Represent More

We Are Them Media
  • 5.0 (4)
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Represent More is a podcast about power — who has it, who doesn’t, and what happens when accountability disappears. Hosted by Ryan and Shireen Clarkson, founding partners of Clarkson, one of the leading nationwide public interest law firms, the show pulls back the curtain on the systems that quietly shape our lives: healthcare, AI and technology, workplaces, consumer markets, and the legal structures meant to protect everyday people. They share lived experiences both in the courtroom and outside of it: unsafe products, deceptive practices, unchecked corporate behavior, and real harm that too often goes unanswered. Each episode blends candid conversation with hard-won insight from decades of consumer and civil litigation. Ryan and Shireen share what they’re working on (to the extent they can), what they’re seeing in the world, and how powerful interests are evolving faster than the mechanisms designed to hold them accountable. Along the way, they explore what it actually means to “represent more” — more people, more truth, more courage, and more pressure on systems that benefit from silence. This podcast isn’t legal advice.  It’s transparent, values-driven, and grounded in the real consequences faced by consumers, workers, and families every day. It’s for the outsiders, the believers, and anyone who understands that justice doesn’t move on its own — it moves when people demand it. If you’ve ever felt like harm has been normalized, like power goes unchecked, or like your voice doesn’t matter in systems built to exclude you — this show is for you. This is Represent More. We’re glad you’re here.

  1. 2d ago

    "A Bunch of Davids & One Goliath" — Bahar Sodaify on Immigrant Roots, Food Fraud & the Power of Class Actions

    Welcome to Represent More, the podcast about power — who has it, who doesn't, and what happens when accountability disappears. In this episode, Ryan and Shireen Clarkson sit down with Bahar Sodaify, Clarkson's first associate and first homegrown partner, who now leads the firm's food fraud practice. Bahar traces a direct line from her childhood in a Persian family in Beverly Hills — where her parents, who arrived from Iran in 1977, couldn't recognize the ingredients on American food labels and drove out of their way for organic produce — to the consumer class actions she prosecutes today. Along the way: a UCLA sociology experiment in standing perfectly still, a lawyers' choir at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the moment a room full of 1L students realized what a class action actually is. In this episode: Bahar's path from Beverly Hills High and Santa Monica College to UCLA and Southwestern Law, and why a B+ in chemistry pointed her toward the lawHow her parents' skepticism of processed food shaped the practice she runs nowWhy American supermarkets carry flavors that don't exist in nature — and what that has to do with regulatory capture at the FDA and FTCWhy the same cereal is sold in Japan without the artificial colors and flavors it contains in the US — and why thousands of ingredients banned abroad are still legal hereThe CLRA, UCL, and FAL: how a California consumer protection case actually gets built, from notice letter to injunctive reliefThe $7.8 million Celsius "no preservatives" settlement and the slack fill cases that helped change how movie theater candy is packagedWhy "a bunch of Davids and one Goliath" is the right way to think about the class action deviceBahar's advice for law students, her tips for truly unplugging on vacation, and the Hard 8 (spoiler: the answer is always coffee)It's a conversation about where the impulse to hold corporations to their labels comes from, and why individual harms that feel too small to fight become worth fighting when people come together. Read more and subscribe at representmore.substack.com.

  2. Jul 30

    "Stuck in Their Game" — The Washington Post Lawsuit, Surveillance Pricing, and Scaling with Purpose

