Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
A #podcast about how the Supreme Court got so supreme.
Is law in the eye of the beholder? The Supreme Court considers a case about copyright, pop art, and Prince.
The law protects creators' original work against copycats, but it also leaves the door open for some kinds of copying. When a photographer sues the Andy Warhol Foundation for using her work without permission, the justices struggle not to play art critics as they decide the case. More Perfect explores how this star-studded case offers a look at how this Court actually makes decisions.
Voices in the episode include:
• David Hobbs — known as Mr. Mixx, co-founder of the hip-hop group 2 Live Crew
• Jerry Saltz — senior art critic and columnist for New York magazine
• Pierre Leval — judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Jeannie Suk Gersen — More Perfect legal advisor, Harvard Law professor, New Yorker writer
• Lynn Goldsmith — photographer
• Andy Warhol — as himself
Learn more:
• 1994: Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. — oyez.org/cases/1993/92-1292
• 2023: Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith — oyez.org/cases/2022/21-869
• "Toward A Fair Use Standard" by Pierre Leval — jstor.org/stable/1341457?
• The Andy Warhol Foundation — warholfoundation.org
Subscribe & Listen:
• Subscribe to WNYC Studios on YouTube so you never miss an episode: bit.ly/3VovhOq
• Or subscribe to More Perfect wherever you listen to podcasts: bit.ly/3Ns9BPz
• Check out The Most Perfect Album (cools songs about the 27 amendments to the Constitution): bit.ly/3p5aWl2
• Like this video and leave us a comment!
Follow More Perfect:
Instagram — instagram.com/moreperfectpodcast
Facebook — facebook.com/moreperfectpodcast
Threads — threads.net/@moreperfectpodcast
X (Twitter) — twitter.com/moreperfect
We Want to Hear From You:Shadow dockets, term limits, amicus briefs — what puzzles you about the Supreme Court? What stories are you curious about? We want to answer your questions in our next season. Click here to leave us a voice memo: apps.nypr.org/crowdsourcing/689
About More Perfect:
The Supreme Court was designed to be above the fray of politics. But at a time when politics seems to seep into every pore of American life, are the nine justices living up to that promise? More Perfect is a guide to the current moment on the Court. We bring the highest court of the land down to earth, telling the human dramas at the Court that shape so many aspects of American life — from our religious freedom to our artistic expression, from our reproductive choices to our voice in democracy.
The fourth season, hosted by Julia Longoria (a former More Perfect producer) will revisit the human dramas at the Court that are driving change around core aspects of American life today — from our religious freedom to our artistic expression; from our reproductive choices to our voice in democracy.
Supreme Court archival audio comes from Oyez®, a free law project by Justia and the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School.
Support for More Perfect is provided in part by The Smart Family Fund.
Episode illustration by Candice Evers candiceevers.com
Video by Kim Nowacki
A #podcast about how the Supreme Court got so supreme.
Is law in the eye of the beholder? The Supreme Court considers a case about copyright, pop art, and Prince.
The law protects creators' original work against copycats, but it also leaves the door open for some kinds of copying. When a photographer sues the Andy Warhol Foundation for using her work without permission, the justices struggle not to play art critics as they decide the case. More Perfect explores how this star-studded case offers a look at how this Court actually makes decisions.
Voices in the episode include:
• David Hobbs — known as Mr. Mixx, co-founder of the hip-hop group 2 Live Crew
• Jerry Saltz — senior art critic and columnist for New York magazine
• Pierre Leval — judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Jeannie Suk Gersen — More Perfect legal advisor, Harvard Law professor, New Yorker writer
• Lynn Goldsmith — photographer
• Andy Warhol — as himself
Learn more:
• 1994: Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. — oyez.org/cases/1993/92-1292
• 2023: Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith — oyez.org/cases/2022/21-869
• "Toward A Fair Use Standard" by Pierre Leval — jstor.org/stable/1341457?
• The Andy Warhol Foundation — warholfoundation.org
Subscribe & Listen:
• Subscribe to WNYC Studios on YouTube so you never miss an episode: bit.ly/3VovhOq
• Or subscribe to More Perfect wherever you listen to podcasts: bit.ly/3Ns9BPz
• Check out The Most Perfect Album (cools songs about the 27 amendments to the Constitution): bit.ly/3p5aWl2
• Like this video and leave us a comment!
Follow More Perfect:
Instagram — instagram.com/moreperfectpodcast
Facebook — facebook.com/moreperfectpodcast
Threads — threads.net/@moreperfectpodcast
X (Twitter) — twitter.com/moreperfect
We Want to Hear From You:Shadow dockets, term limits, amicus briefs — what puzzles you about the Supreme Court? What stories are you curious about? We want to answer your questions in our next season. Click here to leave us a voice memo: apps.nypr.org/crowdsourcing/689
About More Perfect:
The Supreme Court was designed to be above the fray of politics. But at a time when politics seems to seep into every pore of American life, are the nine justices living up to that promise? More Perfect is a guide to the current moment on the Court. We bring the highest court of the land down to earth, telling the human dramas at the Court that shape so many aspects of American life — from our religious freedom to our artistic expression, from our reproductive choices to our voice in democracy.
The fourth season, hosted by Julia Longoria (a former More Perfect producer) will revisit the human dramas at the Court that are driving change around core aspects of American life today — from our religious freedom to our artistic expression; from our reproductive choices to our voice in democracy.
Supreme Court archival audio comes from Oyez®, a free law project by Justia and the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School.
Support for More Perfect is provided in part by The Smart Family Fund.
Episode illustration by Candice Evers candiceevers.com
Video by Kim Nowacki
