The Podvocate

The Podvocate by Loyola University Chicago School of Law
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Law students at Loyola University Chicago School of Law explore legal topics and engage in the intentional infliction of emotional discourse.

  1. 1D AGO

    Hollywood on Trial

    This week, associate editor Nicole Polisar revisits the 1936 Mary Astor custody trial, the Hollywood courtroom spectacle that turned a private diary into a national obsession. Set in Los Angeles at the height of the studio era, the episode reconstructs the drama of a movie star fighting her ex-husband, Dr. Franklyn Thorpe, for custody of their four-year-old daughter, Marylyn. As tabloids and subpoenas threaten to swallow the proceeding whole, the courtroom begins to resemble a public stage as much as a forum for justice. Nicole examines how “fitness” was argued and weaponized in a courtroom culture that treated a mother’s private relationships as evidence of parental unworthiness. The episode explores how media frenzy, moral judgment, and evidentiary battles transformed a child-welfare proceeding into reputational warfare. If you're interest in the episode's topic please check out these resources to learn more: https://archive.org/details/mystoryautobiogr00asto https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-aug-12-me-a2anniversary12-story.html

    30 min

  2. FEB 4

    When Life Takes Your Lemon, Make a Fuss: How Important is a Free Press?

    How serious were the January 2026 arrests of independent journalists, Don Lemon and Georgia Fort? In this episode Senior Editor Alyssa Pacheco reflects on the power of the press and historical attacks on its First Amendment protections to answer that question.

    21 min

  3. JAN 29

    Mommy? Mamacita: Maternal Health Policy in The United States

    In this episode, senior editor Neha Alety provides a brief history of maternal health policy in the United States. She discusses how these policies have disproportionately affected low-income, vulnerable populations, and people of color. She ends the episode with a discussion on how we can advocate for more just policies as future lawyers.

    19 min

  4. JAN 23

    Loyola University Chicago Rule of Law Institute Presents: The Rule of Law, Peace and National Security

    “The Rule of Law and the American Experiment” was presented by the Seventh Circuit Bar Association and Loyola University Chicago Rule of Law institute on October 24, 2025, covering a litany of issues related to law in Trump’s America; this episode is a recording of “The Rule of Law, Peace, and National Security.” The panelists were: John C. Dehn, Associate Professor & Faculty Director, National Security and Civil Rights Program, Loyola University Chicago School of Law; Scott Carlson, Associate Executive Director of Global Programs, American Bar Association; Laura A. Dickinson, Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School.

    1h 1m

  5. JAN 22

    Welfare Recipients’ Rights Under Digital Surveillance (PART I)

    In this episode, Associate Editor Ashvini Kartik-Narayan explores history of digital surveillance in public benefits programs and how it has set the stage for data grabs under the Trump administration. Millions of Americans receiving SNAP and Social Security will have their personally identifiable information subject to data disclosures under the guise of “reducing fraud and waste” in welfare programs. Ashvini examines the ways that low-income communities of color have long been subject to surveillance, the legal strategies used to resist surveillance in the past, and how those strategies must evolve to meet the current threat of artificial intelligence.

    32 min

  6. 12/03/2025

    Lex Americana: “With Liberty and Justice For All” – An American Civil Code

    In this week's episode, associate editor Adam Reed dives into the issues of the common law system. He discusses the main issues facing the average citizen when facing the common law legal system: complexity, accessibility, affordability, variability, and arbitrarity. He discusses the cases he recalls, especially from law school and how absurd they could be, while also discussing how to solve them. He proposes, at least in the hypothetical, an examination of the corpus juris civilis, as well as the Napoleonic code in order to see how these problems might be solved. If you're interested in this week's topic, check out this resource to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_2E0RxVHH4&list=PLEb6sGT7oD8HLpPQ0N4UTmTtPlpXfJias

    33 min

  7. 11/20/2025

    What the H*LL is Law and Political Economy (LPE)?

    In this episode, Julian kicks off a new series on Law and Political Economy (LPE) by examining foundational assumptions of how we see the law. Using David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” as a frame to examine legal consciousness, Julian walks through what LPE scholars call the "Twentieth-Century Synthesis," and how prevailing legal thought has created a split between "market law" and "rights law." He traces how Law and Economics constructed legal common sense, and what that means for law students and lawyers in the critical examination of their field. If you're interested in this week topic, please check out these resources to learn more: David Singh Grewal, Amy Kapczynski, and Jedidiah Britton-Purdy, Toward a Manifesto (2017) Samuel Aber, Neoliberalism: An LPE Reading List and Introduction, LPE Project (Aug. 10, 2020) Samuel Aber, Legal Realism: An LPE Reading List and Introduction, LPE Project (Aug. 9, 2020) Kendall Thomas, Law After Neoliberalism (course syllabus, Columbia Law School), LPE Project Syllabi (Jan. 23, 2025) Amy Kapczynski, Law & Political Economy (course syllabus), LPE Project Syllabi (Sept. 27, 2022) Luke Norris, Law & Political Economy (course syllabus, Univ. of Richmond School of Law, Fall 2023)

    23 min

  8. 11/13/2025

    When the Law Washes Away- The Collapse of Justice After Hurricane Katrina

    In this episode, Associate Editor Delaney Ferrer examines what happens when natural disasters destroy, not just a city, but the legal systems meant to protect its people. Focusing on post-Katrina New Orleans, Delaney explores how failures in planning, infrastructure, and civil rights protections led to the collapse of the justice system--and what lessons we can take for a future that is threatened by climate change and recurring disasters. If you're interested in this week's topic, please check out these resources to learn more: ACLU “Abandoned and Abused: Complete Report” https://www.unitedcajunnavy.org/ Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts National Geographic’s Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/hurricane-katrina-disaster-relief-funding

    33 min
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About

Law students at Loyola University Chicago School of Law explore legal topics and engage in the intentional infliction of emotional discourse.

Information

  • Creator
    The Podvocate by Loyola University Chicago School of Law
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    208
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    The Podvocate