White Folks & Bad Law with Elie Mystal

5 snips

Apr 3, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Elie Mystal, a justice correspondent for The Nation and author of "Bad Law," dives into the complexities of America’s flawed legal system. He highlights Cory Booker’s record-setting protest speech and criticizes the political struggle over voting rights for new parents. Elie challenges the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, questioning whether integration was prioritized over equitable funding. Throughout the conversation, he emphasizes the importance of grassroots activism and maintaining hope in the face of systemic injustices.

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ANECDOTE

Proxy Voting Tantrum

Speaker Johnson canceled House votes after failing to quash a bipartisan proxy-voting bill.
This bill aimed to allow new parents in Congress to vote remotely.

INSIGHT

Misogyny in Proxy Voting

Elie Mystal believes the proxy-voting issue targets women who pursue careers.
He argues it's part of a broader effort to restrict women's voting rights.

INSIGHT

Historical Misogyny

American legislatures have historically been male-dominated, reflecting deep-rooted misogyny.
Mystal highlights that no American legislature has ever had a female majority, demonstrating a system built 'by men, for men'.

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This week hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, AND guest-host Elie Mystal celebrate Senator Cory Booker for his 25-hour (!) protest speech. Booker set the record for the longest speech in Congress EVER.

Our guest-host Elie Mystal is the justice correspondent for The Nation, where he writes radical truths about our flawed justice system. This former attorney turned thought leader is one of the most hilarious, well-spoken, and pointed progressive voices out there–if you don’t know him, get to! He’s just released a new book, Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is having a temper tantrum; he has cancelled ALL votes on the House floor after he failed to quash a bipartisan bill that would allow new parents in Congress to vote remotely. GOD FORBID Congress make allowances for new mothers.

Was the Supreme Court decision that mandated integration a mistake?? Our hosts take a fresh look at Brown v. Board of Education with Elie Mystal and discuss movement building in the Democratic party. Elie explains how a shared history of racist laws and practices shapes this moment, how the left can (and should) adopt certain strategies from the right, and how to find hope even in the darkest times.

And of course we’ll hear from you! If you’d like to submit a question, check out our tutorial video: http://www.instagram.com/reel/C5j_oBXLIg0/ and send to @nativelandpod.

We are 579 days away from the midterm elections. Welcome home y’all!

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Native Land Pod is brought to you by Reasoned Choice Media.

Thank you to the Native Land Pod team:

Angela Rye as host, executive producer and cofounder of Reasoned Choice Media; Tiffany Cross as host and producer, Andrew Gillum as host and producer, and Lauren Hansen as executive producer; Loren Mychael is our research producer, and Nikolas Harter is our editor and producer. Special thanks to Chris Morrow and Lenard McKelvey, co-founders of Reasoned Choice Media.

Theme music created by Daniel Laurent.

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