Part 1: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

<p>When Ruth Bader Ginsburg graduated from law school, she received no job offers from New York law firms, despite being an outstanding student. She spent two years clerking for a federal district judge, who agreed to hire her only after persuasion, and was rejected for a role working with Justice Felix Frankfurter because she was a woman.</p><p>With her career apparently stuttering in the male-dominated legal world, she returned to Columbia University to work on a law project that required her to spend time in Sweden. There, she encountered a more egalitarian society. She also came across a magazine article in which a Swedish feminist said that men and women had one main role: being people. That sentiment would become her organizing principle.</p><p>In the first of two episodes on the life of Justice Ginsburg, we chart her journey from her formative years to her late-life stardom on the Supreme Court. </p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/linda-greenhouse?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">Linda Greenhouse</a>, who writes about the Supreme Court for The New York Times. </p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily </a></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/us/ruth-bader-ginsburg-dead.html" target="_blank">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</a> died in her home in Washington on Friday. She was 87. The second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg’s<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/us/rbg-accomplishments.html" target="_blank"> pointed and powerful dissenting opinions</a> made her a cultural icon.</li><li>“Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and landmark opinions moved us closer to a more perfect union,” former President Bill Clinton, who nominated her for the court, wrote on Twitter. Other<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/us/RBG-death-reactions.html" target="_blank"> tributes have poured in</a> from leaders on all sides of the political spectrum.</li