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Listen Up: 7 Podcasts to Check Out
July 2019This compelling—and sometimes sensational—retelling of the story of a man who pretended to be a prestigious spinal surgeon and conned patients, medical professionals, and others for years will appeal to true crime fans. But any trial lawyer can appreciate the failures of the health care system to act on red flags before this fake doctor critically harmed dozens of patients and appreciate the struggle to achieve a measure of justice against him. And perhaps unexpectedly, the podcast highlights the impact of tort “reform” and damages caps on injured people (the events occur in Texas), as well as the tertiary effects on public health and safety.
Expanding on her book The Anxious Lawyer: An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation, attorney and mindfulness instructor Jeena Cho interviews lawyers, mentors, and other professionals about ways to better manage competing priorities in work, life, and family without sacrificing your well-being. Episodes tackle a range of topics, from mental health and stress reduction to finding alternative career paths that fit your lifestyle and goals.
This wide-ranging news show from Law360 analyzes the biggest legal stories each week. With over 100 episodes, get caught up on everything from forced arbitration at the U.S. Supreme Court to the first criminal cases brought against pharmaceutical executives over the opioid crisis or learn more about broader topics such as jurors in the modern era of “fake news.”
From Above the Law, “The Jabot” explores the challenges facing LGBT, female, and minority attorneys. Named in tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent neckwear, this podcast offers a space for historically marginalized groups to discuss the issues directly affecting them in the legal industry and to empower them for change.
Keeping up with tech developments in the law is made easier with this podcast hosted by blogger Bob Ambrogi. With a future-thinking bent, Ambrogi talks with entrepreneurs and developers about the leading edge of technological change in an industry that typically is slow to evolve. But the episodes also focus on products that are already here to improve the practice of law, such as cataloging millions of case opinions into a free database and case management platforms that harness artificial intelligence.
Curtis Flowers has been tried for the same murders six times in his small hometown in Mississippi—and five times his convictions have been overturned. Flowers is currently serving a life sentence for his sixth conviction but is fighting it again. Journalist Madeleine Baran takes a critical, in-depth look at the six trials and allegations that the prosecutor’s racial bias in jury selection may have denied Flowers a fair trial. While the podcast examines the case of one man, it exposes broader issues of race and equality in the American criminal justice system. Flowers’s latest appeal is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, and the podcast follows any developments with new episodes.
For listeners who are also book worms, this award-winning podcast from the ABA Journal features interviews with authors who delve deeper into the subjects—both current legal issues and historical events—of their books. Episodes include a discussion of how data analytics in policing could be compromised by implicit bias, the history behind a landmark hate crime case, and a retrospective on how corporations have managed to gain constitutional rights.
Kate Halloran is the senior associate editor for Trial magazine.
