It’s our second annual call-out show, and it’s a double-sized episode meant to last two weeks. We’re joined by listeners and previous guests who share with us the bits of culture — books, movies, and television — that have affected them and their experience of law and policy. Many things come up, but here’s the rundown:
Listener Cameron, 0:00, Les MisérablesListener Michael, 26:11, JFK, the film Listener Bunny, 44:28, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Measure of a ManListener and co-host Sonja West, 1:11:26, The Feminine MystiqueListener and co-host Dave Fagundes, 1:41:25, A Wilderness of ErrorMom, 2:10:14, Honor Council, The Insider, SerialOral Argument 44: Serial (A Double-Sized Episode with Many Special Guests)About Les Misérables (and a list of its various incarnations on film and stage)About the “Ban the Box” movementHicks v. District of Columbia (in which Justice Douglas cites Les Mis in dissent); Harmelin v. Michigan (approving Michigan’s “three strikes” law); and the dissent from the denial of cert in Riggs v. California (in which the defendant’s third strike under California’s law was for stealing a bottle of vitamins); People v. Taylor (a state court appellate case in which the dissent begins: “In a scenario somewhat reminiscent of a late 20th Century, real life Les Miserables, a hungry, homeless man is sent away for 25 years to life for trying to break into a church so he could eat some food he thought the church would be glad for him to have.”)JFK, the 1991 filmAbout the assassination of JFKPhilosophy Bites: Quasi Cassam on Conspiracy TheoriesHold Up!About the legislative impact of JFKAbout Making a MurdererOral Argument 37: Hammer Blow (guest Michael Dorf)The Measure of a Man, an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation; Picard’s argument for Data’s sentience (youtube)About positronic brainsRichard Fisher, Is It OK to Torture or Murder a RobotOral Argument 41: Sense-Think-Act (guest Ryan Calo)About the technological singularityHerRay Kurzweil, The Age of Spiritual MachinesBetty Friedan, The Feminine MystiqueRostker v. Goldberg (upholding the male-only military draft)Jerome Wakefield, The Concept of Mental DisorderThe oral argument in Lawrence v. TexasAmy Argetsinger, Robert Spitzer, Psychiatrist of Transformative Influence, Dies at 83Oral Argument 55: Cronut Lines (guest Dave Fagundes), discussing Waiting in Line: Norms, Markets, and the LawLauren Davidson, Google’s New “Popular Times” Feature Could Kill the QueueErrol Morris, A Wilderness of Error (and more about Errol Morris)About Jeffrey MacDonaldAbout the controversies over Fatal VisionThe Thin Blue LineSerial, season oneJanet Malcolm, The Journalist and the MurdererDaniel Medwed, The Innocent Prisoner’s Dilemma: Consequences of Failing to Admit Guilt at Parole Hearings (see also Rob Harris, The “Innocent Prisoner’s Dilemma”, an excellent NY Times video)Oral Argument 48: Legal Truth (guest Lisa Kern Griffin)The InsiderSpecial Guests: Dave Fagundes and Sonja West.