Book Forum 

# *Last Branch Standing:*

### *A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today’s Supreme Court* 

Published By Penguin Random House • 2026 

##### Watch the Event 

Download:

[ 

Video 

](https://house-fastly-unsigned-us-east-1-prod.brightcovecdn.com/media/v1/pmp4/static/clear/6039378657001/8063d0c1-4e11-4ea7-97cc-ccc427505a50/f444d9cf-5d07-4887-823b-659c32c26aec/main.mp4) 

[ 

Audio 

](https://feeds.acast.com/public/streams/5e2e15a046f4465f31c89d8c/episodes/6a0f4c08163f100183f17253.mp3) 

Join the conversation on X using [\#CatoEvents](https://x.com/hashtag/CatoEvents). Follow [@CatoInstitute](https://x.com/catoinstitute) on X to get future event updates, live streams, and videos from the Cato Institute.

Date and Time 

May 21, 2026 12 - 1 PM EDT 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

Share This Event 

##### Featuring 

![Sarah Isgur](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-04/sarah-isgur-circle.jpeg?itok=YDTX2iIM) 

Sarah Isgur 

*Advisory Opinions podcast* host; *SCOTUSblog* editor

[![Clark Neily](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Clark%20Neily.jpg?itok=kOJs7hwY)](/people/clark-neily) 

[Clark Neily](/people/clark-neily)

Senior Vice President for Legal Studies, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/conlawwarrior) [ 

](mailto:cneily@cato.org) 

Many Americans think they understand today’s Supreme Court: six conservative justices appointed by Republicans, three liberals appointed by Democrats, and predictably partisan outcomes, especially in the “big” cases. But Sarah Isgur, host of the *Advisory Opinions* podcast, editor of *SCOTUSblog*, and one of the savviest Court-watchers in the country, is here to tell you that’s wrong.

In *Last Branch Standing*, Isgur argues that the conventional left-right framing fundamentally misconceives how the justices decide questions—not cases!—and that once you understand how they really think, the Court looks far more like a 3–3–3 institution than a 6–3 one. She also takes readers inside the building itself: the personalities, the quirks, the clerk culture, and the institutional dynamics that shape outcomes far more than partisan affiliation alone.

Isgur’s account of the Court’s role in our current constitutional moment is equally illuminating. With Congress having largely abdicated its lawmaking responsibilities, presidents of both parties have rushed to fill the resulting policy vacuum through executive action—often setting themselves on a collision course with SCOTUS. And while the shadow docket creates a misleading impression of unremitting executive branch success, the full picture of how the current administration actually fares before the Court may surprise you.

Join us for a conversation with Sarah Isgur about what may be the last constitutionally functioning branch of American government.

**Lunch to follow.**

![Last Branch Standing cover](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block_book_cover_1x/public/2026-04/Last%20Branch%20Standing%20Cover%20Art.jpg?itok=ymbV07Xo) 

##### Featured Book 

### *[Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today’s Supreme Court](https://www.amazon.com/Last-Branch-Standing-Potentially-Occasionally/dp/0593800923?tag=catoinstitute-20)*

Most people get the Supreme Court all wrong. A smattering of high-profile decisions have popularized a simplistic idea of the Court and its justices. Yes, six of them were appointed by Republicans, and only three by Democrats. So, how does that 6–3 conservative majority explain why in the 2024–25 term, conservative Brett Kavanaugh was more likely to agree with liberal Elena Kagan than conservative Neil Gorsuch? Or why the court threw shade at Florida’s attempt to ban drag shows?

[Purchase Book](https://www.amazon.com/Last-Branch-Standing-Potentially-Occasionally/dp/0593800923?tag=catoinstitute-20) 

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).