Lives in the Law brings together noted figures in the world of law – lawyers, professors, journalists, and activists – to join in dialogue about their lives in the law along with how their work bears on some of the most controversial issues of our time.

Host Ron Collins welcomes prize-winning journalist Peter S. Canellos, author of Revenge for the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement, the first-ever biography of the most pivotal Justice on the Supreme Court whose decisions, like the overturning of Roe, will drive the reshaping of America.

Steely in his demeanor, with an impassive appearance that defies changing fashions, Alito could be the family lawyer in a 1960s television drama. But when he talks there is an emotional undercurrent, a fast-flowing stream beneath a placid surface. This is a man driven to push boundaries and mold ideas. His aim is to right the wrongs of the past six decades, as he saw them. On the Supreme Court he has been aggressive in pushing the law in new, conservative directions—from pushing for expanding rights for the religious conservatives, overturning affirmative action, extending the right to bear arms to thwart gun controls, and reducing the power of the Environmental Protection Agency. And finally—most crucial to his legacy—he was the author of Dobbs v. Jackson, bringing the conservative legal movement full circle in overruling Roe v. Wade. His ethnic and religious background, his intellectual confidence, and his unyielding determination are all illustrative of a group of men and women who embarked on a decades-long mission to change the rules that govern society.

Peter S. Canellos is the author of The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America’s Judicial Hero, and the editor of the bestselling Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy. He has been POLITICO’s executive editor, leading the newsroom during the 2016 presidential coverage; and the editorial page editor of The Boston Globe. He has also been a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a recipient of the American Society of Newspaper Editors award in 2011 for excellence in editorial writing along with the 2022 George Polk Award, Robin Toner Award, and News Leaders Association Batten Medal for his writing about the Supreme Court.

Ron Collins is a retired law professor, co-founder of the History Book Festival and the Singer Songwriter series. He is the Lewes Public Library’s Distinguished Lecturer. Ron's last book was Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial. His next book, is titled Common Sense in the Age of Trump: A Republic if We Can Keep It. The book is coauthored with Russ Huxtable, Amy Marasco, and Paul Sparrow. 

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