Jim Antle, the magazine’s executive editor, brings to life the pages of the Washington Examiner’s magazine in the show Inside Scoop. Each episode features exclusive insight from the article authors and expert analysis.
In this episode, Antle breaks down how Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett defies easy categorization, to the dismay of the Left and Right.
“Since she’s been serving on the Supreme Court, she’s showed a level of judicial independence that has not always produced the results that conservatives would like,” Antle said. “The biggest departure may have been on the question of birthright citizenship, as President Trump and some others wanted birthright citizenship not to apply to the children of illegal immigrants.”
Antle compares Barrett to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the court and a Republican appointee who often frustrated conservatives, and asks whether today’s Right really wants a principled constitutionalist — or simply reliable political outcomes.
Next in the show, Antle sits down with independent journalist, Carson Becker, to discuss Kalshi and how prediction markets are experiencing explosive growth, but also face new legal challenges.
Becker notes the fight over these markets is now playing out in courtrooms and enforcement actions. Financial regulators, state officials, and elected politicians are clashing over whether these contracts belong in regulated finance or should be treated like gambling.
“The first issue is over the sports events contracts,” Becker said. “Sporting events are seen as a CFTC-regulated derivative by the CFTC and by Kalshi. Now, the states, which have been regulating sports betting since 2018, generally see this as a threat to their tax revenue.”
Becker says this has led several states to sue Kalshi, arguing sports contracts fall under state gambling laws rather than federal financial regulation. New York Attorney General Letitia James has also sued the company, seeking billions in penalties and arguing Kalshi is operating an illegal sportsbook.
But the legal fight is only part of the debate. Critics also question whether some prediction markets can be manipulated when the outcome depends on information known to a small number of people — or even a single participant.
“These contracts are, in some cases, vulnerable to manipulation,” Becker said. “You’re buying a contract on an outcome that a single person can control.”
Becker points to former New York Republican Rep. George Santos as an example, saying Santos famously traded on a contract tied to his own actions and was later fined. He argues similar markets could be vulnerable to manipulation by people with access to inside information.
Lastly, the show breaks down the fallout from two professional basketball veterans challenging the WNBA to decide who is a woman.
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“In refusing to reach a conclusion about their eligibility rules, the WNBA might believe it is embracing inclusion and rejecting bigotry, but the league is actually betraying the girls and women, as well as the Title IX protections that make the league possible,” Nicole Russell writes.
Tune in each week at washingtonexaminer.com and across all our social media platforms to go behind the headlines in the Washington Examiner’s magazine show, Inside Scoop.