Ipse Dixit

In 1968, Hollywood-based attorney Walter E. Hurst released the "Law, You and..." series of records, intended to educate the public about various legal topics, as well as serving as an advertisement for the law practice of "$40 an hour Hollywood Attorney Walter E. Hurst." The records consisted of a simulated consultation between Hurst and a "client," offering instruction on the law in a particular...

In this episode, Charbel J. Barakat , Chief Counsel for the Florida region for D.R. Horton, Inc. and recent Jeopardy! champion discusses "the law of Jeopardy!" Among other things, Barakat describes the process of becoming a Jeopardy! contestant, and how he prepared to compete. He also describes the legal history of American game shows, how scandals in the 1960s led to federal regulation of game sh...

In 1985, the New York attorney Aaron Richard Golub wrote the lyrics for a dance/rap song titled "He Is My Lawyer," during a " 20-minute fit of inspiration ." It was a response to Jackson Browne's song " Lawyers in Love " (1983), which Golub felt unfairly maligned the members of the bar as "exploitative and shallow." Golub formed a band, which he named "Power of Attorney," and recorded 3 versions o...

In August 1912, former President Theodore Roosevelt Jr. recorded a speech titled "The Right of the People to Rule" for the Edison Recording Company. Roosevelt had recently lost the Republican nomination for President to William Howard Taft, and founded the Progressive or "Bull Moose" Party to run as its nominee. He ultimately split the Republican vote and caused the election of Woodrow Wilson. In...

On August 6, 1920, in New York City, Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio recorded a speech titled "Liberty Under the Law" for the Columbia Graphophone Manufacturing Company's "Nation's Forum" label. This is take 1, which was released by Nation's Forum. In his speech, Harding objects to Communism as a threat to freedom and the Constitution, and argues that the risk justifies crushing sedition. This r...

On January 16, 1918, in New York City, American Federation of Labor President Samuel Gompers recorded a speech titled "Labor's Service to Freedom" for the Columbia Graphophone Company's "Nation's Forum" label. Gompers recorded at least 2 takes. This is the second take, which was published by Nation's Forum. In the speech, Gompers expresses the AFL's support for the United States war effort, and ex...

On March 2, 1920, in New York City, Governor Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts recorded a speech titled "Law and Order" for the Columbia Graphophone Company's "Nation's Forum" label. Coolidge recorded 7 takes, and released take 4 as "Nation's Forum 7." This is the unpublished first take. In 1920, Coolidge was elected Vice-President of the United States, under President Warren G. Harding. When Hardi...

In 1908, William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 to March 8, 1930) was the Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt, when he received the Republican nomination for President. After delivering his acceptance speech in Cincinnati, he traveled to Virginia Hot Springs, arriving on the morning of August 1. Walter H. Miller and George H. Werner of the Edison Recording Department were there to...

This comic monologue on Prohibition by William Cahill as "Dinnie Donohue" was originally released in 1921 as an Edison Blue Amberol cylinder and was re-released as an Edison Diamond Disc. Unsurprisingly, he is not in favor. This recording is from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie Manna (October 6, 1920 to November 9, 1971) was an Italian-American standup comedian from New York, who was popular in the 1960s. He often appeared on television variety shows, and performed at venues in New York and elsewhere. In 1966, Manna released an LP titled "The Rise & Fall of the Great Society on Verve Records. The record consisted of 9 comedy routines. This is the first, title...

In the 1940s and early 50s, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin ((November 14, 1908 to May 2, 1957) was the face of the United States government's anti-communist crusade known as the "Red Scare." His tendency to make reckless and unsubstantiated accusations became known as "McCarthyism." In 1953, McCarthy became the Chair of the Senate Committee on Government Operations, which inc...

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (November 29, 1908 to April 4, 1972) was an American politician, who represented Harlem in the United States House of Representatives from 1945-71. He was the first African-American to represent New York in Congress, and the fourth African-American elected to Congress in the 20th century. He was also a Baptist pastor. Powell became a prominent leader in the civil rights mov...

