Life of the Law

Series produced by Life of the Law

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A podcast offering documentary stories and investigations of people's relationship to the law.

Life of the Law publishes a new, unique episode every other Tuesday morning on our website - www.lifeofthelaw.org, Panoply, iTunes and on most podcast apps.

Investigative reports
Audio diaries
Live storytelling events (recorded)
In-Studio discussions


127 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Life of the Law Shorts #25 - Release Day
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
Caption: Curtis Penn, on his release day, takes his first walk of freedom on Chrissy Field in San Francisco., Credit: Nancy Mullane
For eighteen years, California’s three strikes law leveled harsh penalties against repeat felons: anyone with two felony convictions received 25 ye...

Bought by KUOW


  • Added: Jan 22, 2014
  • Length: 04:39
  • Purchases: 1
Life of the Law Shorts #26 - School Discipline
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
Caption: Kyle Thompson, Credit: American Civil Liberties Union
Thousands of kids are arrested in school every year. About a third of U.S. schools have a regular police presence on campus; some school districts ...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, Troy Public Radio, WABE, and KUOW


  • Added: Feb 07, 2014
  • Length: 04:40
  • Purchases: 4
Life of the Law Shorts #28 - Bad Constitution
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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With more than 300,000 words and over 800 amendments, Alabama’s Constitution is 40 times longer than the US Constitution, and holds the record for ...

Bought by Troy Public Radio, New Hampshire Public Radio, and KUOW


  • Added: Mar 07, 2014
  • Length: 04:40
  • Purchases: 3
Life of the Law Shorts #30 Trouble With Profiling"
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
Caption: U.S. Mexico Border, Credit: Jude Joffe-Block
Is ‘looking Mexican’ a legal reason for the Border Patrol to stop a car? Federal law says agents have to have ‘reasonable suspicion’ that something...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, WABE, KUOW, and KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio


  • Added: Apr 16, 2014
  • Length: 04:40
  • Purchases: 4
Life of the Law Short #31 Taxation without Representation
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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April means two things: spring and tax time! The US tax system is really, really complicated. Every time you do your taxes, you’re answering to mul...

Bought by WABE, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, and PRX Remix


  • Added: May 13, 2014
  • Length: 04:39
  • Purchases: 3
Life of the Law Short #32 Privacy Issues
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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You’re driving your car down a street and as you pass, a camera takes a photo of your license plate. Who is taking the photo and what are they doin...

Bought by WABE, Troy Public Radio, and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: May 13, 2014
  • Length: 04:42
  • Purchases: 3
Life of the Law #01 - The Secret Power of Jury Nullification
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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Juries have a little known power that allows them to ignore the law and vote with their own instincts. This piece explores how juries have used tha...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, WABE, WJCT, KALW, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 11, 2012
  • Length: 11:47
  • Purchases: 5
Life of the Law #02 - Jailhouse Lawyers
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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In California, there are hundreds if not thousands of people practicing criminal law though they’ve never passed a bar exam. They don’t wear suits....

Bought by KALW and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 12, 2012
  • Length: 14:10
  • Purchases: 2
Life of the Law #03 - Two Sides of A River
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
Piece image
The riverbank is a public space open for everyone. But people do not always agree on how to best spend a hot summer day.

Bought by KMUZ and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 13, 2012
  • Length: 16:17
  • Purchases: 2
Life of the Law #04 - Law in Translation
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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Vietnamese fishing communities are still finding themselves grounded by the BP oil spill, one of the largest environmental disasters of the century...

Bought by KALW and PRX Remix


  • Added: Mar 22, 2013
  • Length: 10:20
  • Purchases: 2
Life of the Law Shorts #23 - Of Prison and Pregnancy
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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The United States incarcerates six times as many women as it did thirty years ago. Many of these women are already mothers, and four percent of inc...

Bought by KRZA, XRAY.fm, and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 30, 2013
  • Length: 04:40
  • Purchases: 3
Life of the Law #05 - Tough Crowd
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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Is the law ever a laughing matter? We present to you a brief history of attempted comedy in the toughest room in the country—the Supreme Courtroom.

Bought by KALW


  • Added: Mar 21, 2013
  • Length: 12:16
  • Purchases: 1
Life of the Law #06 - Block Boss (Explicit)
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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On every city block, there are rules. Some are unspoken, some require friendly reminders, some are enforced by the law. Is it ever OK to break the ...

  • Added: Jul 31, 2013
  • Length: 12:16
Life of the Law #07 - Felony Factory
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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You’ve just been arrested, charged with a felony and can’t afford to pay your bail, let alone hire a lawyer. You know you have the right to a trial...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2013
  • Length: 13:00
  • Purchases: 1
Life of the Law #08 - Redesigning Justice
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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Red Hook is an isolated neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, once known as the “crack capital of America.” In 2000, residents banded together to create a ...

Bought by WDBM, KALW, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2013
  • Length: 11:48
  • Purchases: 3
Life of the Law #09 - Reporter on Death Row
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
Caption: Carmen Ward has been an inmate in San Quentin’s Adjustment Center for seven years, Credit: Nancy Mullane
What do we really know about death row in California? When we don’t know we create, we imagine.

Bought by Georgia Public Broadcasting and PRX Remix


  • Added: Mar 21, 2013
  • Length: 27:37
  • Purchases: 2
Life of the Law #10 - Dibs!
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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After a big snowstorm, the streets of many northern cities start to get cluttered with furniture. Why? Because of “dibs,” the practice of claiming ...

Bought by KPIK-LP and PRX Remix


  • Added: May 11, 2013
  • Length: 12:34
  • Purchases: 2
Life of the Law #11 - Without Means
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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More than 30,000 people died by guns in 2011 in the US. Of those, close to 20,000 died by suicide. Many still do not make a connection between gun ...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: May 11, 2013
  • Length: 10:30
  • Purchases: 1
Life of the Law #12 - Games and Law
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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Online, multi-player games create addictive, all-encompassing competitive worlds for players. But sometimes, players disturb the fantasy with abusi...

Bought by XRAY.fm, KALW, and PRX Remix


  • Added: May 11, 2013
  • Length: 12:55
  • Purchases: 3
Life of the Law #13 - A Life on the Bench
From: Life of the Law
Series: Life of the Law
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What does it take to become a judge? No one starts their legal career as a jurist. First they work as a lawyer advocating for one side of a case ov...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: May 11, 2013
  • Length: 13:25
  • Purchases: 1

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