The Hearing – A Legal Podcast

The Hearing – A Legal Podcast

The Hearing is a legal podcast from Thomson Reuters. Listen to insightful discussions with lawyers, legal experts, and other interesting people connected to the legal industry. We delve into anything and everything – trailblazers in the law, the latest insights on legal innovation and trends, and how the profession is evolving. With hosts based in the UK and the US, we cover issues around the globe. Our current hosts: Becky Annison – Trained at a London law firm before moving in-house. Spent 12 years as a senior solicitor in a large international company, before joining Practical Law's In-house practice area team. Now, as Head of Engagement for The Chancery Lane Project, Becky uses her knowledge of contracting and law to help tackle the climate crisis. Janelle Wrigley – An attorney based in California. As head of the Antitrust & Competition team at Practical Law, leads a team of lawyers producing practical guidance for competition lawyers worldwide. Previously, Janelle was a litigator at the US Federal Trade Commission and at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York. Teneé Frazier – An attorney, editor, and speaker based in Alabama. As a member of the State and Local Government team at Practical Law, she uses her expertise in municipal law to produce substantive content for local government attorneys. Previously, Teneé was Assistant General Counsel at the Alabama League of Municipalities. Yasmin Sheikh – Executive coach, trainer, consultant, and speaker, with a background as a lawyer – practising for 12 years in a large international law firm. Founder of Diverse Matters – which helps promote equality, diversity, and inclusivity within organisations. Yasmin is also a former vice chair of the Disabled Solicitors Network at the Law Society of England and Wales. Find out more about The Hearing and other Thomson Reuters podcasts at tr.com/thehearing.

Episodes

September 22, 2025 62 mins
Professor Judith Resnik and host Teneé Frazier discuss Judith's book 'Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy' – which explores the complex relationship between punishment, democracy, and social justice.

Judith, a Professor of Law at Yale Law School, delves into the historical evolution of prisons in the UK, US, and Europe, as well as the role of constitutional law in s...
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In this episode we continue exploring children's online safety and cross the Atlantic to unpack the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA). Vicki Nash, Director of the Oxford Internet Institute, joins host Yasmin Sheikh to discuss the rationale of OSA and how it aims to protect children from illegal and harmful content online.

Vicki talks about the difficulty of producing rigorous empirical studies of online harms and benefits to...
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Societies are grappling with how to help keep children safe while navigating online spaces, including through legislation such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) in the US. In this episode, Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), joins host Janelle Wrigley to talk about KOSA and America’s First Amendment.

Jenna and Janelle explore why free speech princip...
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What if rivers, forests, and even individual trees had their own legal rights? In this thought-provoking episode, host Becky Annison speaks with Paul Powlesland – barrister, founder of Lawyers for Nature, and leading advocate for the legal rights of nature – about a revolutionary movement transforming our relationship with the natural world.

Paul explains how the "rights of nature" movement goes beyond passing new laws, ...
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Join host Teneé Frazier as she sits down with Professor Luke Shaefer, an expert on poverty and social welfare policy, for an in-depth look at the complexities of living in poverty in the US. They discuss the realities faced by those surviving on minimal resources, and what legal professionals and global listeners can glean from these powerful narratives.

Professor Shaefer shares observations from his...
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Join host Yasmin Sheikh as she interviews British lawyer, writer and broadcaster Mark Stephens for this thought-provoking episode.

Mark shares his journey from representing artists in intellectual property cases to advocating for freedom of speech and human rights. He discusses his impactful work addressing global issues, such as decriminalising homosexuality and combating child marriage. They also chat about Mark’s high...
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Legislative efforts in the US are starting to recognize that people can face discrimination and bias in the workplace based on the size of their bodies. In this episode, host Janelle Wrigley speaks with Kara Richardson Whitely, author of ‘Gorge: My Journey Up Kilimanjaro at 300 Pounds’ and founder of The Gorgeous Agency (https://thegorgeousagency.com).

They discuss the complex trauma that can arise f...
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Host Becky Annison explores the UK's court backlog crisis and its troubling ripple effects throughout the justice system. Her guest, Adrian Usher, the UK’s Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, explains how delayed trials are creating a bottleneck in prisons, with some Crown Court cases now being scheduled as far ahead as 2028, and he outlines the human cost of these systemic failures.