    Welcome to Represent More, a production of We Are Them Media, hosted by Ryan Clarkson and Shireen Clarkson. Two people look at the same product at the same time — and pay two different prices. That's surveillance pricing, and in this episode, Ryan and Shireen break down how companies quietly use your location, browsing habits, and purchase history to decide how much you should pay. They dig into Clarkson's new lawsuit against The Washington Post, filed on behalf of subscribers whose personal data was allegedly fed into a pricing algorithm without their knowledge — and what it will take to hold the line when the agencies meant to police these practices have been gutted. In this episode: What surveillance pricing is — and how it differs from haggling, insurance, and dynamic pricingThe case against The Washington Post: what's alleged, and the remedies at stakeNew York's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act and the wave of legislation likely to followWhy "just opt out" isn't a real choice when a handful of tech giants run the gameHow Clarkson has evolved to meet harms where they now live — in the digital worldGrowing with purpose: practice areas, global expansion, and the firm's mid-year Clarkson 180Rose, Bud, Thorn: family across generations, the World Cup, and keeping politics out of sportWhen companies extract your data to extract your money, the price you pay stops being fair — and the fix won't come on its own. It comes from disclosure laws, consumer cases, and people willing to demand that technology's conveniences never come at the cost of accountability. Read more at https://representmore.substack.com

  3. Jul 13

    "Sticking Up for the Little Guy" – Tracey Cowan on Fertility Negligence, Rideshare Accountability & Giving Clients a Voice

    Welcome to Represent More, a production of We Are Them Media, hosted by Ryan and Shireen Clarkson. This week, Ryan and Shireen welcome Tracey Cowan, who leads Clarkson's fertility negligence and sexual assault practices. From a childhood spent moving school districts with a superintendent dad who preached sticking up for the little guy, to the Tisch School of the Arts, to a research lab at NYU, to constitutional law and prisoners' rights work at Peiffer Wolf, Tracey's path to the courtroom was anything but a straight line — and every stop along the way shaped the fierce, client-first advocate she is today. In this episode: Tracey's winding road from theater kid to trial lawyer — and why empathy is a litigator's secret weaponInside the landmark Pacific Fertility Center trial and the first jury verdict to put a value on destroyed embryosThe CooperSurgical cases: how a missing ingredient in embryo culture media devastated families across the countryRideshare accountability: the Uber and Lyft sexual assault litigation now underway in the Northern District of CaliforniaWhy civil justice matters when criminal courts can't deliver — and what "being heard" really means for survivorsPlus: the Hard 8 — rapid-fire questions on everything from childhood heroes to cats vs. dogsAt its heart, this conversation is about what happens when the people we trust most — fertility clinics, rideshare platforms, the systems built to keep us safe — fail the people who depend on them. Tracey's clients can never be returned to where they were before. But accountability, acknowledgment, and a team that believes them can restore something just as vital: their voice. For more, subscribe to our Substack at representmore.substack.com.

  4. Jul 1

    "It's a Lot of Fiascos" — AI Skepticism, the Monsanto Ruling, and Democracy Under Strain

    Welcome to Represent More, a production of We Are Them Media. In this milestone tenth episode, hosts Ryan and Shireen Clarkson dive into a wide-ranging discussion spanning artificial intelligence, a major Supreme Court ruling, and the state of American democracy heading into the midterms. AI in higher education: Universities are pushing students to learn AI tools while simultaneously issuing false cheating accusations based on unreliable AI-detection software — Ryan breaks down the due process protections students are entitled to, and why outdated school policies are fueling the confusionAI's broken promises: Three years after Ryan's original op-ed on AI risk, he and Shireen take stock of what's actually materialized — misinformation, job displacement, and "AI washing" by corporations — while struggling to name a single tangible societal benefitMonsanto v. Durnell: The Supreme Court's 7-2 ruling that federal law preempts state failure-to-warn claims against Bayer over Roundup's cancer risks, and what it means for the thousands of pending lawsuits nationwideA bright spot in election law: A 5-4 ruling that crossed ideological lines to push back against further erosion of voting rights, plus a look at the gerrymandering battles unfolding state by state ahead of NovemberRose, Bud, Thorn: Ryan reflects on the country's 250th anniversary and the resilience of democracy; Shireen shares a personal win on staying physically activeAt its core, Represent More is about power — who holds it, who doesn't, and what happens when the systems meant to provide accountability fall short. Whether it's corporations reaching for AI as cover, or courts closing the door on injured consumers, Ryan and Shireen keep coming back to the same throughline: when legislatures and regulators fail to act, the courts remain the last resort — and that only works if people keep demanding it. Subscribe to Represent More wherever you get your podcasts, and find us on Substack at https://representmore.substack.com

