglione, "Understanding Comparative Politics: An Inclusive Approach" (CQ Press, 2024)

March 25, 2024

Understanding Comparative Politics

Lisa A. Baglione
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Research in political science shows that collections and textbooks often mention race, gender, ethnicity, and religion – but they don’t consistently u…

James L. Gibson and Michael J. Nelson, "Judging Inequality: State Supreme Courts and the Inequality Crisis" (Russell Sage, 2021)

February 12, 2024

Judging Inequality

James L. Gibson and Michael J. Nelson
Hosted by Susan Liebell

Soaring levels of political, legal, economic, and social inequality have been documented by social scientists – but the public conversation and schola…

Caitlin Killian, "Failing Moms: Social Condemnation and Criminalization of Mothers" (Polity Press, 2023)

January 29, 2024

Failing Moms

Caitlin Killian
Hosted by Susan Liebell

The role of mother is often celebrated in the United States as the most important job in the world but Dr. Caitlin Killian argues that American mother…

Alexandra Filindra, "Race, Rights, and Rifles: The Origins of the NRA and Contemporary Gun Culture" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

January 15, 2024

Race, Rights, and Rifles

Alexandra Filindra
Hosted by Susan Liebell

The United States has more guns than people and more gun violence than any Western democracy. Scholars in diverse fields interrogate why 21st century…

Sara Chatfield, "In Her Own Name: The Politics of Women’s Rights Before Suffrage" (Columbia UP, 2023)

December 18, 2023

In Her Own Name

Sara Chatfield
Hosted by Susan Liebell

We often narrate the history of women’s rights in the United States by focusing on the fight for suffrage. Yet starting as early as 1835, states expan…

Andrew C. McKevitt, "Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America" (UNC Press, 2023)

December 4, 2023

Gun Country

Andrew C. McKevitt
Hosted by Susan Liebell

The United States has more guns than people – a condition that is “unprecedented in world history.” Scholars often focus on gun culture, the Second Am…

Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, "Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2023)

November 6, 2023

Wrong

Dannagal Goldthwaite Young
Hosted by Susan Liebell
Listen:

Over the past 40 years, lawmakers in America's two major political parties have taken increasingly extreme positions on ideological issues. Voters fro…

Claire Jean Kim, "Asian Americans in an Anti-Black World" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

October 30, 2023

Asian Americans in an Anti-Black World

Claire Jean Kim
Hosted by Susan Liebell
Listen:

Where do Asian Americans fit into the U.S. racial order? How do we understand anti-Asian racism in relation to structural anti-Blackness? Are Asian Am…

Aaron Tang, "Supreme Hubris: How Overconfidence Is Destroying the Court--And How We Can Fix It" (Yale UP, 2023)

October 23, 2023

Supreme Hubris

Aaron Tang
Hosted by Susan Liebell
Listen:

The American public’s confidence in the United States Supreme Court is a historic low – in part based on a belief that the Supreme Court is increasing…

Laura F. Edwards, "The People and Their Peace: Legal Culture and the Transformation of Inequality in the Post-Revolutionary South" (UNC Press, 2009)

September 25, 2023

The People and Their Peace

Laura F. Edwards
Hosted by Susan Liebell
Listen:

Do individuals have the right to “keep and bear” arms? Do “the people” have any collective rights to public safety? Now that the United States Supreme…