Stanford Legal
Law touches most aspects of life. Here to help make sense of it is the Stanford Legal podcast, where we look at the cases, questions, conflicts, and legal stories that
affect us all every day.
Stanford Legal launched in 2017 as a radio show on Sirius XM. We’re now a standalone podcast and we’re back after taking some time away, so don’t forget to subscribe or follow this feed. That way you’ll have access to new episodes as soon as they’re available.
We know that the law can be complicated. In past episodes we discussed a broad range of topics from the legal rights of someone in a conservatorship like Britney Spears to the Supreme Court’s abortion decision to how American law firms had to untangle their Russian businesses after the invasion of Ukraine. Past episodes are still available in our back catalog of episodes.
In future shows, we’ll bring on experts to help make sense of things like machine learning and developments in the regulation of artificial intelligence, how the states draw voting maps, and ways that the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling will change college admissions.
Our co-hosts know a bit about these topics because it’s their life’s work.
Pam Karlan studies and teaches what is known as the “law of democracy,”—the law that regulates voting, elections, and the political process. She served as a commissioner on the California Fair Political Practices Commission, an assistant counsel and cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and (twice) as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She also co-directs Stanford’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, which represents real clients before the highest court in the country, working on important cases including representing Edith Windsor in the landmark marriage equality win and David Riley in a case where the Supreme Court held that the police generally can’t search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested unless they first get a warrant. She has argued before the Court nine times.
And Rich Ford’s teaching and writing looks at the relationship between law and equality, cities and urban development, popular culture and everyday life. He teaches local government law, employment discrimination, and the often-misunderstood critical race theory. He studied with and advised governments around the world on questions of equality law, lectured at places like the Sorbonne in Paris on the relationship of law and popular culture, served as a commissioner for the San Francisco Housing Commission, and worked with cities on how to manage neighborhood change and volatile real estate markets. He writes about law and popular culture for lawyers, academics, and popular audiences. His latest book is Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History, a legal history of the rules and laws that influence what we wear.
The law is personal for all of us—and pivotal. The landmark civil rights laws of the 1960s have made discrimination illegal but the consequences of the Jim Crow laws imposed after the civil war are still with us, reflected in racially segregated schools and neighborhoods and racial imbalances in our prisons and conflict between minority communities and police. Unequal gender roles and stereotypes still keep women from achieving equality in professional status and income. Laws barring gay people from marrying meant that millions lived lives of secrecy and shame. New technologies present new legal questions: should AI decide who gets hired or how long convicted criminals go to prison? What can we do about social media’s influence on our elections? Can Chat GPT get copyright in a novel?
Law matters. We hope you’ll listen to new episodes that will drop on Thursdays every two weeks.
To learn more, go to https://law.stanford.edu/stanford-legal-podcast/.
Latest episodes
Nov 25, 2019 • 27min
New Study On Gun Carry Laws and Violent Crime with guest John Donohue
Pam and Joe welcome John Donohue, Stanford Law Professor, who talks about his new research looking at concealed carry gun laws and the Assault Weapons Ban.
Originally aired on November 22, 2019
Nov 11, 2019 • 28min
The Women Upstarts of Silicon Valley with Julian Guthrie and M.J. Elmore
While women make up 50+ percent of the population, they are still a minority at most tech companies—and even more so at venture capital firms, where most have no women partners. Julian Guthrie, author of Alpha Girls: The Women Upstarts Who Took on Silicon Valley's Male Culture and Made the Deals of a Lifetime, and Stanford GSB alumna M. J. Elmore, a partner at IVP venture capital and a subject of the book, join Stanford Legal co-hosts Pam Karlan and Joe Bankman to discuss VC culture and the challenges M. J. and other women had to overcome to achieve success.
For more Stanford Radio and past episodes, visit: https://stanford.io/2SqmNob
Oct 28, 2019 • 28min
Cabinet Vacancies, Actings, and Law with guest Anne Joseph O'Connell
Turnover and use of acting officials in the Trump administration is more prevalent than previous administrations, but churn in the White House is not unique to this president. Stanford Law Professor Anne Joseph O’Connell shares her recent research into vacancies in the executive branch and the law.Originally aired on SiriusXM on October 26, 2019.
Oct 14, 2019 • 28min
The Power of the Presidential Pardon with guest Bernadette Meyler
The U.S. president’s power of pardon dates back to the British monarchy and the “godly” rights of kings, but has the pardon stood the test of time? Listen in as Constitutional Law expert Bernadette Meyler and author of the recent book, “Theaters of Pardoning,” discusses modern-day pardons and the evolution of the law.
Originally aired on SiriusXM on October 12, 2019.
Recorded at Stanford Video.
Oct 1, 2019 • 28min
San Francisco in the Long Shadow of the Valley with guest Cary McClelland
Stanford Law School alum Cary McClelland’s book “Silicon City” was mailed to 1,700 incoming Stanford freshmen over the summer as part of the Three Books program, which this year invited students to think about the ways cities shape experiences and social relationships. Listen as McClelland shares what he’s learned interviewing San Francisco residents whose lives have been transformed by Silicon Valley.
Originally aired on SiriusXM on September 28, 2019.
Recorded at Stanford Video.
Sep 16, 2019 • 28min
Wealth, Inequality, and Taxes with Jacob Goldin
Taxes help to pave our roads and even change our behavior. Can they also help to decrease extreme wealth inequality in the U.S.? Listen in as tax law experts Jacob Goldin and Joe Bankman discuss some of the latest taxation plans.
Originally aired on SiriusXM on September 14, 2019.
Recorded at Stanford Video.
Sep 2, 2019 • 28min
Law and Access to Education with Bill Koski
Access to quality education is important to everyone. But what does that mean if you live in the wrong zip code or have a disability? How do we define a quality education? How is the law developing in this area? Listen in as Stanford Law’s Bill Koski discusses this vital right in a live taping of the Stanford Legal podcast.
Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 31, 2019.
Recorded at Stanford Video.
Aug 19, 2019 • 28min
An Immigration Update with Lucas Guttentag & Julia Neusner
What is driving the challenges at America’s southern border, with a surge in the number of asylum-seekers waiting to file claims? And how is the law developing for illegal immigrants already here? Immigration law expert Lucas Guttentag joins Stanford Law student Julia Neusner to discuss the situation at the border and legal issues surrounding immigration.
Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 17, 2019.
Recorded at Stanford Video.
Aug 5, 2019 • 28min
The Changing Landscape of Auditor Litigation and It's Implications for Audit Quality with Colleen Honigsberg
Companies like Apple, Google and Walmart report earnings each year. They also report on social justice issues, like carbon emissions and child labor. These are important reports, with important implications for shareholders and the public. But how do we know they're accurate? Listen in as Stanford Law’s Colleen Honigsberg discusses auditing.
Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 3, 2019.
Recorded at Stanford Video.
Aug 5, 2019 • 28min
The Fight For Women's Reproductive Rights with Jane Schacter
Women’s reproductive rights are in the news again, but what exactly are these rights—and what guarantees are they granted under the U.S. Constitution? Constitutional law expert Professor Jane Schacter joins Stanford physicians Jenn Conti and Erica Cahill.
Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 3, 2019.
Recorded at Stanford Video.
