The Legal Lens Podcast

Angela Reddock-Wright

The Legal Lens with Angela Reddock-Wright Podcast is an extension of Angela’s weekly radio show on Tavis Smiley’s KBLA Talk 1580 radio station based in Los Angeles, CA, and broadcasting throughout the U.S. and internationally. As the host of the show, Angela brings her nearly 30 years of experience as an experienced employment and Title IX law mediator with Signature Resolution based in California and serving clients throughout the United States, and former employment and Title IX attorney and workplace investigator. The mission of the Legal Lens show is to Bring Law to Light, offering insightful, engaging, and empowering conversations on the legal and policy issues that impact YOU our listening audience, and that shape our everyday lives. The show dives deep into topics ranging from civil rights, reparations, employment discrimination, workplace harassment, criminal, business, entertainment, and other areas of law and policy. Our goal on The Legal Lens Podcast is to produce and create shows that help you navigate the legal and policy landscapes you face with confidence. Each episode features leading attorneys, policymakers, and dynamic change agents, breaking down complex legal concepts into clear, everyday language. Tune in live each weekend on Tavis Smiley’s KBLA Talk 1580, or catch the podcast on your favorite listening platform. Stay informed, engaged, and empowered with The Legal Lens Podcast with Angela Reddock-Wright Podcast.

  1. 215. Attorney Lauren Barnes on the Work of Public Justice: Litigation & Advocacy that Tackles the Biggest Systemic Threats to Justice in the U.S.

    4 DAYS AGO

    215. Attorney Lauren Barnes on the Work of Public Justice: Litigation & Advocacy that Tackles the Biggest Systemic Threats to Justice in the U.S.

    In this episode of The Legal Lens, Angela Reddock‑Wright talks with attorney Lauren Guth Barnes, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Public Justice, about her journey from complex and class action litigation against drug companies to leading a national legal‑advocacy organization focused on “unrigging” the civil justice system. Now, as acting CEO, she helps guide Public Justice’s work across its core advocacy areas—access to justice and fighting forced arbitration, abusive practices in the criminal legal system (including exploitative jail phone and video‑visitation policies), environmental and consumer protection, workers’ and students’ rights, and civil rights—while elevating the organization’s lawyers, communications professionals, development staff, and partners so their cases can expand the impact of the law and make the country better for everyone. Key Topics Covered Lauren Barnes’s background as a complex and class action litigator, bringing class actions and antitrust cases against pharmaceutical companies on behalf of consumers paying too much for drugs. Why she believes litigation is essential but not sufficient, and her desire to use other levers of power to achieve broader systemic change. Her long‑term involvement with the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, including service as a board member and officer before becoming acting CEO. An overview of Public Justice’s mission as a legal‑advocacy organization that “unrigs the system” by taking on cases others don’t or won’t in areas like access to justice and jury trials, criminal‑system abuses (including bans on in‑person jail visitation in favor of costly video calls), environmental and consumer protection, workers’ rights, students’ rights, and civil rights. How she now approaches leadership at Public Justice: elevating colleagues’ work, increasing exposure for the organization, and expanding the impact of its legal and policy advocacy. Her belief that building the world we want requires community, mutual support, and people “working every single day to make this a better place for all of us.” 🔗 Connect with Angela:   InstagramFacebookLinkedInVisit Angela's Website

    38 min
  2. 214. State of Black Women in California: Kellie Todd Griffin on Equity, Advocacy, and Change

    1 APR

    214. State of Black Women in California: Kellie Todd Griffin on Equity, Advocacy, and Change

    In this episode of The Legal Lens, Angela Reddock‑Wright sits down with Kellie Todd Griffin, CEO of the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute, to talk about the resilience, joy, and systemic challenges facing Black women in California. Kellie shares her personal story—growing up with a single mother who navigated domestic violence, job instability, mental health struggles, and addiction, moving through eight schools for herself and ten for her brother—before passing away at 42 from undiagnosed diabetes. Motivated by her mother’s hardships, Kellie, joined by other leading California women, founded the Collective in 2018 with the first State of Black Women in California report, leading to a state‑funded think tank at Cal State Dominguez Hills and the Black Women’s Empowerment Institute in 2023. She celebrates how Black women “still smile, still laugh, still dance, still fellowship, still vote, and hold the culture down” amid inequities, and explains the Collective’s focus on total well‑being for Black women. Key Topics Covered Kellie Todd Griffin’s motivation: her mother’s struggles as a young single parent facing domestic violence, instability, mental health issues, addiction, and death at 42 from undiagnosed diabetes. How her mother “made too much for public assistance but not enough for real opportunity,” inspiring Kellie’s commitment to Black women’s equity. The California Black Women’s Collective’s timeline: 2018 State of Black Women report, 2021 full launch, 2022 funding for the think tank at Cal State Dominguez Hills, and 2023 Empowerment Institute. Black women’s resilience: “We still smile, laugh, dance, fellowship, hold faith, vote, and encourage others to vote” despite challenges. Building during crisis: Starting the work in 2018, growing through COVID in 2021–2022 to secure state funding and impact. 🔗 Connect with Angela:   InstagramFacebookLinkedInVisit Angela's Website

