Beyond Law: A Book Review Podcast

9. A Conversation with Lil Cadieux-Shaw about Defamation

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 us have a wide-ranging discussion about the case, defamation law, anti-SLAPP legislation and more. If you want to read the article, it is available on the York Centre for Public Policy and Law's website here.

8. Brain Science for Lawyers, Judges and Policymakers

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 the brain on a level unimaginable even 25 years ago. That has potentially serious impacts on law. As examples, legislators are relying on brain science to create laws; regulators are using it to administer rules; lawyers are using it to advise clients and decide cases. The book is both a primer on brain anatomy and a guide on how it may assist those legal actors to use it wisely. Our conversation with Jeff (the neuroscientist) and Morris (the lawyer/judge) ranges widely across a number of areas. Enjoy!
 
Link to book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/brain-science-for-lawyers-judges-and-policymakers-9780197748855?cc=ca&lang=en&
 

7. Mine!: Michael Heller & James Salzman

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 situations where scarcity exists, subject to a myriad number of conflicting claims. This fascinating, and eminently readable book will change the way you think about property.
 
Link to book: https://www.minethebook.com

6. Liar in a Crowded Theatre: Jeff Kosseff

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 ourselves from the ubiquitous lying that seems to be occurring.
Link to book:  https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12911/liar-crowded-theater

5. Unwired: Gaia Bernstein

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 history, from tobacco manufacturers to food manufacturers, and making it very personal, the book provides a captivating read on our modern world. In our conversation, we discuss the causes but more importantly, the possible solutions to this very complex area of law and policy.
 
Link to book: https://www.cambridge.org/ca/universitypress/subjects/computer-science/computing-and-society/unwired-gaining-control-over-addictive-technologies?format=HB

4. Assisted Suicide in Canada: Travis Dumsday

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 leading to Parliament's decision to legalize assisted suicide, the ethical quandaries provoked by that decision and where it may lead to. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did.
 
 
Link to book: https://www.ubcpress.ca/assisted-suicide-in-canada

3. Politics and Expertise: Zeynep Pamuk

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" and "the rational layman will recognize that in matters about which there is good reason to believe there is expert opinion, he ought not to make up his own mind." Zeynep provides a robust critique, and ideas for solutions, on how the longstanding tension between expert knowledge and democratic decisionmaking can be resolved, using very topical examples such as the recent global pandemic.
Link to book: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691218939/politics-and-expertise

2. Your Boss is an Algorithm: Valerio De Stefano

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.bloomsbury.com/ca/your-boss-is-an-algorithm-9781509953189/

1. The Behavioral Code: Benjamin van Rooij

In the inaugural Beyond Law podcast, Dan and Richard discuss Benjamin van Rooij's fascinating book about assessing the empirical impacts behind laws. The book's long title -- The Behavioral Code: The Hidden Ways the Law Makes Us Better...or Worse -- says it all. Sometimes laws seem to work and sometimes they don't. 
Link to book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/676270/the-behavioral-code-by-benjamin-van-rooij/