The Podvocate

This week, Associate Editors Bianca and Erin explore the plagiarism controversy surrounding rising country artist Stella Lefty. Through song comparisons involving artists like Noah Kahan, The Chicks, and Blake Shelton, they examine the differences between musical inspiration, plagiarism, and copyright infringement. The episode breaks down what copyright law protects, when artists can pursue legal action, and the potential consequences of infringement. They also discuss the influence of social media, songwriting credits, and public perception on these controversies. Ultimately, they leave listeners with one question: Stella Lefty or Stella Thefty?

For more information on the episode's content, check out the following resources: https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2026/09/08/stella-lefty-faces-five-plagiarism-allegations/; https://exclaim.ca/music/article/stella-lefty-has-a-hit-song-formula-unfortunately-it-belongs-to-other-people; https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/504; https://copyrightsociety.org/events/proving-song-infringement-through-the-use-of-sound-recordings-ed-sheeran-to-led-zeppelin; https://variety.com/2026/music/news/stella-lefty-boston-sudden-fame-1236836537/; https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/stella-lefty-boston-number-1-country-airplay-chart-1236343568/; https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dd9SpFqxGJo/; https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright/plagiarism; https://news.virginia.edu/content/qa-when-does-musical-inspiration-become-theft

In this episode, Senior Editor & Social Media Manger, Addison Fouts, covered "The Sharp Edge of Peace: Global Struggle and Local Action for Women’s Rights in Afghanistan." This event was hosted by Art Works Project and Loyola’s Rule of Law Institute on September 11, 2026. We begin by discussing a short film excerpt that highlights the experiences of Afghan women and the ongoing struggle for their rights under Taliban rule. This episode features reflections from two panelists, Belquis Ahmadi and Naheed Sarabi, who shared firsthand accounts of their lives in Afghanistan and described how the Taliban’s return to power has affected women in the country. Their stories offer a powerful perspective on the realities of living under Taliban rule and the importance of preserving human rights. Lastly, Addison gives her reflections on what she heard and saw at the event.

For more information on the episode's content, check out the following resources:

https://www.artworksprojects.org/calendar/afghan-women-at-loyola; https://www.sharpedgeofpeacefilm.com/; https://www.artworksprojects.org/field/the-sharp-edge-of-peace-what-we-heard-about-afghanistan-asylum-and-local-action

In the Podvocate’s second annual LIVE EVENT, taped on April 21, 2026, we explore how Chicago’s institutions, community organizations, and city government are working together to support community reconstruction in the wake of federal policy upheaval. 2025-26 Editor-in-Chief Isabella Lund and Social Media Manager Alyssa Pacheco sit down with Danielle Perry, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and the 57th Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, to examine the importance of institutional trust, community investment, and collaboration in responding to the challenges facing Chicago residents. Through questions about the effects of federal policies, partnerships between policymakers and grassroots organizations, the City’s micro-aid grants, and what meaningful economic reconstruction looks like for Chicago, our guests discuss how resources can be directed toward communities most in need. The conversation also considers how reconstruction can avoid repeating historical inequities, how utilizing collaboration can strengthen local responses, and what continues to inspire hope for the future of Chicago’s communities.

This week, Associate Editor Maya Kalsi explores the current state of the U.S. immigration system and the growing backlogs affecting millions of immigrants. She breaks down how delays arise across USCIS, immigration courts, and the visa system, why there is no single “immigration backlog,” and how years of waiting can affect families, employment, travel, and long-term planning.

If you're interested in the episode's topic please check out these resources to learn more: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times?utm.com; https://www.justice.gov/eoir/workload-and-adjudication-statistics; https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html; https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2027/visa-bulletin-for-october-2026.html; https://tracreports.org/immigration/quickfacts/eoir.html?utm.com; https://tracreports.org/reports/780/; https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1433166/dl?inline&utm.com; https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/immigration-court-data/?utm.com; https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/report/immigration-court/?utm.com

This episode features attorney Molly Bryant, who recently made a career change from direct legal aid to affordable housing development. Molly now works as Senior Counsel at the Illinois Housing Development Association (IHDA). Molly talks about how she built her legal career, starting with a clerkship, then running a homeless shelter in Denver, then dedicating years to legal services, and now transitioning to development-side work. Molly shares her insights on developing general expertise as a public interest attorney and using the skills she gained from years in direct services to work on affordable housing development.

