NEW YORK—The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University today launched “Lawyering Without Law,” a new biweekly podcast examining how lawyers and legal institutions shape democracy during periods of political strain. Co-hosted by Katy Glenn Bass, research director at the Knight Institute, and Madhav Khosla, senior fellow at the Knight Institute and professor at Columbia Law School, the series brings together scholars, litigators, and practitioners to explore how law can function both as a safeguard for democratic governance and as a tool of its erosion.

“There’s increasing awareness of the crucial role lawyers play during periods of democratic backsliding, in the United States and elsewhere, but not nearly enough public examination of it,” said Katy Glenn Bass, research director at the Knight First Amendment Institute. “We created this podcast to open that space, surface questions for further scholarship, and trace what responsibility looks like for lawyers in this moment.”

Authoritarianism is often understood as lawless, marked by constitutional rupture or institutional breakdown. But many of the most effective assaults on democracy operate through legal systems themselves. Around the world, leaders have used laws, courts, and institutional processes to consolidate power, restrict dissent, and weaken accountability while maintaining the appearance of legality. Similar pressures are emerging in the United States, raising urgent questions about how the legal profession responds when these dynamics take hold closer to home.

“One of the central concerns that motivated this project is that we’ve spent a great deal of time studying courts and political institutions, but far less time examining lawyers themselves,” said Madhav Khosla, senior fellow at the Knight First Amendment Institute and professor at Columbia Law School. “Lawyers are often the first to see how legal systems are being used or misused, yet we haven’t fully reckoned with the role they play in shaping those outcomes.”

The podcast is part of a broader collaboration between the Knight Institute and Khosla examining how the legal profession is evolving in response to democratic backsliding. The project includes a scholarly essay series and public convenings exploring how professional norms, ethical frameworks, and institutions such as bar associations respond to political pressure.

The first episode, “What Does Legal Authoritarianism Look Like?,” features Kim Lane Scheppele, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. The episode explores how authoritarianism can take hold through ordinary legal processes and what it means for lawyers when legal systems depart from their constitutional commitments.

Future episodes will feature leading scholars and practitioners, including Lawrence Lessig, Deborah Pearlstein, and David Dyzenhaus examining the role of the legal profession across a range of political and institutional contexts.

“Conversations about democratic backsliding and the role of law can feel abstract, even as these pressures are playing out in real time,” said Candace White, deputy director of communications and digital strategy at the Knight First Amendment Institute and executive producer of “Lawyering Without Law.” “This series makes those pressures visible, helping people understand how legal systems are being used and what’s at stake.”

“Lawyering Without Law” is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms, with new episodes released every other Friday. The podcast is hosted by Katy Glenn Bass and Madhav Khosla and produced and engineered by Dustin Foote, with Candace White serving as executive producer. Fact-checking is by Connor Menzies and Sophia Rojas; music is from Envato Elements, and artwork is by Jay Vollmar.

Listen to Episode 1 here.

Learn more about the series here.

Read more about Khosla’s research project here.

The Knight Institute has also produced four award-winning podcasts: “What Happens When Social Media Collides with the First Amendment?,” “War & Speech,” “Speech & the Border,” and “The Bully’s Pulpit: Trump v. the First Amendment.” Explore them here.

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, [email protected]