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Broken Law

Broken Law

Hosted by American Constitution Society

Episodes

207

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN

About the show

Ever feel like the law is stacked against you? It probably is. Broken Law speaks truth to power in discussing how our laws and legal system serve the few at the expense of the many. This is where law meets real life. Hosted by the staff of the American Constitution Society, we reckon with the origins of our legal system, interview people on the frontlines of the progressive legal movement, and chat about necessary legal reforms to restore our democratic legitimacy and improve the lives of all people.

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60 recent
August 4, 2026Episode 20634 min

Episode 206: Pink Crime

In the wake of recent SCOTUS decisions like Dobbs and Skrmetti, the bodies and actions of queer people, mothers, and pregnant people have been increasingly criminalized.  Lindsay Langholz is joined by Valena Beety to discuss her new book, Pink Crime: Fighting Against the Criminalization of Motherhood, Pregnancy, and Queer Identity, and how women and queer people are being punished for crimes that never occurred at all. Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and ProgramGuest: Valena Beety, Robert H. McKinney Professor of Law, Indiana University Maurer School of LawLink: Pink Crime: Fighting Against the Criminalization of Motherhood, Pregnancy, and Queer Identity, by Valena Beety (30% off code: TNP30)Link: Tip that saw Pete Buttigieg separated from his children was not vetted and informant may have been ‘mentally unstable’, by Jasmine FernándezLink: Post-Dobbs Pregnancy Criminal Cases, Pregnancy JusticeVisit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

July 21, 2026Episode 20538 min

Episode 205: Civil Society Under Attack

In backsliding democracies around the world, civil society organizations have consistently been targeted by government actors in order to stifle dissent and pluralism.  ACS Director of Policy and Program Diane Furstenau joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss this pattern and what lessons we can learn from other countries' experiences as we face similar threats at home.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and ProgramGuest: Diane Furstenau, Director of Policy and Program, ACSLink: Monitor: Tracking Civic Space, CIVICUSLink: Resource Collections, International Center for Not-for-Profit LawLink: The Impacts of the Recent Executive Orders on Nonprofits, National Council of NonprofitsLink: Civil Society Rights & Resiliency Resources, Charity & Security NetworkVisit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

July 7, 2026Episode 2041 hr 10 min

Episode 204: The Imperial Presidency

Checks on executive power have become fully unbalanced, with boundaries and guardrails overrun daily. Congressional leadership unwilling to challenge a president of their own party and an enabling Court have thus far proven largely uninterested in reining in a president who openly defies constitutional and legal constraints on his power. A recent panel at ACS's 2026 National Convention tackles the question of what can be done now to curb executive power and rebalance our branches of federal government?Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and ProgramGuest: Vanita Gupta, Director of the Center for Law and Public Trust, NYU LawGuest: Harold Hongju Koh, Sterling Professor of International Law, Yale Law SchoolGuest: Barbara McQuade, Professor from Practice, University of Michigan Law SchoolGuest: Hon. Jamie Raskin, Member, U.S. House of Representatives for the 8th District of MarylandGuest: Donald Sherman, President and Chief Executive Officer, CREWLink:  Videos of all 2026 National Convention Panel Conversations Coming SoonVisit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

June 23, 2026Episode 20341 min

Episode 203: The Trump Admin's Multifaceted Attacks on Legal Education

Since retaking office, the Trump Administration has put the legal profession in the crosshairs through executive orders, administrative rules, and public pressure campaigns targeting lawyers, law firms, and judges. In a recent wave of attacks, the Administration has set its sights on law schools and law students. Amanda Fuchs Miller joins Ashley Erickson to discuss the various levers of federal power being pulled by the Administration to target legal education and what can be done about it.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Ashley Erickson, Senior Director of Network AdvancementGuest: Amanda Fuchs Miller, President, Seventh Street StrategiesLink:  An Under the Radar Attempt to Politicize Federal Funding Needs Your Input, by Amanda Fuchs MillerLink: Notice and Comment Project, ACSVisit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

