rory little rory, thank you so much for joining us today. >> well, thank you. it's a pleasure to be here. although it's a sad day for justice o'connor's passing, but her memory is going to be quite historic. and so it's nice that we get to honor her. >> yeah, especially sad for those who knew her. and i understand you knew her in what capacity? >> well, i clerked at the supreme court back in the mid 80s, 1980s when she was there. and i worked with her chambers. two of my best friends were actually law clerks there. and then i when i was the chief of the appellate section of the us attorney's office here in san francisco, she was the circuit justice for the ninth circuit. so we would see each other every year at the judicial conference, we exchanged correspondence over the years. i even had an oral argument in front of her after she retired as a justice and she was sitting on the ninth circuit by designation often. so we had we had quite a long association. >> so if you were to use three adjectives to describe her, what would they be? >> well, i think everybody that knows her personally would say she was a kind and generous person. i also think she was quite confident in her talents. she was a victim of gender stereotypes and she couldn't get a job out of law school, even though she was second in her class at stanford. she went on to be the majority leader of the arizona state legislature, and she was confident, even though she was picked in some sense out of obscurity from the court of appeals in arizona to be on the supreme court. so kind, a kind and confident and path breaking. thank you. >> path breaking is a hyphenated word, but certainly works. thank you, rory. look you mentioned her stanford years. yes. she went to undergrad there and law school and. brilliant. i think she started undergrad at 16. so, you know, at least two years earlier than other people. well, but like you said, there was gender discrimination then. so why why was it that you think she was the first she was the one who broke the glass ceiling? what were the characteristics and personalities that enabled her to be that someone? >> well, there's a couple of factors. so first, ronald reagan, when he was running for president, said, i will appoint the first woman to the supreme court. so she was immediately on the screen, if you will. she was known as a forceful republican conservative republican at the time. today, she looks to be quite moderate and it didn't hurt that she was a classmate of william rehnquist, who went on to be the chief justice and had actually dated her briefly in law school. and so they knew who she was, personal. >> she i think i heard he proposed to he

rory. i'd go >> don't. >> it. we're talking|, rory. i'd go >> don't. >> it. we're talking sadly, i'd go >> don't. >> it. we're talking sadly, but go for it. we're talking sadly, but we'll catch up with you a littled. >> because there's lots >> yeah, because there's lots more headline makers. that's m makers. that's makers. mat-s >> 744. good morning to you . >> 744. good morning to you. watching and listening to breakfast with stephen nana. >> yes. >> yes. >> and joining us to go through some of the day's headlines, author ella whelan and deputy editor fraser myers. editor of spiked fraser myers. what did i say there? deputy editor of spiked. >> it was just about right. >> hey, it was just about right. >> hey, it was just about right. >> was i'm glad. fraser >> was it good? i'm glad. fraser yeah, the covid inquiry and bofis yeah, the covid inquiry and boris johnson's performance, yes. >> so boris johnson was grilled over two days at the covid inquiry . i over two days at the covid inquiry. i mean, i've found a story in the mail that's talking about more behind the scenes, looking at the lawyers in the inquiry and they're being paid an absolute fortune . an absolute fortune. >> of them. >> so many