The Baldy Center Podcast

In Episode 55, César Rosado Marzán and Matthew Dimick discuss Rosado Marzán’s forthcoming book, A Baseline of Decency: Social Capital, Symbolic Capital, and the Moral Economy of Alt-Labor and Worker Centers. The conversation explores worker centers as network organizations that leverage social capital, symbolic capital, coalition building, and grassroots activism to reshape labor protections and c...

Judith Resnik, John Giammatteo, and Alexandra Harrington come together in Episode 54 to discuss Resnik's book, Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy. Their conversation is about how prisons evolved as institutions shaped by democratic ideals while simultaneously undermining them. Considering the role of law in structuring punishment, they talk about the ongoing strug...

The Baldy Center Podcast features Matthew Dimick discussing his recent book, Ending Income Inequality: A Critical Approach to the Law and Economics of Redistribution. Dimick explores how legal rules and institutions shape income distribution and the economy long before taxation occurs. He unpacks the concepts of redistribution, predistribution, and the “double distortion argument,” highlighting ho...

In Episode 52 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Raj Sharman (School of Management) discusses how healthcare systems and public institutions prepare for crises. Drawing on his research in disaster response, hospital information systems, and telehealth, Sharman explains why resilience depends on preparedness, trust, communication, and equity, not just technology, and what these lessons mean for healthcar...

In Episode 51 of The Baldy Center Podcast Michael Gibson-Light discusses his research on the 1970s prison labor movement in the United States. He details how incarcerated workers organized through underground newspapers like The Outlaw, the rise and fall of prisoners’ unions, and what this history reveals for today’s debates on prison labor and mass incarceration. For transcription, please visit:...

In Episode 50 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Helen “Nellie” Drew  joins Ken Belson to discuss the complex intersections of professional sports, public subsidies, and policy decisions. Drawing from the Buffalo Bills stadium deal and other national examples, they explore how public-private partnerships shape urban economies, political choices, and community identity. Their conversation examines both t...

In Episode 49 of The Baldy Center Podcast we welcome Whitney K. Taylor, PhD, Mid-Career Fellow at The Baldy Center. Taylor discusses her award-winning book, The Social Constitution: Embedding Social Rights Through Legal Mobilization. Her work examines how Colombia’s 1991 Constitution and the tutela procedure transformed access to justice, embedding social rights into everyday life. Taylor offers p...

In Episode 48 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Korydon Smith discusses inclusive design, refugee housing, and global health equity. Drawing from his international work in Uganda and Rwanda, Smith reflects on the universal dimensions of design, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and sustainability. The discussion highlights how architecture can serve as a tool for social justice, and how desig...

Episode 47 of The Baldy Center Podcast features Jeremy Kessler in conversation with Matthew Dimick, Paul Linden-Retek, and Matthew Steilen. They discuss Kessler’s paper, “The Origins of ‘The Rule of Law,’” delving into early 17th-century England and tracing the conceptual shift of “rule of law” from procedural common law usage to a broader theory of political governance. In Part One, they discuss...

Episode 47 of The Baldy Center Podcast features Jeremy Kessler in conversation with Matthew Dimick, Paul Linden-Retek, and Matthew Steilen. They discuss Kessler’s paper, “The Origins of ‘The Rule of Law,’” delving into early 17th-century England and tracing the conceptual shift of “rule of law” from procedural common law usage to a broader theory of political governance. In Part One, they discuss...

In Episode 46 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Monica Miles (Engineering Education) speaks about environmental justice, STEM education, sustainability of nonprofits, and how social policies impact the health of marginalized communities. For transcription, please visit: Baldy Center Podcast Episode 46

In Episode 45 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Siwei Lyu (Computer Science and Engineering), Mark Bartholomew (Law), and George Brown (Law) discuss the rapid evolution of generative AI, its applications, and the challenges it poses for regulation, ethics, and legal frameworks. From deepfake technology and privacy concerns to AI's integration in law and decision-making processes, their thought-provokin...

