Beyond Law: A Book Review Podcast

We, the Data: Wendy Wong

Richard and Dan are joined by Professor Wendy Wong of the University of British Columbia. Her latest book, We, the Data, looks at how our data-intensive world has had significant effects on our autonomy, community, dignity and equality. Wendy makes a strong case for re-imaging human rights to take into account the concerns manifested in big data. We had a very engaging talk with Wendy on a wide variety of t...

Police Deception and Dishonesty: The Logic of Lying - Luke Hunt

Do you think police can be dishonest? We are joined by Professor Luke Hunt of the University of Alabama, the author of this very provocative book. Luke takes this question and examines it from all sides. While he's not an absolutist (sometimes deception may be warranted) he believes strongly that many (if not most) deceptive police practices should not be permitted. ...

Lillianne Cadieux-Shaw: "Retaliatory Defamation Lawsuits, Equality Principles, and Access to Justice: Commentary on Hansman v Neufeld", volume 55, Advocate's Quarterly

We are joined by Toronto lawyer (and former student of ours) Lil Cadieux-Shaw in a departure from our usual book review conversation. Lil has recently published an article on the fascinating Supreme Court of Canada defamation case of Hansman v Neufeld. The three of...

Brain Science for Lawyers, Judges, and Policymakers  -- Owen Jones, Jeffrey Schall, Francis Shen, Morris Hoffman and Anthony Wagner

We are joined by two of the authors of this very handy book, Professor Jeffrey Schall and former Judge Morris Hoffman. It's always been the case that law is intimately connected with human behaviour. But now brain science is becoming more and more implicated in law. Neuroscience has begun to understand...

Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives  -- Michael Heller & James Salzman

We are joined by Professor Michael Heller of Columbia Law School and Professor James Salzman of UCLA School of law and UCSB Bren School of the Environment. The book is a provocative book about how ownership -- a legal concept -- is much more complicated than it seems. Ownership is value-laden, contextual and, in the infinite number of...

Dan and Richard discuss Jeff Kosseff's timely and important book about lies and free speech in our current era. The book uses Oliver Wendel Holmes admonition about falsely yelling fire in a theatre to explore how free speech is protected in America, but how it can also be controlled. Kosseff defends a robust protection for free speech, yet he recognizes the problem of misinformation and examines how we can do more to protect oursel...

Richard and Dan are joined by Seton Hall Law School Professor Gaia Bernstein to discuss her book on the perils of our screen technologies. Gaia, who is also the Co-Director of two institutes at Seton Hall -- the Institute for Privacy Protection and the Gibbons Institute of Law, Science and Technology -- presents an engaging but troubling account of how we all have been duped by technology companies. Drawing on similar examples in h...

Assisted Suicide in Canada: Travis Dumsday

Richard and Dan are joined by Professor Travis Dumsday of Concordia University of Edmonton in a wide-ranging discussion about his book, Assisted Suicide in Canada: Moral, Legal and Policy Considerations. The book takes on the very complicated legal, moral, philosophical and ethical issues surrounding medical assistance in dying, particularly in Canada. Travis discusses the legal cases lead...

Politics and Expertise: Zeynep Pamuk

Dan and Richard are joined by University of Oxford Associate Professor Zeynep Pamuk to discuss her recent book, Politics and Expertise: How to Use Science in a Democratic Society. The book's grand theme is captured in the two epigraphs found at the beginning: "It would not only be foolish but downright irresponsible to accept the judgment of scientists and physicians without further examination"...

Dan and Richard discuss Osgoode Law School Professor Valerio De Stefano's timely book about the world of AI, algorithms and online platforms and their ever-increasing impact on the world of work. Co-authored with Antonio Aloisi, Your Boss is an Algorithm: Artificial Intelligence, Platform Work and Labour will trouble anyone who cares about the impact of technology on work and how it needs to be regulated.

Link to book: https://www....