Some Battles You May Not Realize You Won — Title IX at the Supreme Court, and Climate Hysteria's Retreat
About this episode
A landmark Supreme Court ruling on Title IX came down the same season as the birthright citizenship fight — and got almost completely buried. We dig it back out. Then we turn to a run of quiet climate-policy retreats that add up to more than any one headline suggests.
On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in West Virginia v. B.P.J. (consolidated with Little v. Hecox) that states may reserve girls' and women's school sports for biological females — and, in a 9–0 holding that got even less attention, that doing so does not violate Title IX at all. Kimberly Hermann, President of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, joins Mark to unpack what the ruling actually does (and doesn't do), how Title IX went from guaranteeing women equal access to being used to justify men in women's locker rooms, and why she says the Court just handed litigators like her the roadmap to sue the 23 states and the school districts in all 50 that are still allowing it. She also breaks down a new Title IX complaint SLF just filed on behalf of a mother whose special-needs daughter was required to share a restroom with a male classmate, Justice Thomas's concurrence on gender dysphoria, and cases in California and Colorado involving custody disputes over parents refusing gender-transition treatment for their kids. Along the way: her own daughter's school assignment, the Obama-era memos that quietly rewrote Title IX's definition of sex, and a quick bonus take on the Court's birthright citizenship ruling.
Then the show turns to energy and climate with returning guest Craig Rucker, Co-Founder and President of CFACT. Renowned climate skeptic Dr. Judith Curry just shut down her influential blog, Climate Etc., declaring “victory against climate stupidity” — Craig explains why that may be true, and why it may also be premature. From there: New York quietly gutting its own landmark climate law, a new study on why blue-state electricity bills are climbing faster than red-state bills, and why Duke Energy just walked away from a major offshore wind lease in favor of nuclear and natural gas.
In this episode
The Title IX Ruling You Probably Missed
Kimberly Hermann on the Supreme Court's June 30 ruling in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox — a 6–3 win on equal protection and a unanimous 9–0 win on Title IX itself — why some analysts call it narrow, and the roadmap it opens for lawsuits in the 23 states still allowing boys in girls' sports.
Clarifying the Ruling — and a New Case That Shows Why It Matters
Hermann untangles the 6–3 and 9–0 numbers — the Title IX question was decided unanimously, while the Equal Protection reasoning split the Court 6–3 across two consolidated cases — then walks through a Title IX complaint SLF just filed for a mother whose special-needs daughter was required to share a restroom with a male classmate. Also: Justice Thomas's concurrence on gender dysphoria, drag-show content aimed at children, and cases in California and Colorado where parents have lost custody disputes over refusing gender-transition treatment for their kids.
Bonus: The Birthright Citizenship Ruling
A quick final take from Hermann on the Court's separate 5–4 ruling on birthright citizenship — closer than most expected, and, in her view, far from the end of that fight either.
RIP Climate Etc.
Craig Rucker on Dr. Judith Curry closing her 16-year climate blog and declaring “victory against climate stupidity” — her path from mainstream climate scientist to skeptic, the funding gap between well-funded green groups and the skeptic side, and whether the retreat in media climate coverage is really about audience interest or dried-up federal marketing dollars.
New York Guts Its Own Climate Law
How New York quietly rewrote its 2019 climate law's hard 2030 mandate into an unenforceable 2040 goal, the wave of blue states walking back net-zero mandates, and a new study tying blue-state electricity price hikes directly to renewable and net-zero policy choices — plus a look ahead at Oregon's own Climate Protection Program.
Duke Walks Away From Offshore Wind
Duke Energy's $129 million federal buyout to abandon its Carolina Long Bay offshore wind lease in favor of nuclear and natural gas, what the underperforming Vineyard Wind project says about the technology, and what practical climate adaptation — forest management, dams and reservoirs, and the urban heat island effect — could look like instead.
Links & resources mentioned
Kimberly Hermann & Southeastern Legal Foundation
- Southeastern Legal Foundation (case inquiries: case inquiry button, top right of site)
- Court rules that states can exclude transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports teams (SCOTUSblog, June 30, 2026)
- SLF statement on the Supreme Court's Title IX rulings (slfliberty.org, June 30, 2026)
- Executive Order 14201 — Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports (The White House, Feb. 5, 2025)
Craig Rucker & CFACT
- CFACT — Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow
- Climatologist Judith Curry retires her science blog (CFACT, July 6, 2026)
- RIP Climate Etc. (Judith Curry's final post, June 23, 2026)
- Thank You, Judith Curry (RealClearScience, July 2, 2026 — a more cautious take on whether the fight is really over)
- New York Wisely Guts “Landmark” Climate Law (CFACT, July 6, 2026)
- Blue states have higher electricity costs, and net zero policies are to blame, analysis shows (Just The News, July 2026 — Always On Energy Research / Institute for Energy Research)
- Duke to reinvest $129M after canceling NC offshore wind lease (Carolina Journal, July 2026)
About the guests
Kimberly Hermann is President of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a national nonprofit constitutional litigation firm founded in 1976 with an 80% win rate at the U.S. Supreme Court. She has been with SLF since 2009 and represented Moms for Liberty and Young America's Foundation in the 2024 Kansas federal court case that halted the Biden administration's Title IX rewrite. She attended President Trump's February 2025 White House signing of the executive order protecting women's sports, and is a recurring guest on I Spy Radio on Title IX and constitutional litigation.
Craig Rucker co-founded CFACT with David Rothbard in 1985 and currently serves as its President. He is co-producer of the films Climate Hustle (2016) and Climate Hustle 2 (2020), has attended roughly 30 United Nations climate conferences as an observer, and is a frequent commentator on Fox News and OANN. Craig is a recurring guest on I Spy Radio, last appearing the week of May 28, 2026.
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