    40 min
  3. 213. SEIU President April Verrett on Women in Labor and Building Power for Working People

    25 MAR

    213. SEIU President April Verrett on Women in Labor and Building Power for Working People

    In this episode of The Legal Lens, Angela Reddock‑Wright talks with April Verrett, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)—one of North America’s largest unions representing more than 2 million workers—about her journey from growing up poor on the South Side of Chicago to leading a national labor movement. April shares how being raised by a grandmother who sometimes had to “rob Peter to pay Paul,” then calling Los Angeles and now Northeast D.C. home, grounded her commitment to workers who go to work every day and still struggle to make ends meet. As the first African American person to lead SEIU, she explains why she sees her life’s work as building organizations that build power for working people—especially women, people of color, and immigrants who are the backbone of the economy but too often shut out of the prosperity they create. April and Angela dig into why the labor movement should matter to everyone, what SEIU is fighting for now, and how a just society requires that all work and all workers are treated with dignity. Key Topics Covered April Verrett’s roots on the South Side of Chicago, her years in Los Angeles, and how living in working‑class communities shapes her view of power and justice. ​Growing up poor in a household where her grandmother who raised her had to “rob Peter to pay Paul,” and how that experience mirrors what many workers still face today. ​What SEIU is: one of the largest labor unions in North America, representing more than 2 million workers across sectors like healthcare and service work. ​April’s historic role as the first African American leader of SEIU and what it means during Women’s History Month and beyond. ​Her vision of the labor movement as a vehicle to end poverty‑wage work, build worker power, and create a society where all work is valued and respected regardless of background or race. ​Why the labor movement should matter to everyone, no matter their profession or zip code.   🔗 Connect with Angela:   InstagramFacebookLinkedInVisit Angela's Website

    35 min
  4. 212. Angela Ferrell‑Zabala of Moms Demand Action on How Gun Violence Touches Every Community

    18 MAR

    212. Angela Ferrell‑Zabala of Moms Demand Action on How Gun Violence Touches Every Community

    In this episode of The Legal Lens, Angela Reddock‑Wright sits down with Angela Ferrell‑Zabala, Executive Director of Moms Demand Action, to talk about how a Facebook group born after the Sandy Hook massacre grew into one of the country’s most influential grassroots gun‑violence‑prevention movements. Ferrell-Zabala shares how, as a mother of four living in the D.C. region, watching gun violence devastate families—and knowing that more than half of adults in the United States have either experienced gun violence or have a loved one who has—pushed her to “get off the sidelines” and turn heartbreak into organizing. She walks listeners through Moms Demand Action’s origin story, its focus on common‑sense policy change and culture change, and why she believes this work is about protecting all children, families, and communities—not just her own. Key Topics Covered:  Angela Ferrell‑Zabala’s personal journey: from growing up between Philadelphia and the D.C. area to raising four children and claiming D.C. as home. How the Sandy Hook tragedy and the visible toll of gun violence on young people compelled her to join Moms Demand Action. ​The founding of Moms Demand Action as a post‑Sandy Hook Facebook group that evolved into a national organization. ​Why the group focuses on common‑sense policy change and culture change to address gun violence. ​Angela’s conviction that gun violence is a crisis we can change—and that everyday people cannot afford to stay on the sidelines. 🔗 Connect with Angela:   InstagramFacebookLinkedInVisit Angela's Website

    37 min
  5. 211. Attorney Fatima Goss Graves on Title IX, Gender Justice, and The State of The #MeToo Movement