June 9, 2026Episode 2021 hr 20 min

Episode 202: SCOTUS Term Refresher

In the final weeks of the 2025-2026 term, the Supreme Court will issue over two dozen decisions in key cases.  Before this final stretch, we return to ACS's Supreme Court Preview event to refresh our collective memories on those cases still outstanding and as an opportunity to reflect on what the term has yielded thus far.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and ProgramGuest: Mark Joseph Stern, Senior Writer, Slate MagazineGuest: Carlos A. Ball, Distinguished Professor of Law and Judge Frederick Lacey Scholar, Rutgers Law SchoolGuest: Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, David Dinkins '56 Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for Criminal Justice, Brooklyn Law SchoolGuest: Pamela S. Karlan, Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law and Co-Director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, Stanford Law SchoolGuest: Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar, Director of the Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic, and Clinical Professor of Law, Penn State Dickinson LawLink:  ACS National Supreme Court Preview 2025-2026Link: Supreme Court Term in Review, Georgetown Law on July 1Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

May 26, 2026Episode 20128 min

Episode 201: Corruption of and Through the Pardon Power

Recent reporting suggests the President is flirting with issuing more blanket pardons for political allies and those willing to court his favor.  Liz Oyer joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss how the president's pardon power has been used (and abused) in recent years and to understand just how far outside the norms we have strayed.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and ProgramGuest: Liz Oyer of Lawyer Oyer, Former United States Pardon AttorneyLink: Justice Dept. Sets Up $1.8 Billion Fund That Could Funnel Money to Trump Allies, by Glenn Thrush, Andrew Duehren, & Alan FeuerLink: Trump Promises Mass Pardons to Staff Before Leaving Office, by Josh DawseyLink: Lawyer OyerLink: Register Here for ACS's 2026 National Convention  Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

May 12, 2026Episode 20039 min

Episode 200: Never Give Up

It has been a tough few weeks for democracy.  The US Supreme Court's recent demolition of what remained of the Voting Rights Act, the Virginia Supreme Court's decision to trump the express will of Virginia voters to redraw congressional lines, and southern state legislatures racing to the bottom to strip Black voters of political power have weighed heavily on us all.  For our 200th episode, Joyce Vance joins Valerie Nannery to discuss her book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy, and what it will take from all of us to save our democracy.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and ProgramGuest: Joyce Vance, Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, The University of Alabama School of Law; ACS Board MemberLink: Giving Up is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy, by Joyce VanceLink: Civil Discourse with Joyce VanceLink: ACS 2026 National Convention details and registrationLink: Register Here for ACS's 2026 National Convention  Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

April 28, 2026Episode 19947 min

Episode 199: Democracy Needs Heroes

As ACS staff prepares for our 2026 National Convention in Washington, DC, we invite you to revisit two highlights of our 2024 convention for a little inspiration and encourage you to join us for this year's event if you are able.  Judge Carlton Reeves (S.D. Miss.) and then-New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin delivered remarks on the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, the role attorneys and law students can play as social engineers, and being a hero for democracy.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and ProgramGuest: Hon. Carlton Reeves, District Judge, Southern District of Mississippi; Chair, U.S. Sentencing CommissionGuest: Matt Platkin, 62nd Attorney General of New Jersey; Partner, Platkin LLPLink: Register Here for ACS's 2026 National Convention  Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

April 14, 2026Episode 19839 min

Episode 198: The Fight to Free DC

Since January 2025, the District of Columbia and its more than 700,000 residents have been under near-constant attack by both the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government. The federal officials attempting to control the District through legislative action and physical force are not elected by D.C. residents and are not accountable to them. Keya Chatterjee joins Broken Law to describe what has been happening, why everyone should care, and how people are fighting for the right of the people of D.C. to govern themselves.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and ProgramGuest: Keya Chatterjee, Executive Director, Free DCLink: May Day DCLink: Anti-DC Congressional Bills Attempt Federal Takeover of DC Criminal Justice and Home Rule, Maryland State & DC AFL-CIOLink: Putting D.C. in the Chain of Command: Congress Should Reform the DC National Guard’s Outdated and Dangerous Command Structure, by Elizabeth GoiteinVisit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

March 31, 2026Episode 19748 min

Episode 197: People v. The Court

The Roberts Court has recently used its docket to indulge in growing antidemocratic tendencies, collecting power for itself as it shuts the courthouse doors on those seeking to vindicate their constitutional rights and uphold checks and balances.  David Sloss joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss his new book, People v. The Court: The Next Revolution in Constitutional Law, and how power might be rebalanced through a change in judicial review standards.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and ProgramGuest: David Sloss, John A. and Elizabeth H. Sutro Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of LawLink: People v. The Court: The Next Revolution in Constitutional Law, by David SlossLink: The Roberts Court's Assault on Democracy, by Judge Lynn Adelman Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law PodcastEmail the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.orgFollow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube-----------------Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.-----------------Production House: Flint Stone MediaCopyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

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