Ilya Shapiro on Breaking Battlegrounds
When the Supreme Court hands down a major decision, Breaking Battlegrounds turns to Ilya Shapiro. One of the country’s best-known constitutional scholars, he has joined Chuck Warren and Sam Stone to explain landmark rulings, judicial politics, and the state of America’s law schools.
This page collects every Ilya Shapiro interview on Breaking Battlegrounds.
Who Is Ilya Shapiro?
Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. He previously served as executive director and senior lecturer at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, and before that as a vice president of the Cato Institute.
He wrote Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites (2025) and Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America’s Highest Court (2020), and edited 11 volumes of the Cato Supreme Court Review. He has testified many times before Congress and state legislatures and has filed more than 500 amicus curiae briefs with the Supreme Court.
Earlier in his career, he advised the Multi-National Force in Iraq on rule-of-law issues and practiced law at Patton Boggs and Cleary Gottlieb. He clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the Fifth Circuit and holds degrees from Princeton, the London School of Economics, and the University of Chicago Law School.
Ilya Shapiro's Appearances on Breaking Battlegrounds
Podcast 303: Louisiana v. Calais, Justice Thomas, and the Court's Next Big Cases (May 2026)
Shapiro broke down the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Calais and what it means for race-based redistricting, judicial independence, and the future of constitutional law. He also discussed Justice Clarence Thomas’s influence on the Court, upcoming landmark cases on birthright citizenship and presidential powers, and why public confidence in American institutions keeps falling.
The episode also features school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis and former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb on border security and his run for Congress.
→ Read the full episode notes · Watch the Justice Thomas clip on Substack · Watch on YouTube
Podcast 229: Law School Culture and Lawless (January 2025)
Shapiro discussed the radical changes in law school culture and their effect on the legal system, the subject of his book Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites (add rel=”nofollow” to this link). Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis then discussed his congressional campaign and Florida’s finances, and Congressman Greg Steube discussed the House passage of his Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
What Ilya Shapiro Argues: Key Themes
- The Court is following the Constitution, not politics. Shapiro generally defends originalist rulings against claims that the Court has become partisan.
- Race-conscious policy and the law. His analysis of Louisiana v. Calais fits his longstanding view that the Constitution requires government to be colorblind.
- Elite institutions are failing. In Lawless, he argues that law schools have abandoned free inquiry, with consequences for the whole legal system.
- Declining trust in institutions. He connects falling confidence in the Court to broader distrust of American institutions.
Related Episodes and Explainers
Follow Ilya Shapiro
- Manhattan Institute: Ilya Shapiro’s profile
- Substack: Shapiro’s Gavel
- X: @ishapiro
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ilya Shapiro?
Director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a former vice president of the Cato Institute.
What is Ilya Shapiro's latest book?
Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites (2025). He discusses it in Podcast 229.
What did Ilya Shapiro say about Louisiana v. Calais?
In Podcast 303, he explained what the 6-3 decision means for race-based redistricting and judicial independence.
How many Supreme Court briefs has Ilya Shapiro filed?
More than 500 amicus curiae briefs.
