News Commentary · Knight First Amendment Institute

Lawyering Without Law

by Knight First Amendment Institute

We often frame authoritarianism as lawless, marked by constitutional rupture or institutional breakdown. But some of the most effective assaults on democracy have operated through law itself. Around the world, leaders like Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey and the former prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, have used legal systems, rules of law, and institutional practices to consolidate power, restrict dissent, and hollow out democratic accountability from within. That pattern is becoming more visible in the United States, where mounting political pressure on courts, lawyers, and legal institutions is raising urgent questions about the role of the legal profession in moments of democratic crisis. “Lawyering Without Law,” a bi-weekly podcast from the Knight Institute, interrogates the unique and important role that lawyers play in defending democracy, or in facilitating the slide into authoritarianism. Hosted by Knight Institute Senior Fellow and Columbia Law Professor Madhav Khosla and the Knight Institute’s Research Director Katy Glenn Bass, the series brings together scholars, litigators, and practitioners to explore these dynamics across historical and contemporary contexts. Drawing on global examples of democratic backsliding, each episode connects these developments to the United States and outlines what is at stake for the legal profession and for democracy itself. Read more about Khosla’s research project with the Knight Institute examining the crucial role that lawyers can play in preserving democratic freedoms and institutions here. “Lawyering Without Law” is available on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you get podcasts. Listen, subscribe, and leave a review. We'd love to know what you think.

Chart trend

Position in the News Commentary chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#99#196JunJulAugSep

#50

all-time peak

day in the top 50 since May 2026

Latest episodes

Showing 7 · updated from the feed

International Law, Crimes, and Accountability

International law is often imagined as a mechanism of accountability—a way to hold states and individuals responsible for criminal acts. But what if the system was never

Jul 10
49 min

Lawyering Under 20th Century Authoritarianism

We often imagine authoritarianism as the abandonment of law, a moment of rupture when constitutions are torn up and courts are shut down. But some of history’s most effec

Jun 26
41 min

From Torture to Trump: How the Expansion of Executive Power after 9/11 Eroded Accountability and the Rule of Law

The Bush administration’s use of torture after 9/11 was aided by government lawyers who provided contorted legal justifications for its use against detainees. In this epi

Jun 12
38 min

When Lawyers Stop Following the Rules: How Politics Became Law

What happens when lawyers stop believing that law and politics are different things? Constitutional law scholar Deborah Pearlstein joins host Katy Glenn Bass to discuss l

May 29
53 min

Principle vs. Profit: How Institutions Lose Their Way

Bribery is the corruption we prosecute. But according to Lawrence Lessig, it's institutional corruption that poses the most danger to American democracy. Hosts Katy

May 15
37 min

What Does Legal Authoritarianism Look Like?

What does authoritarianism look like when it operates through law? In the first episode of “Lawyer Without Law,” hosts Katy Glenn Bass and Madhav Khosla speak with Prince

May 1
39 min

"Lawyering Without Law," a New Podcast from the Knight First Amendment Institute

What happens when law becomes a tool of democratic decline? Authoritarianism is often framed as lawless. But many of the most effective assaults on democracy operate thr

Apr 22
1 min