Short Circuit

Short Circuit


Latest Episodes

Short Circuit 407 | Master Thespians
December 19, 2025

Starting with a few lines from Shakespeares As You Like It, we are joined by two gentlemen of the stage, James Joseph, the first Assistant Director for IJs clinic at the University of Chicago, and B

Short Circuit 406 | Forfeiture Oopsies
December 12, 2025

The U.S. government seized over $600,000 from a business, tried to forfeit the money, never filed criminal charges against anyone, and then three years later said nevermind! and dismissed the case a

Short Circuit 405 | Judges as Employers
December 05, 2025

What happens if you sue your employer and your bosss boss is a federal judge? Its kind of complicated. Aliza Shatzman of the Legal Accountability Project rejoins us to detail a recent Fourth Circuit

Short Circuit 404 | A Permit to Pray?
November 28, 2025

Can a city require you to get a permit if youre having a few people over to pray? In an Ohio town it was a little unclear. As IJs Suranjan Sen explains, an Orthodox Jewish man wanted to have enough

Short Circuit 403 | Strict Liability for Civil Rights Violations
November 21, 2025

In a special episode, IJs Anya Bidwell interviews Matteo Godi of USC Law about his new article Section 1983: A Strict Liability Statutory Tort. Professor Godi provocatively argues that the basis of

Short Circuit 402 | They Very Rarely Involve Murder
November 14, 2025

Were joined by Reb Masel, a California lawyer who tries to keep the law fun while educating the public about how it works. Shes apparently pretty good at it as she has a zillion followers across var

Short Circuit 401 | Government Fails Rational Basis Test for Once
November 07, 2025

The balance between free speech, campus order, and fighting antisemitism has been a major flashpoint the last couple of years and it just hit the First Circuit in a lawsuit against the Massachusetts I

Short Circuit 400 | Is Sharing Your Password a Federal Crime?
October 31, 2025

If you think youve worked in a bad job you might want to first hear the first case we have this week, brought to you by IJs Michael Soyfer. It might give you a bit of cheerful perspective. An employ

Short Circuit 399 | Weekend at Humphrey’s
October 24, 2025

Its Short Circuit Live from Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University with a D.C. Circuit special! We review opinions from a court that many people are saying is the second-most-importan

Short Circuit 398 | Religious Fact Checks
October 17, 2025

Religion and fact checks dont normally go together. But an employer did so when some employees tried to obtain a religious accommodation from a COVID vaccine requirement. Matt Liles of IJ explain