Secondary Rules

Secondary Rules

Join legal scholars Ryan Goss and Joshua Neoh as they discuss public law and legal theory in their podcast, Secondary Rules. In each episode, Ryan and Joshua bring to life exciting cases, puzzles, and controversies from Australia and around the world - exploring some of the biggest questions facing any legal system, and the legal questions that define our democracy. Ryan and Joshua are both associate professors at The Australian National University (ANU) College of Law in Canberra, teaching and researching Australian public law and legal theory. Whether you're a lawyer, a law student or just somebody interested in better understanding the legal world around us, Secondary Rules is a must-listen podcast. Season 3: Ten(ish) Big Ideas Season 2: Ten Great Cases. Season 1: Two Great Courses.

Episodes

October 25, 2024 45 mins

In our season finale, our 'big idea’ is ‘THE CONSTITUTION’: Joshua and Ryan offer a cruel and unusual discussion of constitutional change, foreign powers, the role of “random” unelected judges, and apologise to our French and Tasmanian listeners. 


Our reading for this week:

The 8th Amendment

Sue v Hill (1999)

Breyer and Scalia on Judicial Interpretation
 

Learn more about ANU Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College of Law and the ANU Cen...

Mark as Played

This week’s ‘big idea’ is ‘SOVEREIGNTY’: Joshua and Ryan discuss Churchill, Guantanamo Bay, and Australian history.
Our reading for this week:

Churchill’s 'Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat' speech

Carl Schmitt in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
“Even two world wars could not stop Australians casting their ballots, whether at home or on the battlefield” (Australian War Memorial)

Learn more about ANU Law here. Our thanks to the ANU Co...

Mark as Played
October 11, 2024 41 mins

This week’s ‘big idea’ is ‘DEMOCRACY’: Joshua and Ryan discuss Ancient Athenian hillsides, marketing scams, Hare Clark with a Robson Rotation, and why Joshua doesn’t trust his neighbours. Our reading for this week:

The Gettysburg Address (1863) | Constitution Center (Lincoln)

How is the UK’s Brexit referendum different from Australian referendums? (Goss)

The Tally Room podcast (Raue)

Learn more about ANU Law here. Our thanks to the ANU...

Mark as Played
October 4, 2024 40 mins

This week’s ‘big idea’ is ‘The State’: Joshua and Ryan talk about mutual protection, whether states need territory, who is on the other side of the breathalyser, and what the French have to learn from giant sea monsters.

Our reading for this week:

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan

Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Leviathan (Wikipedia)

Learn more about ANU Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College of Law and the ANU Centre for Learning and...

Mark as Played
September 27, 2024 40 mins

This week’s ‘big idea’ is ‘The Rule of Law’: Joshua and Ryan thinking about chickens and ducks, the laws of cricket, and the mafia; and Joshua offers a few gratuitous reflections on the French.

Further reading for this week:

Learn more about ANU Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College of Law and the ANU ...

Mark as Played
September 20, 2024 34 mins

Secondary Rules returns for a new season! This week, our ‘big idea’ is ‘The People’: Joshua and Ryan thinking about revolutions in France, the US and beyond; why it’s a bad idea to make big decisions on an empty stomach; and how everything comes back to the Parting of the Red Sea.

For more, check out:

Hannah Arendt (1963) 

Independence National Historic Park, Pennsylvania 

Learn more about ANU Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College of...

Mark as Played
September 13, 2024 1 min

Here’s the long-awaited trailer for the third season of ANU Law’s Secondary Rules podcast — coming soon!

Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you get the new episodes as soon as they land. Catch up on our back catalogue at https://secondary-rules.simplecast.com

Secondary Rules is hosted by ANU Law's Joshua Neoh and Ryan Goss. Learn more about ANU Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College of Law and the ANU Centre for Learning an...

Mark as Played
October 13, 2023 36 mins

How a conversation at James Cook University led to the most momentous decision in Australian legal history.

Learn more about the ANU College of Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College of Law Marketing and Communications team. ANU acknowledges and celebrates the First Australians on whose traditional la...

