Ipse Dixit

In this episode, Sara Protasi, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Puget Sound, discusses her book "The Philosophy of Envy," which is published by Cambridge University Press. Protasi explains how envy is different from other emotions, including jealously. She describes the different kinds of envy. And she argues that at least some kinds of envy are good and should be encouraged, even though some other kinds are bad. Protasi is on Twitter at @natadicorsa.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

In this episode, Quinn Yeargain, Assistant Professor of Law at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, discusses his article, “Litigating Trans Rights in the States,” which will be published by the Ohio State Law Journal. Yeargain describes recent efforts by states to pass legislation infringing on the rights of transgender individuals, and argues that while challengers have found success challenging these laws on federal constitutional grounds, they should also challenge these laws on state constitutional grounds. Drawing parallels to prior challenges to restrictive marriage provisions, sodomy bans, and other laws, Yeargain argues that state constitutional equality provisions, privacy provisions, and other rights guarantees provide strong avenues to challenge legislation targeting trans people. Yeargain also discusses researching and studying state constitutional law. Yeargain is on Twitter at @yeargain.This episode was hosted by Michael L. Smith, Assistant Professor of Law at St. Mary’s University School of Law. Smith is on Twitter at @msmith750.

In this episode, Michael Smith, Assistant Professor of Law at St. Mary's University School of Law, discusses his article "Library Crime," which will be published in the Drake Law Review. Smith describes the different kinds of crimes that are specific to libraries, how they differ from state to state, and why they exist. He reflects on library crimes and what they can tell us about libraries as institutions. And he explain how library crimes illuminate the purposes of criminal justice more generally. Smith is on Twitter at @msmith750.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

In this episode, Jacob Gordon, a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, discusses his draft article "Gang Violence and Just War Theory." Gordon begins by explaining the basic premises of just war theory. He then describes common features of gangs, and how they often track with the features considered by just war theory. He argues that concepts drawn from just war theory can help us better understand the relative culpability of gang members for gang violence, and argues that gang participation should mitigate moral culpability for violence, at least in some circumstances. This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

In this episode, Paul Gowder, Associate Dean of Research and Intellectual Life and Professor of Law at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, discusses his book The Rule of Law in the United States: An Unfinished Project of Black Liberation which is published by Hart Publishing and available as an open-access download. Gowder begins by discussing open-access publishing and the design on the book. He explains what he means by "the rule of law" and why he sees it as fundamentally tied to the historical project of black liberation. He reflects on how many of our governmental institutions provide only the illusion of the rule of law, and explains how and why the rule of law must be defended and expanded.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

In this episode, Jordana R. Goodman, Assistant Professor of Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law, discusses her article "Ms. Attribution: How Authorship Credit Contributes to the Gender Gap," which is published in the Yale Journal of Law & Technology. Goodman begin by describing the "gender gap" and how it affects the practice of law. She explains how the "Matthew" and "Matilda" effects under-recognize the contributions of women in legal practice, and how lack of attribution helps perpetuate the gender gap. She describe her empirical study of attribution in patent practice. And she makes suggestions for how to increase attribution to women. Goodman is on Twitter at @Jordi_Goodman.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

In this episode, Kenneth A. Adams, an attorney and expert on contract drafting, discusses his book, "A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting," which is published by the ABA. Adams describes how he became interested in the style of contract drafting and why he thinks it is often so bad. He explains how contract drafting can be improved and why better drafted contracts are preferable. And he provides specific examples of improved drafting from his book. In the course of the interview, Adams also provides comments on a short contract I drafted. You can see his written comments here.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

In this episode, Lisa P. Ramsey, Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law, discusses the Supreme Court's recent decision in Jack Daniel's v. VIP products in light of her article "Raising the Threshold for Trademark Infringement to Protect Free Expression," which she co-authored with Christine Haight Farley, and which is published in the American University Law Review. Ramsey begins by describing what happened in the Jack Daniel's case and why the Supreme Court's opinion is narrower than a lot of commenters realize. She explains why cases like Jack Daniel's present First Amendment problems, and how those problems can be avoided by more robust defenses to trademark infringement and dilution. Ramsey is on Twitter at @LPRamsey.Ramsey also wrote an essay on the Jack Daniel's v. VIP case for Eric Goldman's Technology & Marketing Law Blog, which you can read here.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

In this episode, Brian McBreary, a forensic musicologist, explains what forensic musicologists do and how they analyze music. He describes how he became a forensic musicologist and the process by which forensic musicologists approach the analysis of songs as expert witnesses in copyright infringement litigation. And he specifically reflects on recent copyright infringement cases involving Marvin Gaye songs. McBrearty hosts the website Musicologize and is on Twitter at @brianmcbrearty.