An Hour of Counting: Adding Supreme Court Justices, Tallying Votes in 2000, How Numbers Work, and Get Lit with Raven Leilani

Now that Amy Coney Barrett has joined the Supreme Court, many are urging former Vice President Joe Biden to consider adding new seats to the Court if he's elected. But it's not the first time there's been talk of "packing the court." Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer looks at why Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to add up to 6 seats to the Supreme Court in 1937, why it hurt him politically, and what packing the court in 2021 would accomplish.

With Election Day looming and so many Americans voting by mail, many fear a repeat of the contested 2000 election. A new HBO documentary, “537 Votes,” chronicles the history of the 2000 Presidential election, vote recounts in Florida, and the hanging chad. Director Billy Corben joins us to discuss the film, which premiered on October 21.

Political scientist Deborah Stone discusses why numbers aren't facts -- they're tools that are used to shape public policy, public funding, and so much else. She explains how numbers work in our increasingly data-driven world in her new book, Counting: How We Use Numbers to Decide What Matters .

We air highlights from our conversation with author Raven Leilani about her critically acclaimed debut novel, Luster, from our October Get Lit with All Of It book club event. The story follows a young Black woman living in Brooklyn who becomes enmeshed in the marriage of an older white couple living in New Jersey.

We also air highlights from the audience Q&A portion of our October Get Lit with All Of It event with author Raven Leilani. 

Finally, we air highlights from our conversation with singer-songwriter Jensen McRae, as well as two exclusive performances, from our October Get Lit with All Of It book club event.