    11 MAR

    211. Attorney Fatima Goss Graves on Title IX, Gender Justice, and The State of The #MeToo Movement

    In this episode of The Legal Lens, Angela Reddock‑Wright sits down with Attorney Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, to talk about gender justice and the enduring power of Title IX. Fatima explains how the Law Center, founded in 1972, works on multiple fronts—litigation, policy, and culture change—to defend reproductive freedom, support families struggling with caregiving and child care, and pursue justice in schools and workplaces. She breaks down how a law that’s just 37 words long became one of the most powerful tools against sex discrimination in education, covering everything from sexual harassment to inequitable sports programs, pregnant and parenting students, and barriers that keep women and girls out of certain fields. Fatima also traces the origins of Title IX and the Law Center in the wake of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, and shares how her team “guides and guards” Title IX today so that all students—no matter their gender—can truly access education “from the classroom to the field and beyond.” As a co-founder of the TIMES UP Legal Defense Fund, Fatima also discusses how the #MeToo movement has progressed over the last 10+ years and what the future holds. Key Topics Covered:  How the National Women’s Law Center, founded in 1972, uses litigation, policy, and culture change to advance gender justice Why it is a multi‑issue organization—because “women don’t lead single‑issue lives”—and how that shapes its work with families and caregiving ​What Title IX is and how its broad ban on sex discrimination has evolved over time How Fatima connects the Law Center’s work to the #MeToo movement, including addressing sexual harassment and changing culture in schools and workplaces. How the Law Center “guides and guards” Title IX through court cases, policy advocacy, training, and support for students. 🔗 Connect with Angela:   InstagramFacebookLinkedInVisit Angela's Website

    37 min
  6. 210. Rooted, Ready, and Rising: President Nicole Austin‑Hillery on Leading the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

    4 MAR

    210. Rooted, Ready, and Rising: President Nicole Austin‑Hillery on Leading the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

    In this episode of The Legal Lens, Angela Reddock‑Wright talks with attorney Nicole Austin‑Hillery, President and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), about her journey from growing up as a proud “project kid” in Harrisburg public housing to becoming a civil and human rights lawyer and leading a premier Black policy institution. She shares how her single mother and an eighth‑grade teacher helped shape her path, and how that calling now shows up in CBCF’s three pillars: building a pipeline of Black interns and fellows, producing Black‑centered policy research, and convening leaders and communities through its Annual Legislative Conference and new “mini ALCs.” Nicole and Angela also dig into CBCF’s priority issues—voting rights and civic power, health equity, and economic empowerment—along with tools like the executive order tracker and Black Public Policy Playbook, all under the foundation’s 50th‑anniversary theme, “Rooted, Ready, and Rising.” Key Topics Covered Nicole’s upbringing in Harrisburg, PA public housing, the example of her “warrior” single mother, and the middle‑school teacher who pushed her toward civil and human rights law. ​Her path from housing and employment discrimination cases into policy work and national civil rights leadership. CBCF’s mission: paid pipelines for Black interns and fellows (including C‑suite roles), a research center, and major convenings like the Annual Legislative Conference and mini‑ALCs. Current focus on civic engagement and voting power, health equity (including Black maternal mortality), and economic empowerment as interconnected justice issues. Tools like the executive order tracker and Black Public Policy Playbook, and Nicole’s belief that everyday people—wherever they are—can be catalysts for change in this “Rooted, Ready, and Rising” 50th‑anniversary moment. 🔗 Connect with Angela:   InstagramFacebookLinkedInVisit Angela's Website

    39 min
  7. 209. Professor Jared Clemons on Whether Education Is Still The Great Equalizer in Black America

    25 FEB

    209. Professor Jared Clemons on Whether Education Is Still The Great Equalizer in Black America

    In this episode of The Legal Lens podcast, host Angela Reddock‑Wright sits down with Professor Jared Clemons, a political scientist whose work examines how race, power, and education intersect in American life. Jared and Angela talk about the pressures students face—from debt to anxiety about the future—and why some are turning toward entrepreneurship and even engineering and technology with an eye toward ethics and public responsibility, not just a paycheck. Drawing on Black political thought, Jared emphasizes the need to resist cynicism, insisting that nothing is inevitable, that “we all need each other,” and that recognizing our deep interdependence is essential to how we think about policy, education, and justice. He argues that this challenging moment is also an opening: if we can reframe our mindsets and the laws, ask better questions about who benefits from our current systems, and center hope over resignation, we can chart new directions for students, communities, and the broader social contract. Key Topics Covered:  Whether education can be seen as the key to future success and upward mobility for Black America as it was seen in the past. What he is seeing in the classroom: students who are “like sponges,” willing to question what they thought they knew and imagine different possibilities for education, work, and democracy. ​How he looks for “the hopeful kernel” in this moment, drawing on Black political thought to insist that nothing is inevitable and that hope is essential to moving forward. ​Why he warns that widespread cynicism can slide into resignation, and how that undermines efforts to confront injustice. ​Why he believes this period of upheaval is also an opening to rethink what we owe one another through education, law, and public policy. 🔗 Connect with Angela:   InstagramFacebookLinkedInVisit Angela's Website

