Summary: 

In this episode of [F]law School, hosts Shyun Moon and Sam Perri take a hard look at the rise of police body cameras with third-year law student Priya Pookkulam—and what they uncover is anything but accountability.

Priya traces the origins of body cameras as a so-called reform, revealing how companies like Axon have profited off public outrage while deepening police power. She explains how departments manipulate footage—blurring, muting, and editing key moments—to justify violent encounters. And she breaks down how the body cam industry isn’t fixing the problem of police brutality—it’s fueling the surveillance state.

Editors:

Special thanks to Nolan Mascarenhas for audio editing assistance, Nelson Reed for production assistance, and to Nandini Kalani for assistance with show notes and transcript.

Guest Bio:

Priya Pookkulam is a member of Harvard Law School’s Class of 2025. Before law school, she worked as a paralegal for an anti-human trafficking organization in New Delhi, India and an environmental law firm in New York, NY. She loves to hike and travel and hopes to visit all of the national parks in the U.S.

Music:

Our theme music is "I Been Waiting" by Crystal Squad, and you'll also hear segments of "Palms Down" by Blue Dot Sessions.

Learn more about this episode in the shownotes on the episode homepage. 

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

• Podcast Home: Our podcast episodes can be found at flawschool.org
• [F]law Website: Find more articles and content from The [F]law magazine at theflaw.org
• Systemic Justice Project: All [F]law content is a product of the Systemic Justice Project at systemicjustice.org
• Newsletter Sign-Up: Subscribe to receive curated content from The [F]law here.
• Contact Us: Have questions, comments or feedback? Reach out to us at [email protected].
• Listen to [F]law School on Your Favorite Platform:
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • Youtube Music
  • Buzzsprout
  • Systemic Justice Project Youtube

If you enjoyed this episode of [F]law School, please leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts! Class dismissed!