  5. Jun 17

    "Not Shying Away" – Shireen Clarkson on Growing Up, Finding Her Voice & Never Backing Down

    Welcome to Represent More, produced by We Are Them Media. In Episode 9, Ryan Clarkson turns the mic around — and his co-host, Shireen Clarkson, becomes the guest. Who is Shireen, where did she come from, and what shaped her into one of the country's leading consumer advocates? In this episode: Growing up Persian-American in the Bay Area — navigating dual identity, feeling like an outsider in two worlds, and how that feeling became fuelThe "you don't need a man" household: how Shireen's Iranian immigrant parents raised two fiercely independent daughters — including Shireen's sister, actress Necar ZadeganFrom UCSB to UC Hastings (now UC Law San Francisco) to the courtroom: the winding road that led Shireen to plaintiff-side class action work, and the mentors who shaped her along the wayThe hard no that became a yes: how Shireen turned down Ryan's pitch to leave Milstein Adelman and start a firm together — and what changed her mindFood law as a calling: why Shireen has spent 15+ years going after the biggest food corporations in America, and why the fight never gets oldMotherhood, balance, and capacity: how becoming Adia's mom deepened her sense of purpose — both inside and outside the courtroomAdvice for young lawyers: the one question Shireen wishes she'd asked herself soonerThis episode is about the forces — family, identity, ambition, and a healthy refusal to accept the way things are — that produce someone who doesn't shy away from the biggest corporations in America. Because justice doesn't move on its own. It moves when people demand it. Subscribe and follow Represent More on Substack: https://representmore.substack.com

  6. Jun 3

    "Food Is Safe, Just Ask the Food Company" — AI Washing, the Apple Settlement & the Fight Over What's in Your Food

    Welcome to Represent More, a production of We Are Them Media. This week, Ryan and Shireen are back in the studio fresh off a big win — a $250 million settlement against Apple in what may be the largest false advertising settlement in history. The case centers on "AI washing": Apple's alleged failure to deliver on the artificial intelligence features it used to sell its iPhone 15 and 16 models. Ryan breaks down how the settlement works, what class members can expect, and why this verdict matters beyond the dollar figure. Then Shireen digs into something that affects every single person who eats: the fight over GRAS — "Generally Recognized as Safe" — the FDA designation that lets food companies quietly introduce untested chemicals into the food supply without meaningful government oversight. With 28 food safety bills currently moving through Congress, she explains what's at stake, what the GRAS loophole actually means, and why reform is long overdue. Topics covered this episode: The $250M Apple AI washing settlement — what it means, how to claim your share, and what "AI washing" as a legal theory looks like going forwardGRAS explained: how a 1950s-era FDA designation became a loophole for synthetic food chemicals, and why 99% of food chemicals introduced since 2000 have entered the food supply through industry self-affirmationThe 28 food safety bills working through Congress right now — including a major GRAS reform proposalThe glyphosate/Roundup preemption case at the Supreme Court and the Trump administration's troubling positionIndustry consolidation as a common thread — from food to airlines — and what happens to accountability when competition is just an illusionFrom the courtroom to the grocery store, accountability requires someone willing to fight for it. If you want to stay up to date on the Apple case and the firm's other AI litigation, visit https://togetheron.ai to sign up for updates. Represent More is available wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and find us on Substack at https://representmore.substack.com.

