386. Elie Mystal with Jay Willis - How Overturning Laws Could Help America

386. Elie Mystal with Jay Willis - How Overturning Laws Could Help America

Author: Town Hall Seattle April 18, 2025 Duration: 1:15:21

Headshots of Elie Mystal (with brown skin, grey afro, eyeglasses) and Jay Willis (with fair skin, short brown hair)

Is there a current law on the books that you disagree with? How about ten?

In Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining AmericaNew York Times bestselling author and legal analyst Elie Mystal argues not only that ten pieces of legislation are making life worse for millions of Americans but that they should be repealed completely.

On topics ranging from immigration to gun rights to abortion and religious freedom, Mystal asserts that these are the worst of our ordinances and that the laws by which our nation is governed do not always reflect the will of the people. Dissecting these laws through a critical lens, Mystal also addresses how these laws intersect with and impact race, class, gender, and other social identities.

Even though people in power made these laws, Mystal reasons that these laws can — and should — be unmade. Bad Law aims to examine the status quo and serve as a clarion call for future reform.

Elie Mystal is the New York Times bestselling author of Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution (The New Press) as well as The Nation's legal analyst and justice correspondent, and the legal editor of the More Perfect podcast on the Supreme Court for Radiolab. He is an Alfred Knobler Fellow at Type Media Center, and a frequent guest on MSNBC and Sirius XM.

Jay Willis is a writer who covers courts, politics, and democracy. He is the editor-in-chief at Balls & Strikes, and was previously a staff writer at GQ magazine and a senior contributor to The Appeal. Before his journalism career, he practiced law at large firms in Washington, D.C. and Seattle.


Recorded live from a historic venue in the Pacific Northwest, the Town Hall Seattle Civics Series podcast brings the stage to your headphones. Each episode captures a vital conversation from Town Hall Seattle's ongoing programming, where experts, activists, and thinkers grapple with the ideas shaping our collective life. You’ll hear historians reframe our past, legal scholars dissect constitutional questions, and community organizers explain the mechanics of emerging movements. This isn't just theoretical discussion; it's a direct engagement with the policies and cultural shifts that touch our neighborhoods and the wider world. Tuning in feels like finding a seat in a thoughtful, often provocative public forum. The series operates on a belief that an informed community is an empowered one, and this audio archive makes that process accessible to anyone, anywhere. By focusing on the substance of live civic dialogue, this podcast provides the context and depth often missing from daily headlines, fostering a deeper understanding of how society functions and changes.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Podcast Episodes
365. Annalee Newitz with Lindy West: Stories are Weapons [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:19
Have you ever thought what #FakeNews might have looked like 200 years ago? While we may be experiencing a new era of disinformation, the tactics aren't necessarily original. Drawing from their latest book, Stories Are We…
362. Renee DiResta: How Public Opinion Forms in a Digital Age [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:24
"If you make it trend, you make it true." The cycling of new and buzz-worthy information we face on a daily basis is faster than ever before. As new trends in information, politics, and culture are constantly updating, l…
361. Rachel Bitecofer: Counterpunch — Winning Democracy's Fight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:52
Should Democrats be looking to the other side of the aisle for political strategy? Political scientist and strategist Rachel Bitecofer seeks to explain the intricate dynamics of contemporary politics in her new book, Hit…
360. Juliet Hooker with Megan Ming Francis: The Politics of Loss [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:29
Delve into the complex tapestry of American politics with Juliet Hooker, the Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science at Brown University. Hooker, known for her expertise in racial justice, demo…
358. Sasha Issenberg with Austin Jenkins: The Lie Detectives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:27
As we head into another presidential election year, few issues feel as pressing as the spread of political misinformation. How can political campaigns fight back against the barrage of lies and disinformation? As time, t…
357. Susannah Fox with Sally James: Rebel Health [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:14
Anyone who has fallen off the conveyor belt of mainstream health care and into the shadowy corners of illness knows what a dark place it is to land. Where is the infrastructure, the information, the guidance? What should…