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Video: Karl Sonnenberg
We’ve listened to the legendary journalist Nina Totenberg for over 45 years on NPR, as she’s covered sometimes raucous Supreme Court hearings, reported on sometimes contentious judicial confirmation hearings, and explained the nuances of complex Supreme Court decisions.
In her niche at the Court, she’s broken scoop after scoop about justices, and nominees. She earned a special spot in American feminist iconography stemming from her bombshell reporting about Anita Hill’s sexual harassment by Clarence Thomas.
In her new book, Dinners With Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships, Nina Totenberg traces the power of close relationships with her dear friend, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She recounts her close friendships with her NPR colleagues and some of her great career triumphs– as well as some frustrations. But Nina Totenberg also turns her gaze to her personal life as well. The stories in Dinners With Ruth illustrate a profound relationship that clearly carried both women through the best and worst parts of their lives for over four decades. Like Nina Totenberg’s brilliant reportage, Dinners With Ruth is a most moving account of two of America’s most acclaimed women.
Besides being a brilliant and dedicated Supreme Court observer, Jessica Levinson is a professor at Loyola Law School where her work focuses on Constitutional Law and Election Law. She is also the Director of Loyola’s Journalist Law School and Loyola’s Public Service Institute. She is a CBS news legal analyst, a columnist for MSNBC, has a weekly legal segment on NPR member station KCRW, and is host of the Passing Judgment podcast. Levinson is also the past president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.