    41 min
  8. 208. Lethal “Love”: Sunny Slaughter on the “Au Pair” Case and Reframing Domestic Violence and The Law

    18 FEB

    208. Lethal “Love”: Sunny Slaughter on the “Au Pair” Case and Reframing Domestic Violence and The Law

    In this powerful return to The Legal Lens Show, host Angela Reddock-Wright welcomes returning guest Sunny Slaughter—litigation expert, national legal commentator on Court TV, CNN, and Law & Crime, and an authority on law enforcement and intimate partner violence—to challenge the way we talk about “crimes of passion” and domestic violence murder. Speaking on a breaking‑news day when a Virginia jury returned a first‑degree murder verdict in the high‑profile “au pair” case, Sunny explains why there is “nothing passionate about murder,” introduces her concept of L³: Lens, Language, and Law, and debuts a new framework she coined on air—Domestic Violence Murder by Ambush & Conspiracy(DVMAC)—to describe carefully planned, conspiratorial killings wrongly romanticized by the legal system’s language. Drawing on recent cases, including domestic homicides involving elaborate luring, lying in wait, and child endangerment, she unpacks how coercive control, narcissism, financial concerns, immigration status, and reputation operate as risk multipliers in intimate partner relationships, and why content creators, courts, and communities must “call it what it is,” reform statutes, and update how police, prosecutors, and the public understand and prevent escalating violence. Key Topics Covered:  Why she strongly rejects the phrase “crime of passion” in domestic violence and intimate partner homicide, and how language shapes perception, policing, prosecution, and policy.​Her L³ framework—Lens, Language, and Law—and how seeing clearly, naming accurately, and aligning terminology with legal reality are critical to changing outcomes.Detailed breakdown of the Virginia “au pair” case: the luring of an unwitting victim, an ambush inside the home, dual shooters, stabbing and shooting, child endangerment, and plea and deportation consequences for the au pair.The concept of Domestic Violence Murder by Ambush and Conspiracy (DVMAC) and how lying in wait, conspiracy, and premeditation show these killings are calculated, not impulsive or romantic.How intimacy and shared life—children, assets, social image—function as risk multipliers in domestic violence, and why some abusers choose murder rather than separation. 🔗 Connect with Angela:   InstagramFacebookLinkedInVisit Angela's Website

    38 min
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About

The Legal Lens with Angela Reddock-Wright Podcast is an extension of Angela’s weekly radio show on Tavis Smiley’s KBLA Talk 1580 radio station based in Los Angeles, CA, and broadcasting throughout the U.S. and internationally. As the host of the show, Angela brings her nearly 30 years of experience as an experienced employment and Title IX law mediator with Signature Resolution based in California and serving clients throughout the United States, and former employment and Title IX attorney and workplace investigator. The mission of the Legal Lens show is to Bring Law to Light, offering insightful, engaging, and empowering conversations on the legal and policy issues that impact YOU our listening audience, and that shape our everyday lives. The show dives deep into topics ranging from civil rights, reparations, employment discrimination, workplace harassment, criminal, business, entertainment, and other areas of law and policy. Our goal on The Legal Lens Podcast is to produce and create shows that help you navigate the legal and policy landscapes you face with confidence. Each episode features leading attorneys, policymakers, and dynamic change agents, breaking down complex legal concepts into clear, everyday language. Tune in live each weekend on Tavis Smiley’s KBLA Talk 1580, or catch the podcast on your favorite listening platform. Stay informed, engaged, and empowered with The Legal Lens Podcast with Angela Reddock-Wright Podcast.

Information

  • Creator
    Angela Reddock-Wright
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    232
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Angela Reddock-Wright
  • Show Website
    The Legal Lens Podcast