Adrian explains why coming into his rol...
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In a profession that celebrates achievement and relentless work ethic, what happens to the mental and physical wellbeing of those caught in this culture? Following our previous exploration of the mental health crisis in the legal community, this episode delves deeper into practical solutions.

Join host Teneé Frazier as she welcomes Kerry Lawlor, psychotherapist, and co-founder of the Workplace Collective (UK), for an i...
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Who protects women when the very systems that are supposed to protect them, like the police and the broader legal system, refuse to, or even worse, are causing the harm in the first place? This episode's guest has been fighting against the systemic challenges women face in securing justice for decades. And she has some extraordinary stories to tell.

Join The Hearing host Yasmin Sheikh as she sits down with Harriet Wistr...
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Most people would agree that lawyers and doctors should have professional licenses and oversight to protect the public from malpractice. But does the licensing system actually serve its intended purpose?

In this episode, join host Janelle Wrigley for an insightful conversation with Professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth of Vanderbilt Law School, as she discusses her book, ‘The Licensing Racket: How We Decide Who Is Allowed ...
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Those who could benefit most from the legal system are often those least able to access it. As this episode's guest, Stephen Kinsella, notes, "There are only so many cake stalls and jumble sales you can have in a local community, in order to raise funds to pay a lawyer." So that's where his organisation, Law for Change, steps in – as a Community Interest Company that helps provide financial backing and indemnities to co...
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In this episode, Dan Nardello, the founder of top-tier investigative firm Nardello & Co., speaks with host Teneé Frazier about the evolving role of private investigations within the legal industry. They discuss the increasingly sophisticated nature of investigations, their essential role in complex litigation and dispute resolution, and the need for strict ethical adherence.

Their conversation delv...
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The world can feel hopelessly polarised at times, especially on topics such as racism and criminal justice. If your spirits need lifting, and if you need reassurance that respectful dialogue is possible, even if people disagree with each other, then this episode is for you.

Abimbola Johnson, a barrister at London's Doughty Street Chambers, speaks with host Yasmin Sheikh about her work as chair of t...
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In a recent survey, 79% of legal professionals said they felt the profession had negatively affected their mental health. And over 15% had even considered suicide. These are two of the worrying statistics we learned from this episode's guest, Kent Halkett. Kent is an attorney with the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services who has written articles about mental health in the legal community for a host of publications.

Ke...
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We are leaving future generations to face more challenges than ever. Yet it can be incredibly difficult for governments to act for the long term when so many of their incentives encourage short-term thinking.

In this episode, host Becky Annison chats with Derek Walker, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, about how Wales is attempting to solve this problem. Derek explains why Wales passed...
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Native Americans are fighting for their legal rights across many important fronts in the US. In this episode, Janelle Wrigley speaks with Matthew Campbell, Deputy Director of the Native American Rights Fund, about NARF's legal and advocacy work.

Matthew and Janelle's wide-ranging discussion covers issues such as voting rights, the protection of places that are sacred to tribal nations, and access t...
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December 2, 2024 36 mins
"The legal profession is going through significant transformation, and I thought that was a wonderful thing to try and grab with both hands and see what role or part I could play in making that a success," shares this week's guest, Lucie Allen.

For this episode, Lucie Allen, the managing director of the legal education platform BARBRI, sits down with host Yasmin to offer her unique insights on the evolving landscape of...
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"From 1910 to 1997, Black Americans have lost 90 percent of farmland to heir property. The Department of Agriculture has deemed it the worst problem that you've never heard of." These are just two of the staggering facts we've learned about heir property from writer and author Terah Shelton Harris.

Terah chats with new host Tenee' Frazier about her recent novel, Long After We Are Gone. It's about a...
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"Mind your privilege, give not away your right!" With those words, William Penn urged the jurors in his 1670 religious freedom trial to remember the power and the responsibility of their role in the English judicial system. For this episode, we return to the topic of jury nullification – the power of juries to acquit despite evidence of the defendant's guilt – with a fresh take from the UK.

Professor Richard Vogler of ...
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