The Podvocate

Associate editor Jay Fort is stepping back a bit to focus on the current moment and status in Constitutional law more broadly, taking a bird's-eye, high-level overview of some of the most pressing issues re-shaping modern trends in constitutional law and jurisprudence. We’ll discuss the power and independence of the individual branches of government, independent agencies, focusing on the federal c...

This is second half of a two-part episode on the Peacemakers and restorative justice. In this portion, we discuss the impact of restorative justice in schools and the surrounding communities, touching on the ability of the Peacemakers to bring community together during Project Midway Blitz. Specifically, we focus on how discipline has evolved in recent years and the changes brought by the shift to...

In this episode Associate Editor Delaney Ferrer and Co-Editor-in-Chief Isabella Lund sit down with Loyola Law Professors Paradise, Rushin, Waller, and Weinmeyer to discuss the legal issues spotted in the fan favorite movie Jurassic Park. From devastating negligence and corporate espionage to regulatory failures and ethical lapses, we issue-spot the chaos behind the park’s collapse and ask ourselve...

This is part one of a two-part episode. In this first episode, Co-Editor in Chief Isabella Lund talks to Emily and Mauricio Pineda about their work with the Peacemakers at Reilly Elementary School, a local Chicago public school. The Peacemakers is a restorative justice program involving students grades four through eight. The discussion goes through how the peacemakers came to be and the challenge...

On March 12, 2026, Senior Editor Rachel Still sat down with Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Mariyana Spyropoulos. In this episode of The Podvocate, we sit down with Clerk Spyropoulos to discuss her first year leading one of the largest court systems in the country. She breaks down the often-overlooked role of the clerk’s office as the “front door” to the legal system, managing everythin...

In this week's episode, associate editor Rachel Urbash examines the Prairieland 19 case from the ground up, discussing the contested facts, the unprecedented use of domestic terrorism organization classifications, and the trial. The episode discusses the Prairieland 19 case through the lens of the history of the right to protest and Trumps Antifa designation and NSPM-7 memorandum paving the way fo...

In today’s episode, associate editor Jay Fort considers the rapid development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence and automation technology across industry. By the end of 2025, an AI Arms Race was in full swing. An explosion in Artificial Intelligence (AI) development and automation is taking the U.S. and global economic systems by storm. Companies like Nvidia (the first company to reach...

In this episode, associate editor Delaney Ferrer discusses the intersection between faith, pop culture, and environmental justice. Lately environmental justice has been framed as a new or controversial topic--especially when it intersects with race. But in this episode, Delaney challenges that narrative by exploring how environmental justice has been recognized for decades in our media and faith....

This week, associate editor Nicole Polisar revisits the 1865 military trial of Mary E. Surratt, the first woman executed by the United States government. Set in the immediate aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the episode reconstructs the courtroom’s drama surrounding a civilian defendant tried by a military commission during a moment of national trauma. Nicole examines the prosecution’...

In this week's episode, associate editor Addison Fouts takes listeners on an overview of Loyola’s comparative advocacy program in London. This includes what you can expect taking the class as well as Addison's experience studying abroad as a first generation college and law student. "This was my first time leaving the country and I have grown a lot as a person due to this trip." This episode detai...

This week the Podvocate and associate editor Caleb Stokes present a Double Feature Episode! The first half of this episode is a summary and exploration of an upcoming survey in development to be given out to law students at Loyola Chicago, while the second half of the episode is a comparative analysis of the three models states use regarding the legality of prostitution, and the impacts of each mo...

in this week's episode, associate editor Carter Pasternak, examines Louisiana v. Callais, a pending Supreme Court case placing the Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause on a direct collision course. It explores the history and mechanics of gerrymandering and how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act functions as a remedial tool against vote dilution. The episode walks listeners through th...

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 subpo...

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.

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.

“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 Se...

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 prog...

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....

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....

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...

In this week's episode, associate editor Rachel Urbash begins with a brief discussion of theories underlying incarceration in the US. Next, this episode tracks the evolution of the test created by the Supreme Court in 1987 to assess the validity of prison regulations violating the constitutional rights of inmates. Starting with Turner v. Safley, the episode discusses the creation of the four-facto...

In this episode, associate editor Addison Fouts dives into the world of “dupes” and their legality. Dupes are “inspired by” designs and have been highly promoted on social media in recent years. Joined by Attorney Daliah Saper, we unpack the recent Lululemon v. Costco lawsuit and what it reveals about how far brands can go to try to protect their designs. We break down the basics of intellectual p...

This week, Nicole Polisar revisits the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial, the first U.S. court case ever broadcast live on radio. Nicole reconstructs the drama between defense attorney Clarence Darrow and prosecutor William Jennings Bryan, examining how the case reflected early 20th-century tensions between religion, education, and democracy. Drawing on authentic courtroom dialogue and later Supreme Cour...

Historically, U.S. courts and lawmakers have wrestled with, and debated, how far the government can- and should- reach into our private lives and under what circumstances. From the mid-century to today, we have witnessed numerous examples of federal overreach and abuse of power. From J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI’s Cointelpro surveillance programs, the Nixon Watergate scandal, and the Church Committ...

In this week's episode, associate editor Carter Pasternak explores President Donald Trump’s 2025 efforts to federalize state National Guard units and deploy active-duty military forces in U.S. cities, beginning in California, extending to Washington, D.C., and now Chicago. It examines how these actions raise profound constitutional questions about the balance between state sovereignty and federal...