LawTalk

LawTalk Ep 65 - No Straight Lines: Unconventional Choices and the Emergence of Sustainability Law

Welcome to LawTalk, a podcast series produced by the University of Minnesota Law School featuring events, webinars, and panel discussions about diverse topics at the intersection of law, policy, and education.

This episode, No Straight Lines: Unconventional Choices and the Emergence of Sustainability Law features Minnesota Law alum and Senior Manager of Corporate Counsel for Amazon, Krisann Kleibacker Lee ‘03. Krisann’s lecture highlights her unconventional career that started from Minnesota Law and led ultimately to her current role leading sustainability legal strategy at Amazon’s cloud computing division.

Her story is a case study in what happens when you follow curiosity over convention, treat rejection as information rather than verdict, and refuse to fit a mold that doesn't fit you. With candid reflections on failure, culture fit, and the emerging field of sustainability law, Krisann offers practical wisdom for anyone building a career in a world where the most important jobs haven't been invented yet.

This event was recorded on September 28, 2026 as part of the Matheson Lecture on Corporate Governance. You can watch the entire event recording on the Minnesota Law YouTube channel. (https://youtu.be/009kKP0X73A?si=Tr-D6ETCFjTjolea)

Follow LawTalk on your preferred podcast application by searching LawTalk or follow the links in the show notes.
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And, don’t forget to follow Minnesota Law Now, the new Minnesota Law podcast that brings together some of today’s most insightful legal scholars in conversations about law, policy, current events, and the ideas that shape our world.

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Welcome to LawTalk, a podcast series produced by the University of Minnesota Law School featuring events, webinars, and panel discussions about diverse topics at the intersection of law, policy, and education.

This episode, U.S. Supreme Court Preview Panel 2026-27 Term looks at the upcoming docket of the US Supreme court that features cases spanning immigration, gun rights, climate change, workers’ rights, and administrative power. 

Professor Charlotte Garden moderates the conversation between our panel of faculty experts:

• Professor Nadia Anguiano ’17 - Director of the Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic

• Professor Rebecca Hollander-Blumoff - Harlan Albert Rogers Professor in Law

• Professor Veronica Thronson - Director of the Human Rights and Immigration Clinic

• Professor Megan Walsh - Director of the Gun Violence Prevention Clinic

Cases cited by the panel:
Montoya Palacios v. Liggins - https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/palacios-v-liggins/

Viramontes v. Cook County - https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/viramontes-v-cook-county/

Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County - https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/suncor-energy-inc-v-county-commissioners-of-boulder-county/

RNC v. Mi Familia Vota - https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/republican-national-committee-v-mi-familia-vota-2/>

This event was recorded on October 5, 2026. You can watch the entire event recording on the Minnesota Law YouTube channel. (https://youtu.be/nHOvSHkSIcQ?si=j8MyH7GySxLGWJVA)

Follow LawTalk on your preferred podcast application by searching LawTalk or follow the links in the show notes.
Apple Podcasts
Amazon/Audible

And, don’t forget to follow Minnesota Law Now, the new Minnesota Law podcast that brings together some of today’s most insightful legal scholars in conversations about law, policy, current events, and the ideas that shape our world.

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Amazon/Audible

Welcome to LawTalk, a podcast series produced by the University of Minnesota Law School featuring events, webinars, and panel discussions about diverse topics at the intersection of law, policy, and education.

This episode, A Path Forward for the First Amendment, features a fireside chat between Jeff Kosseff, Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Anna Gomez regarding the impacts of the Federal Communications Commission’s use of regulatory procedures in apparent attempts to weaken First Amendment protections for broadcast news agencies. 

Commissioner Gomez has been a critic of these decisions and, in this conversation, will highlight those FCC actions, the impacts on free speech they have, and what the future may bring for U.S. democracy. 

This event was recorded on September 9th, 2026. You can watch the entire event recording on the Minnesota Law YouTube channel. (https://youtu.be/x9u6KJEUH3U?si=tcLvbSUMyCxmN5WF)

Follow LawTalk on your preferred podcast application by searching LawTalk or follow the links in the show notes.
Apple Podcasts
Amazon/Audible

And, don’t forget to follow Minnesota Law Now, the new Minnesota Law podcast that brings together some of today’s most insightful legal scholars in conversations about law, policy, current events, and the ideas that shape our world.

YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Amazon/Audible

LawTalk Episode 62 - The Evolving Second Amendment: Bruen and This Term’s Supreme Court

Welcome to LawTalk, a podcast series produced by the University of Minnesota Law School featuring events, webinars, and panel discussions about diverse topics at the intersection of law, policy, and education.

This episode, The Evolving Second Amendment: Bruen and This Term’s Supreme Court, features Professor Megan Walsh, the Director of Minnesota Law's Gun Violence Prevention Clinic. Walsh leads this program that helps explain the Bruen framework and the Supreme Court's two major Second Amendment decisions from this term: Wolford v. Lopez, which addresses restrictions on licensed carry on private property open to the public, and United  States v. Hemani, deciding the constitutionality of the federal prohibition on firearm possession by unlawful drug users.

This event was recorded on July 14, 2026. You can watch the entire event recording on the Minnesota Law YouTube channel. (https://youtu.be/CHc1I7U2OGU?si=KVuYBqOmrKxViJq3)

Learn more about the University of Minnesota Law School by visiting law.umn.edu

Minnesota Law’s podcast feed now serves as the dedicated feed for LawTalk, which features events, webinars, and panel discussions hosted at the University of Minnesota Law School. 

Other Minnesota Law-produced podcasts, Minnesota Law Review’s Experto Crede and the Minnesota Journal of International Law Presents, now have their own podcast feeds. You may find links to their feeds in the description or by searching your preferred podcast application. 

You can also find links to our newest podcast series, Minnesota Law Now, which brings together some of today’s most insightful legal scholars in conversation about law, policy, current events, and the ideas that shape our world.

Thank you for continuing to follow and listen to Minnesota Law.

Minnesota Law Now
YouTube - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTcSunUEIPFgZJDmKXbx8qiXOmjPBxwbR&si=hx-ALjUQJPBg4ld2
RSS URL - https://feeds.transistor.fm/minnesota-law-now
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minnesota-law-now/id1880466287
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TeLpTboaXww3q58TRRFkx?si=e963dbf125d3493c

Experto Crede
RSS URL - https://feeds.transistor.fm/experto-crede
Apple Podcast -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/experto-crede/id6800049249
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0344R8tM2910IxdvN2UWh4?si=88c8176d02bb4c0f

Minnesota Journal of International Law Presents
RSS URL - https://feeds.transistor.fm/minnesota-journal-of-international-law-presents
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minnesota-journal-of-international-law-presents/id6786389779
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/033I3yjba6WF06bdzas66i?si=9fde63febbb141ce

LawTalk Episode 61 - The Gender Wealth Gap: A Conversation on "Fair Shake" Welcome to LawTalk, a podcast series produced by the University of Minnesota Law School featuring events, webinars, and panel discussions about diverse topics at the intersection of law, policy, and education. In this episode, The Gender Wealth Gap: A Conversation on "Fair Shake", Professor Clair Hill hosts a conversation with Professor June Carbone about her latest book, Fair Shake: Women and the Economy of Inequality. In an era of shifting corporate dynamics, this interview examines how the modern legal and economic landscape—defined by "winner-take-all" competition—continues to disadvantage women and stall progress toward true equity. The discussion will delve into the systemic barriers embedded in our markets and the legal reforms necessary to ensure a "fair shake" for everyone. This event was recorded on April 23, 2026, and was part of the 2026 Spring Alumni Week. You can watch the entire event recording on the Minnesota Law YouTube channel. (https://youtu.be/pfTnQN9mNb8?si=phRhXu2ry9vEnLV9) A transcript of this episode is available here: z.umn.edu/Ep61Transcript Learn more about the University of Minnesota Law School by visiting law.umn.edu