This week, Associate Editor Sara London sits down with Dr. Carolyn Corbran, Director of the Student Accessibility Center at Loyola University Chicago and Gina Gerardi, Assistant Dean for Student Services and Weekend JD at Loyola University Chicago School of Law to discuss accommodations in law school. From what a reasonable accommodation is to who qualifies, this episode offers a “start to finish” guide to accommodation at LUC Law. For more information regarding disability accommodations at Loyola, see https://www.luc.edu/sac/

The incoming editorial board members for The Podvocate introduce themselves. We look forward to a great year of producing!

Associate editor Jay Fort is stepping back a bit to focus on the current moment and status in Constitutional law more broadly, taking a bird's-eye, high-level overview of some of the most pressing issues re-shaping modern trends in constitutional law and jurisprudence. We’ll discuss the power and independence of the individual branches of government, independent agencies, focusing on the federal courts, particularly the Supreme Court and its current trajectory. We’ll consider how, increasingly, the obvious ideological makeup and overt politicization of the Supreme Court is, perhaps, more apparent than we’ve seen in decades. Specifically, we’ll evaluate two major trends: the Court’s increasingly common use of the “shadow docket” (private decisions made without full briefing, argument, or explanation of the result) and its interpretation of the “unitary executive theory,” namely increasing the power of the executive and decreasing the authority of congressionally established independent agencies.

Recently, the legal world has witnessed established precedents, and even the very notion of Stare Decisis, are more overtly scrutinized, partisanly narrowed, and outright overturned. In many ways, we see how the court’s newly cemented ideological split presaged many of its current trajectory and judicial outcomes, re-kindling controversies involving the Court’s institutional legitimacy and independence, ethical standards, and more.

Notably considering the recent continuum between the first and second Trump administrations, noting how the current Court continues to change course, handing down public and increasingly private (shadow docket) decisions whose impact implicates a host of foundational issues, including: executive authority to voting rights, first amendment rights, education rights and policy, administrative law and procedure, criminal procedure and civil liberties, and more. These impactful determinations reflect a federal legal land that has been rapidly redefined by hyper-partisan Supreme Court decisions impacting statute, policy, and the practice of law, in general.

In our previous episode, we considered the Constitutional issues at the heart of Criminal procedure protections, particularly analyzing how 4th Amendment rights and protections against unreasonable searches and seizures continue to be uniquely stress-tested in an era of ever-emerging technology, social media interfaces, and mass data surveillance opportunities. We considered the current administration’s “unitary executive theory” and blatant attempt to reinterpret the limits of executive authority as the new trump administration seeks to compel- and coerce- government agencies and state governments, to given them unfettered private, personal data of millions of Americans, tapping private technology companies- like Palantir to centralize (hoover) the datasets of countless Americans personal- presumably private- data.

To help us better understand this moment in time and its constitutional law implications, we’ll turn to Professor Alan Raphael, Curt and Linda Rodin Associate Professor of Law and Social Justice. Professor Raphael has taught at the law school since 1983, and his current classes include constitutional law, Criminal Procedure: adjudication, and Criminal Procedure: investigation.

Further, we look to Professor Raphael to help us unpack and evaluate the status of constitutional rights and civil liberties implicating our current moment in constitutional law, including: fundamental enumerated and unenumerated rights; the independence of the federal courts, the role of executive and independent agencies; constitutional rights and precedent today, criminal procedure and current stat of policing practice criminal justice system & real-world operation of free speech in a hyper connected moment; voting rights & election law in practice; educational rights and policy, and current debates around; judicial Independence & institutional trust.

This is second half of a two-part episode on the Peacemakers and restorative justice. In this portion, we discuss the impact of restorative justice in schools and the surrounding communities, touching on the ability of the Peacemakers to bring community together during Project Midway Blitz. Specifically, we focus on how discipline has evolved in recent years and the changes brought by the shift to a restorative justice lens.

If you were interested in this week's episode, check our this resource:

https://www.reillyschool.com/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=955937&id=0

In this episode Associate Editor Delaney Ferrer and Co-Editor-in-Chief Isabella Lund sit down with Loyola Law Professors Paradise, Rushin, Waller, and Weinmeyer to discuss the legal issues spotted in the fan favorite movie Jurassic Park. From devastating negligence and corporate espionage to regulatory failures and ethical lapses, we issue-spot the chaos behind the park’s collapse and ask ourselves: who’s ultimately responsible when “life finds a way.”

If you're interested in this week's topic, please check out this resource:

https://colossal.com/mammoth/