In Episode 44 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Judith Olin (Clinical Professor and Director, Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic) and law student, Jahna Mott (3L UB School of Law) discuss how the 2024 Domestic Violence Summit became a critical platform for bringing together community members, experts, and service providers to help strengthen the network of support for survivors. The summit was s...

In Episode 43 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Kate Nelischer talks about her paper, “Privately-directed participatory planning: Examining Toronto’s Quayside smart city”. This paper discusses a past “smart city” urban development project, the importance of public participation in urban planning policy, and the implications it may have on local legislation. For transcript, please visit: Baldy Center Po...

In Episode 42 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Paul Linden-Retek discusses his book, Postnational Constitutionalism: Europe and the Time of Law (OUP: 2023). He shares insight on why he wrote the book, and addresses questions concerning global justice, the open-ended nature of identity, and the humanistic qualities of law, leading to a reconsideration of the grounds of an international legal order. Lin...

Theophilus Edwin Coleman discusses Ghana’s proposed anti-LGBTQ+ Bill and its effect on academic freedom. Coleman outlines the basic structure of the bill, the relationship between church and state within Ghana, and the possible future implications for this bill, if it were to be passed. For transcript, please visit: Baldy Center Podcast 41

In Episode 40 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Melissa Crouch, The Baldy Center Fellow 2024, discusses the role of courts in military regimes and the challenges of studying the military as a constitutional actor. She recently published the paper, “Judicial Loyalty to the Military in Authoritarian Regimes: How the Courts Are Militarized in Myanmar.” For transcript, please visit: Baldy Center Podcast 40

In Episode 39 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Rebecca R. French and Mark A. Nathan discuss Buddhism and Law in the context of past, present, and future plans for collaborative research among international scholars. Cultivated over decades, this research is seen in the depth and scope of related publications, and, in the remarkable trajectory of the scholarly journal,  Buddhism, Law & Society, fou...

In Episode 38 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Mihreteab Taye provides insight into the nuanced dynamics of state behavior in Africa's courts. He finds that the African human rights system does not automatically grant individuals the right to bring cases before the African courts unless states make a declaration allowing direct individual access to the court. Whereas in the East African Court of Justi...

In Episode 37 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Greta LaFleur discusses the draft monograph, “‘How Sex Became Good: The Feminist Movements and Racial Politics that Made Modern Sexuality.” LaFleur, recipient of The Baldy Center Podcast Mid-Career Fellowship (2023-24), is associate professor of American Studies and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Yale University. For transcript, please visit: B...

In Episode 36 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Helen “Nellie” Drew, Professor of Sports Law, and her 3L students: Maddie Drechsel, Matt Pickard and Juliette Miranda discuss the importance of having pre-established action plans for professional sports injuries, as well as the need for education on how to prevent injuries in youth sports. From model laws to collaborative projects, we discuss the ins and...

In Episode 35 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Professor of Law Athena Mutua discusses the importance of protecting critical thinking inside, and outside of, the university setting. She describes its intersection with social justice issues surrounding race, sex, gender, class, and more. Professor Mutua talks about the Critical (Legal) Collective and how the diverse group of scholars has come together...

In Episode 34 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Samantha Barbas speaks about the entanglement of the civil rights movement and mass media law, as well as her new book which encompasses those topics in the context of New York Times v. Sullivan. For transcript, please visit: Podcast_Baldy Center_University at Buffalo

In Episode 33 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Jorge M. Farinacci-Fernós speaks about his background, as well as his 2023 book, Puerto Rico’s Constitutional Paradox: Colonial Subordination, Democratic Tension, and Promise of Progressive Transformation. For transcript, please visit: Podcast_Baldy Center_University at Buffalo

In Episode 32 of The Baldy Center Podcast, Shaun Anderson opines on both the public and scholarly perceptions of Title IX, in addition to how media and the court of public opinion have the power to challenge and improve the power and application of this law. For transcript, please visit: Podcast_Baldy Center_University at Buffalo