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
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At disciplinary hearings in prison, inmates are not guaranteed the right to an attorney. In fact, they aren’t allowed to have one at all.

  • Added: Aug 03, 2015
  • Length: 21:22
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Laws that required cops to live in the cities they patrolled were common in the early 1900’s and still exist in the United States today. However, s...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 09, 2015
  • Length: 28:08
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: After Emily Baxter interviews someone about getting away with a crime, she takes a photo that reflects the person's character and story., Credit: Emily Baxter/weareallcriminals.com
Ever committed a crime? Were you caught? Arrested? Maybe not. Between a quarter and a third of all adults in America were caught and arrested. Now ...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 22, 2015
  • Length: 14:44
  • Purchases: 2
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We all know this feeling. You're driving. Maybe you're speeding. Maybe you don't think you're doing anything wrong. All of a sudden blue lights fla...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 06, 2015
  • Length: 15:48
  • Purchases: 1
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The body of legendary Native American athlete Jim Thorpe rests in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania...but some members of his family say he should be dug up...

Bought by KPIK-LP and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 20, 2015
  • Length: 24:46
  • Purchases: 2
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In real life, the business of jury selection is a 400 million dollar industry. So in a world of high priced jury consultants what does a jury of ou...

  • Added: Nov 03, 2015
  • Length: 24:42
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Truth or Dare? What’s it gonna be? On this episode, we have three stories told live: two truths and a dare.

  • Added: Nov 17, 2015
  • Length: 31:25
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When you look up at the sky the last thing you probably think about is the law. But space is exactly where the next frontier of law is being played...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, KALW, and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 24, 2015
  • Length: 14:42
  • Purchases: 3
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“I didn’t go to prison because I was a saint. I went to prison because of my lifestyle. Since the age of 13 I was a gangbanger, and did what gangba...

Bought by KGNU Community Radio


  • Added: Dec 18, 2015
  • Length: 26:22
  • Purchases: 1
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**This piece cannot be aired prior to December 25, 2015.** On Saturday night, Dec 5, 2015 inmates, returning inmates, volunteers, officers, and s...

Bought by KUER, KQED, XRAY.fm, WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., and KWMR


  • Added: Dec 19, 2015
  • Length: 56:41
  • Purchases: 5
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In the U.S., juries are often seen as democracy in action. Twelve men and women are asked to hear an entire case, and ultimately, decide another pe...

  • Added: Jan 21, 2016
  • Length: 23:13
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In 2012 President Obama took matters into his own hands. His administration signed a memo addressing all branches of the Department of Homeland Sec...

  • Added: Feb 08, 2016
  • Length: 23:50
Caption: JUGGALO - COSTA MESA, Credit: Jared Eberhardt
In 2011 the FBI’s National Gang Intelligence Center released their Gang Threat Assessment, which listed Juggalos as a “loosely affiliated hybrid ga...

  • Added: Feb 23, 2016
  • Length: 22:45
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All over the country, critics argue that ID laws discourage voter participation--particularly among poor and minority voters. This is particularly ...

  • Added: Feb 23, 2016
  • Length: 24:44
Caption: Mrs. Montini’s class reads Pete the Cat together., Credit: Ashley Cleek
In Kansas, public schools are at the heart of a debate about how much money the state should budget for education -- a debate that comes down to a ...

  • Added: Mar 08, 2016
  • Length: 32:54
Caption: Virigina State Colony for the Feebleminded
Beginning in 1907, states in the US began to forcibly sterilize over 60,000 Americans -- people considered by scientists to be “unfit” -- the menta...

Bought by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation


  • Added: Mar 22, 2016
  • Length: 22:29
  • Purchases: 1
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This week we take you to Nashville for BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS: stories about the blues, jazz, songwriting and a cabin in the woods.

  • Added: Apr 08, 2016
  • Length: 59:00
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Domestic oil drilling offers private landowners the promise of riches in their own backyard. But what if you don’t want to live next door to an oil...

  • Added: Apr 19, 2016
  • Length: 22:39
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There are 28 judicial emergencies on federal courts throughout the country. A judicial emergency is when there's been a vacancy on the court for to...

  • Added: May 03, 2016
  • Length: 22:00
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When should a judge step aside? As more and more money floods into judicial elections across the nation, states are grappling with this question. P...

  • Added: May 19, 2016
  • Length: 30:36