Nina Totenberg and Her NPR Colleagues Go Gaga for Gaga

Word on the street is that President Obama is about to nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. This makes sense; there are many good reasons to nominate Kagan.

But what if Obama were to think outside the box in terms of SCOTUS nominations? What if he nominated, say, Lady Gaga to the high court? (She is not without ties to the legal world; she is, after all, the unofficial mascot of Cornell Law.)

If Lady Gaga were to become Justice Gaga, we could look forward to Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg filing dispatches for NPR like this:

Wow. That was bizarre. So what’s the story behind this video?

As explained over at Current: Public Media, the video was the brainchild of Shereen Marisol Meraji, an online/on-air producer for NPR’s All Things Considered (which we appeared on back in March, by the way). Meraji, inspired by the 82nd Airborne Division’s rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” video, thought that NPR could do a version of its own.

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Meraji and her co-producer, Theo Balcomb, started by rustling up the talent. They first reached out to the younger, on-air reporters — such as hottie Ari Shapiro, NPR’s former Justice Department correspondent, who now covers the White House — who readily agreed to participate. (In the video, Shapiro looks sharp in his white suit and dark tie — like a Prada model, fresh off the runway.)

Then came the bigger fish — the more senior correspondents. How did Meraji get them to join in the fun?

“I was kind of scared of Nina [Totenberg], but I knew we had to open with her. So I had one of the producers who has worked with her, like, 30 years, and he went and asked her. She’s awesome in that hot-pink dress and her signature pearls.” Not to mention her “Justice Gaga” lines.

We agree; Nina Totenberg is awesome — in the video, and otherwise. We got to hang out with her last year in Monterey, when we served together on a panel at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.

And there’s no need to be scared of Nina Totenberg — as long as you don’t take her seat in the press section at One First Street, and bring her a coffee and a bagel every now and then.

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NPR Personalities Spoof Lady Gaga [YouTube]
Robert Siegel left his head and his heart on the dance floor [Current: Public Media via Poynter / Romenesko]
An Immodest Proposal: Three Potential Supreme Court Nominees [Underneath Their Robes]