  7. May 6

    "If It Makes Your Skin Crawl…" — Ryan Clarkson on Law, Life, and the Cases Worth Fighting For

    Welcome to Represent More, a production of We Are Them Media. In Episode 7, co-host Shireen Clarkson turns the tables and puts Ryan Clarkson in the hot seat — tracing the arc of his life from a big Midwestern family to the courtroom, and asking the questions that reveal what really drives one of the country's leading consumer and public interest litigators. In this episode: Ryan's upbringing in Michigan — a factory-worker dad, a community-minded mom, and the values they instilled that still show up in how he practices lawHow he found his way to law without a single lawyer in the family — and the early career moments that forged his instinctsWhat separates a good litigator from a great one, and how Ryan knows in his gut when a case is worth fightingThe misconceptions people have about plaintiff lawyers — and why Ryan believes corporations are running a deliberate disinformation campaign against the very people fighting for everyday consumersHow his definition of success has shifted with age, and what the "back nine" of life has clarified about what actually mattersWhen the legislature won't act and the executive branch won't regulate, the courts become the last line of defense. Ryan has spent decades showing up to that fight — and this episode is the story of how he got there. If you believe justice doesn't move on its own, this one's for you. Subscribe to Represent More wherever you get your podcasts, and find us on Substack at representmore.substack.com.

  8. Apr 22

    "Because Bees Be Bees" — False Advertising, Kratom's Hidden Toll, and the Corporate Playbook for Avoiding Accountability

    Welcome to Represent More, brought to you by We Are Them Media. In Episode 6, Ryan and Shireen dig into two stories about what happens when companies make promises they never intend to keep — and then blame you for believing them. This week: Panelli v. Target — A Ninth Circuit Win for Consumers: Target sold bedsheets labeled as "800 thread count." Testing revealed the actual count was 288. When the case was dismissed at the district court level using an "impossibility defense" — the idea that if a claim is factually impossible, consumers can't be deceived — Ryan and Shireen's appellate team took it to the Ninth Circuit and won. The ruling clarifies and narrows a defense that corporations had been weaponizing across false advertising cases involving food, cosmetics, supplements, and more. A big win for consumers, and for the litigation landscape.Kratom's Hidden Toll: Kratom is a plant-based supplement marketed as a natural, safe mood enhancer — and it's completely unregulated by the FDA. But people who use it as directed are becoming addicted, suffering seizures, and dying. With lawsuits now cropping up nationwide, kratom companies are responding to wrongful death cases by blaming the victims. Ryan and Shireen break down why the supplement industry's regulatory gap is so dangerous, what the litigation looks like, and why failure-to-warn cases like these matter beyond the courtroom.Because bees be bees — and companies are counting on you not knowing the difference. Subscribe to Represent More wherever you get your podcasts, and find us on Substack at https://representmore.substack.com

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About

Represent More is a podcast about power — who has it, who doesn’t, and what happens when accountability disappears. Hosted by Ryan and Shireen Clarkson, founding partners of Clarkson, one of the leading nationwide public interest law firms, the show pulls back the curtain on the systems that quietly shape our lives: healthcare, AI and technology, workplaces, consumer markets, and the legal structures meant to protect everyday people. They share lived experiences both in the courtroom and outside of it: unsafe products, deceptive practices, unchecked corporate behavior, and real harm that too often goes unanswered. Each episode blends candid conversation with hard-won insight from decades of consumer and civil litigation. Ryan and Shireen share what they’re working on (to the extent they can), what they’re seeing in the world, and how powerful interests are evolving faster than the mechanisms designed to hold them accountable. Along the way, they explore what it actually means to “represent more” — more people, more truth, more courage, and more pressure on systems that benefit from silence. This podcast isn’t legal advice.  It’s transparent, values-driven, and grounded in the real consequences faced by consumers, workers, and families every day. It’s for the outsiders, the believers, and anyone who understands that justice doesn’t move on its own — it moves when people demand it. If you’ve ever felt like harm has been normalized, like power goes unchecked, or like your voice doesn’t matter in systems built to exclude you — this show is for you. This is Represent More. We’re glad you’re here.

Information

  • Creator
    We Are Them Media
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 We Are Them Media
  • Show Website
    Represent More