Matt Beat — known as Mr. Beat to his 1 million YouTube subscribers — will join another academic in conversation about the U.S. Supreme Court and where its decisions might take us in the future during an event Thursday in Lawrence.
Beat has taught various subjects in the classroom from grades 7-12, according to a news release about the event. His YouTube channels have helped expand his “classroom” around the world. His specialty is American history, but he also has a big passion for geography, economics and politics, according to the release.
Beat will discuss his 2023 book, “The Power of our Supreme Court,” along with James Staab during the Raven Book Store event.
Staab is a professor of political science at the University of Central Missouri. He is the author of “Limits of Constraint: The Originalist Jurisprudence of Hugo Black, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas.”
A synopsis of Beat’s book states: “What does the Supreme Court do? Sure, people care when the court makes a big ruling, but most don’t pay attention to the court’s day-to-day decisions. In this highly relevant law book, Mr. Beat takes you on a journey through our Supreme Court system, what it is, who is in it and how they got to be there, while foreshadowing how it shapes our very future.”
Beat said in a news release from the university press that “These are cases about real, ordinary people whose circumstances have led to extraordinary constitutional debates. Sure, we all agree about what the laws are, but we often disagree about what the laws mean. My goal is to make these debates and disagreements as accessible as possible.”
University Press of Kansas Senior Editor David Congdon will moderate.
“With each new decision, the Supreme Court has the potential to reshape American life in profound ways,” Congdon said in the release. “Mr. Beat and Dr. Staab know the history of the Court as well as anyone, and they are perfectly positioned to help us understand the highs and lows of Supreme Court decisions and what these tell us about where things might go in the future.”
The event is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, June 13 at the Raven, 809 Massachusetts St. It’s free to attend and open to the public.
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