LawTalk Episode 60 - From Unwritten Law to Written Constitutions: The Evolution of Fundamental Rights in the Western Legal Tradition Welcome to LawTalk, a podcast series produced by the University of Minnesota Law School featuring events, webinars, and panel discussions about diverse topics at the intersection of law, policy, and education. This episode, From Unwritten Law to Written Constitutions: The Evolution of Fundamental Rights in the Western Legal Tradition, explores the foundations of modern rights and constitutionalism through a dual lens of history and drafting. Professor Ryan Greenwood examines the evolution of the English constitutional tradition—symbolized by Magna Carta and other pivotal documents—that provided the DNA for the American innovation of a federal constitution. Building on this context, Professor Sam Merchant investigates the lead-up to the U.S. Constitution and the specific context of its drafting and amendments. This event was recorded on April 22, 2026, and was part of the 2026 Spring Alumni Week. You can watch the entire event recording on the Minnesota Law YouTube channel. (https://youtu.be/LWxnprb16TM?si=LV8Xx-ALAgV5KV_h) A transcript of this episode is available here: z.umn.edu/Ep60Transcript Learn more about the University of Minnesota Law School by visiting law.umn.edu

LawTalk Episode 59 - Major Questions, Tariffs and Emergency Powers Welcome to LawTalk, a podcast series produced by the University of Minnesota Law School featuring events, webinars, and panel discussions about diverse topics at the intersection of law, policy, and education. This episode, Major Questions, Tariffs and Emergency Powers, features a panel discussion regarding the U.S. Supreme Court case ruling, Learning Resources v. Trump, and how the Supreme Court invalidated President Trump’s reliance on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs. This panel examines the doctrine’s development, the Court’s reasoning in Learning Resources, and the emerging fault lines that may shape future disputes over executive power and the administrative state. 

The featured moderator and panelists are: 
Moderator Devin Driscoll, the co-chair of the Law School’s Board of Advisors Academic Engagement Committee 
Prof. Kristin Hickman - McKnight Presidential Professor in Law, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor, and Harlan Albert Rogers Professor in Law at Minnesota Law and Prof. 
Nick Bednar ‘16- The McKnight Land-Grant Professor and Associate Professor of Law at Minnesota Law 

This event was recorded on April 21, 2026, and was part of the 2026 Spring Alumni Week. You can watch the entire event recording on the Minnesota Law YouTube channel. (https://youtu.be/QYVvPTlpQLQ?si=CUHxkjlHC2-MpVc9) 

A transcript of this episode is available here: z.umn.edu/Ep59Transcript 

Learn more about the University of Minnesota Law School by visiting law.umn.edu

Welcome to LawTalk, a podcast series produced by the University of Minnesota Law School featuring events, webinars, and panel discussions about diverse topics at the intersection of law, policy, and education. This episode, The Perennial Dialectic and a Baseline Theory of State Law, features a lecture from Professor Brian Tamanaha, the John S. Lehmann University Professor at Wash U Law. Professor Tamanaha’s lecture addresses the theoretical perspective on jurisprudence and state law through three themes: The first theme conveys an age-old dialectic between abstract, idealized accounts of law as reason, justice, and peaceful social order versus skeptical responses grounded in reality that challenge these idealizations. The second theme articulates five baseline propositions about state law derived from the dialectic that most legal theorists agree with notwithstanding many other disagreements. The third theme shows how attention to these baseline propositions and the perennial dialectic helps analyze the rule of law in America and the challenges it faces today. > This event was recorded on March 4, 2026, and was part of the 2026 John Dewey Lecture in the Philosophy of Law series. You can watch the entire event recording on the Minnesota Law YouTube channel. (https://youtu.be/tdvO_VoFOoI) Subscribe to the Minnesota Law podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or via your preferred podcast application by searching ‘University of Minnesota Law School’, for more LawTalk episodes. Also find Minnesota Law’s newest podcast, Minnesota Law Now, by following the links in the show notes or searching Minnesota Law Now on your preferred podcast application. YouTube - youtu.be/2j9F5v7heD0?si=G2rq8EOElIRUI6pw Apple Podcasts - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minn…ow/id1880466287 Spotify - open.spotify.com/show/1TeLpTboaXw…dc95363f57074f5a A transcript of this episode is available here: z.umn.edu/Ep58Transcript Learn more about the University of Minnesota Law School by visiting law.umn.edu