From the 1950s through the 1970s, it was common for large corporations to stage elaborate theatrical productions celebrating their business and products, often referred to as " industrial musicals ." This LP is a recording of the musical numbers from an industrial musical produced by IBM in 1968. The full title of the album is, "Midwestern Region 1967 Hundred Percent Club, February 11-14, Chicago....

In early September 1973, Syntonic Research, Inc. or "SRI," released a 45rpm single titled " The Altered Nixon Speech ." The A-side of the single consisted of a 1 minute audiotape collage of President Richard M. Nixon's August 15, 1973 speech on the Watergate break-in. The collage was created by Irv Taibel , the phonographer who created the "Environments" series of LPs of nature sounds. Using 140 t...

In this episode, Andrew Gilden , Assistant Professor of Law at Willamette University College of Law, discusses his article " Copyright's Market Gibberish ," which will appear in the Washington Law Review. Gilden observes that while the dominant form of copyright rhetoric holds that copyright only protects economic interests, court actually allow many copyright owners to achieve non-economic goals....

In 1961, Ronald Reagan , then the recently-resigned president of the Screen Actors Guild, recorded this LP on behalf of the American Medical Association. In the 1950s, the AMA launched " Operation Coffeecup ," part of an effort to block the plans of the Democratic Party to extend Social Security to include health insurance for the elderly. The AMA encouraged the wives of its member doctors to orga...

In this episode, Howard M. Wasserman , Professor of Law at Florida International University College of Law, discusses his new book, " Infield Fly Rule Is in Effect: The History and Strategy of Baseball's Most Infamous Rule ," which is published by McFarland and Company. Wasserman begins by describing how the oft-misunderstood infield fly rule actually works, what it is intended to accomplish, and...

In this episode, Kate Klonick , Assistant Professor of Law at St. John's University School of Law , discusses her scholarship on the governance of private Internet platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Klonick begins by discussing her influential article " The New Governors: The People, Rules, and Processes Governing Online Speech ," which was published in the Harvard Law Review, in whi...

In 1971, Clifford Irving wrote a sensational biography of the eccentric and reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes , which Irving claimed was both authorized and co-authored by Hughes himself. In fact, it was a hoax, and Irving manufactured the book from whole cloth. But Hughes did not immediately deny co-authoring the book, leading many to believe it was genuine, including McGraw-Hill, which paid Ir...

On March 2, 1974, a group of antitrust scholars met at the Airlie House in Warrenton, Virginia, and changed the consensus position on antitrust policy in the United States. "The Day Antitrust Died?" is a special feature of the Ipse Dixit podcast, examining that historical moment. In this episode, we interview Frederic M. Scherer , Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management in the Aetna Ch...

On March 2, 1974, a group of prominent antitrust scholars convened a conference at the Airlie House in Warrenton, Virginia to discuss the future of antitrust theory and policy. At the time, the prevailing position on antitrust policy favored deconcentration of industry and relatively aggressive antitrust enforcement. But "Chicago-school" economists and lawyers challenged that consensus position, a...

In 1974, Republican Governor Francis Williams Sargent and Lieutenant Governor Donald Rathbun Dwight of Massachusetts released "The Sargent/Dwight Record: A Darned Good Record in Darned Bad Times" in support of their unsuccessful re-election campaign. Sargent was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1966, under Governor John Volpe, and became Governor in 1969, when President Nixon appoin...

In this episode, Matthew Bruckner , Associate Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law, discusses his scholarship on access to bankruptcy protection for financially distressed institutions of higher education, including his recent work on bankruptcy and public colleges. Bruckner begins by describing the bankruptcy protection for organizations, and explaining why institutions of higher e...

In 1972, the Republican National Committee released an LP of excerpts from speeches by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew on RCA/Victor. The album was produced by Joseph Habig and William Mulligan. It featured the following subjects Side 1: The Greatest Issue in America Today A Word to Law Abiding Americans Challenge to the Hippies "Effete Corps of Impudent Snobs" In Defense of the Courts of the Land S...

In this episode, Melissa Milewski , Senior Lecturer in American History at the University of Sussex, discusses her excellent book " Litigating Across the Color Line: Civil Cases Between Black and White Southerners from the End of Slavery to Civil Rights " (2018), which was published by Oxford University Press. Milewski begins by describing her pioneering research into civil litigation between blac...