5-4 Explained

5-4
Hosting:Rhiannon Hamam
Michael Liroff
Peter Shamshiri
Genre:Politics
Format:Audio
Narrated:Leon Neyfakh
Language:English
Length:Approximately 40–60 minutes
Production:Prologue Projects
Theme Music Composer:Spatial Relations
Num Episodes:151

5-4 (pronounced "five to four") is a podcast that covers the U.S. Supreme Court from a critical, progressive perspective. The podcast's tagline describes it as being "about how much the Supreme Court sucks", and providing an "irreverent tour of all the ways in which the law is shaped by politics."[1] It was launched by Leon Neyfakh's Prologue Projects in partnership with the Westwood One Podcast Network.

Premise

The hosts are self-described advocates for legal realism.[2] A consistent theme is also a demonstration of the primary role of political ideology in shaping Supreme Court decision, as opposed to any specific judicial philosophy.

The first episode of the podcast was about Bush v. Gore.[3] [4]

History

5-4 was launched in February 2020 by Leon Neyfakh's Prologue Projects in partnership with Westwood One Podcast Network (which has since been renamed Cumulus Podcast Network). Its hosts, Rhiannon, Peter, and Michael, maintain semi-anonymous profiles as podcast hosts, disclosing only their first names and a "handful of biographical details" in any given episode.[5] Rhiannon worked as a public defender in Austin, Texas; Peter previously served as in-house counsel for MetLife and was fired upon his employer's finding out about his role on the podcast; Michael was a former associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, and self-described “reformed corporate lawyer.”[6]

Neyfakh's original advertising partnership with Westwood One failed to generate significant revenue for the podcast, so the decision was made to instead fund its production through Patreon. The following month, Nicholas Quah wrote in Vulture: "After its pivot to Patreon, 5-4 is now significantly better positioned for the next stage of its life, and its experience stands as a good example of the fact that a race for scale isn't the only way to run a shop in this business."

Notable guests

Elected American politicians have been guests on the show. Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator of Rhode Island, appeared on the podcast in 2021.[7] Senator Elizabeth Warren, a "fan", was a guest in July 2022.[8] Representatives Ro Khanna and Mondaire Jones appeared in separate episodes, discussing court reform.[9] [10]

Jamelle Bouie discussed the Democratic political strategy in July 2022.[11]

Alec Karakatsanis appeared, criticizing the U.S. legal system.[12]

Reception

Within a week of its launch in February 2020, the 5-4 Patreon had accumulated almost 3,000 paid subscribers, enough to generate roughly $200,000 in revenue each year.[4] As of July 2022, it earns $35,000 per month.[13] It is the 39th most popular podcast tracked by Graphtreon, and the 101st most popular Patreon project overall.[14] The podcast has typically been well-received, with the hosts' "funny, forceful argumentation" and "enthusiastically acidic takes on the once-widely revered American legal institution" praised for making the law more accessible to its listeners and everyday people.[15] It particularly gained popularity in the summer of 2022, after the overturning of Roe v. Wade under Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization; the month of the Dobbs decision, the number of episode downloads increased 90% from the last year.[16]

Episodes

, 5–4 has had the following episodes:[17]

2024

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Five Four Pod . 2023-01-12 . www.fivefourpod.com . en.
  2. 2021-09-17 . The Leftist Lawyers Who Think the Supreme Court Sucks . 2023-01-12 . The New Yorker . en-US.
  3. News: February 26, 2020 . Supreme Court is Leon Neyfakh's Latest Target In 5-4 Podcast. . en . Inside Radio . July 25, 2022 . July 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220725174939/https://www.insideradio.com/podcastnewsdaily/supreme-court-is-leon-neyfakh-s-latest-target-in-5-4-podcast/article_7c68c2f8-58c0-11ea-8019-dfa058ea056f.html . live .
  4. News: Quah . Nicholas . Nicholas Quah . March 16, 2021 . Yes, Podcast Listenership Is Still on the Rise . en-us . . live . July 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220725174939/https://www.vulture.com/2021/03/podcast-listenership-download-data-on-the-rise.html . July 25, 2022.
  5. Barasch . Alex . September 17, 2021 . The Leftist Lawyers Who Think the Supreme Court Sucks . en-US . . July 25, 2022 . July 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220725174940/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/podcast-dept/the-leftist-lawyers-who-think-the-supreme-court-sucks . live .
  6. Web site: Lampen . Claire . 2021-01-25 . The Prison Abolitionist Redefining What It Means to Win . 2023-01-12 . The Cut . en-us.
  7. Web site: Five Four Pod 'This Is A Captured Institution' - An Interview with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse . 2023-01-12 . www.fivefourpod.com . en.
  8. News: Ugwu . Reggie . July 25, 2022 . The Hosts of '5–4' Never Trusted the Supreme Court . en-US . . July 25, 2022 . 0362-4331 . September 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220906122620/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/25/arts/5-4-supreme-court-podcast.html . live .
  9. Web site: Get Us to Seven feat. Rep. Mondaire Jones. July 26, 2022. September 6, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220906122622/https://www.stitcher.com/show/54-podcast/episode/get-us-to-seven-feat-rep-mondaire-jones-83676714. live.
  10. Web site: 5-4 . Five Four Pod . en . July 26, 2022 . September 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220906122621/https://www.fivefourpod.com/episodes/how-to-fix-the-court-feat-rep-ro-khanna/ . live .
  11. Web site: 5-4: WTF Are The Dems Doing? with Jamelle Bouie on Apple Podcasts . Apple Podcasts . July 26, 2022 . July 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220726220212/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtf-are-the-dems-doing-with-jamelle-bouie/id1497785843?i=1000571197003 . live .
  12. Web site: San Antonio ISD v. Rodriguez ft. Alec Karakatsanis . Five Four Pod . en . July 26, 2022 . September 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210928073618/https://www.fivefourpod.com/episodes/san-antonio-isd-v-rodriguez-ft-alec-karakatsanis/ . live .
  13. Web site: 5-4 Podcast is creating a podcast . Patreon . July 26, 2022 . July 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220726221934/https://www.patreon.com/fivefourpod . live .
  14. Web site: 5-4 Podcast: Patreon Earnings + Statistics + Graphs + Rank . Graphtreon . en . July 26, 2022 . December 27, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211227175139/https://graphtreon.com/creator/fivefourpod . live .
  15. Web site: Quah . Nicholas . 2022-10-20 . When a Supreme Court Podcast Gets You Fired . 2023-01-12 . Vulture . en-us.
  16. News: Ugwu . Reggie . 2022-07-25 . The Hosts of '5-4' Never Trusted the Supreme Court . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-01-12 . 0362-4331.
  17. Web site: 5-4 . Five Four Pod . en . February 19, 2024 . February 9, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240209172855/https://www.fivefourpod.com/ . live .

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