Mark as Played
October 6, 2023 37 mins

Water under the bridge, and judges kissing babies, in this episode of Secondary Rules. What business do Courts have thinking about socio-economic rights? Can a Constitution transform a society, and can litigation safeguard a democracy? All this and more as we consider the right to water in the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Mark as Played
September 29, 2023 38 mins

The trial that changed the world. A Jewish rabble-rouser came face-to-face with a provincial Roman governor. He was hanged. But his death was not the end. It was just the beginning. Spikenard not included.

Learn more about the ANU College of Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College...

Mark as Played
September 22, 2023 34 mins

‘Directly chosen’ for your enjoyment, this week we look at a case about free speech in a democratic society (and Joshua is a harsh marker of Ryan’s work), all of it ‘unaccompanied by moving images or other vocal sounds’.

Learn more about the ANU College of Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College of Law Marketing and Communications...

Mark as Played

Long live the common law! This week we look at the fascinating Malaysian Federal Court decision in Indira Gandhi v Director of the Islamic Department. 

Learn more about the ANU College of Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College of Law Marketing and Communications ...

Mark as Played
August 25, 2023 36 mins

Bonjour et bienvenue: how do you change the way a constitution changes, without being sure how to change the constitution? In each episode of Season 2, we tell the story of a great landmark court decision from around the world. This week we look at the fascinating Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Patriation Reference (1981). 

Mark as Played
August 18, 2023 35 mins

Ginger beer, the 'nauseating sight' of a snail, the Good Samaritan, and the genius of the common law: it’s all here in the House of Lords’ decision in Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562. 

Learn more about the ANU College of Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College of Law Marketing and Communications team. ANU acknowledges and celebrates the ...

Mark as Played
August 11, 2023 37 mins

In each episode of Season 2, we’ll tell the story of a great landmark court decision from Australia or around the world. This week: terrorism on the streets of Gibraltar and the right to life, in the European Court of Human Rights' decision in McCann and Others v United Kingdom (21 ECHR 97 GC). 

Learn more about the ANU College of Law here. Our thanks to the ANU College ...

Mark as Played
August 4, 2023 38 mins

This week, Joshua Neoh and Ryan Goss delve deep into one of the most pivotal cases in American legal history: Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Discover how the case forever changed the landscape of education and civil rights in the United States through its ruling that state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional.

Learn more about the ANU College of L...

Mark as Played

This week, on a special mini episode of Secondary Rules, Joshua Neoh and Ryan Goss talk about the Coronation of Australia’s Head of State, King Charles III, which takes place abroad this weekend. Further reading:

Learn more about the ANU College of Law here. Our thanks ...

Mark as Played
October 28, 2022 45 mins

This week on the last Secondary Rules for 2022, Joshua Neoh and Ryan Goss talk Revelation, revolutions, recidivism, and Rishi.

Remember to take our survey!

If you're a student in Australian Public Law or Legal Theory this semester, more available on the course WATTLE sites.  

Learn more about the ANU College of Law here. Our thanks to Jack O’Brien, Tom Fearon, and the A...

Mark as Played
October 21, 2022 42 mins

This week on Secondary Rules, Joshua Neoh and Ryan Goss talk dual-citizenship and the stripping of “foreign fighters” citizenship, the decline and fall of Liz Truss, and torture in an age of terror.

Take our survey!

If you're a student in Australian Public Law or Legal Theory this semester, more available on the course WATTLE sites.  

Learn more about the ANU College of Law here. ...

Mark as Played
October 14, 2022 38 mins

This week on Secondary Rules, Joshua Neoh and Ryan Goss talk panopticon and the pandemic, how we get our High Court judges, and offer some generalisations about French philosophers and the US Senate.

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial

    Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.

    Good Hang with Amy Poehler

    Come hang with Amy Poehler. Each week on her podcast, she'll welcome celebrities and fun people to her studio. They'll share stories about their careers, mutual friends, shared enthusiasms, and most importantly, what's been making them laugh. This podcast is not about trying to make you better or giving advice. Amy just wants to have a good time.

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    The Bobby Bones Show

    Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.