Take ‘A Hard Look’ at Administrative Law with ALR’s Podcast
Administrative Law Review’s "A Hard Look" Podcast Tackles Racism, COVID, and more
Jan. 22, 2021
Where you can live, the medicine you take, what students learn in school, who can become a citizen – all of these things are impacted by administrative law, and 3L Sarah Knarzer wants people to know.
“I hope that the listeners of ‘A Hard Look’ can come away from the episodes understanding just how much their lives are influenced by administrative law decisions,” said Knarzer, Administrative Law Review (ALR) senior technology editor and main host of the publication’s podcast, "A Hard Look.”
“A Hard Look” introduces listeners to relevant or upcoming topics in administrative law, with each episode featuring professors and practitioners sharing their knowledge and experience. The podcast began in 2019 as a way to provide the journal another platform for readers to engage in. Knarzer and ALR Technology Editor 3L Shabbir Hamid took over production last year.
“While ‘A Hard Look’s’ primary audience is administrative law scholars and practitioners, the podcast also aims to make administrative law topics more accessible to students and the general public,” she said, adding that topics explored have included alcohol regulation, TikTok, and the keeping or selling of exotic pets, as well as coronavirus and election fraud.
Racism in Administrative Law
From Dec. 21 through Jan. 11, “A Hard Look” published a four-part series on racism in administrative law, examining the role that racism has historically played. The series also explores how racism is still actively pervasive in administrative law and how practitioners, leaders, scholars, and listeners can create change. Each episode was hosted by a different ALR member, and featured guests from across the country.
“There were many times this past summer that my peers and I felt very helpless and overwhelmed about how we can use our privilege and education to push our communities – whether it be our country, hometown, or even just our law school or academic journal – closer to racial justice,” Knarzer explained.
After learning about the Yale Journal on Regulation’s “Symposium on Racism in Administrative Law,” a diverse collection of essays from scholars that discuss the influence of racism in administrative law, Knarzer felt motivated to continue the effort in her own way.
“I felt it was incredibly important to keep that momentum going in the administrative law spaces – and I knew that the ALR and 'A Hard Look' had the platform and the support to do just that.”
Listen to the series’ episodes – “The System,” “Public Process,” “Immigration,” and “Health Disparities” – here.
“I hope that listeners understand the urgency of reforming administrative policies, and are inspired to push for more representative decision makers and equitable and inclusive policies,” said Knarzer.
COVID’s Impact
While producing and hosting the podcast amid the pandemic was a challenge at first, Knarzer said working virtually provided the opportunity for conversations with guests from around the country, not just those near the American University recording studio.
During her first podcast as host, she spoke with Penn Law Professors Neysun Mahboubi and Cary Coglianese on the administrative responses to coronavirus around the globe based on a series of essays published in the Regulatory Review. This March, ALR plans to publish an expanded and updated version of eight of the essays in Volume 73.1.
“To honor that release and just the fact that we’ve worked so hard the last year to adjust to coronavirus, I hope to produce an episode reviewing any developments since last July and how far we’ve come,” Knarzer said. Additional upcoming episodes of “A Hard Look” will be based off of comments from ALR junior staffers written over the last year, including on the topic of prisoners’ rights.
The Administrative Law Review is published quarterly by the student staff members of the Administrative Law Review at the Washington College of Law of American University and the Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice of the American Bar Association. Click here to learn more about ALR and to listen to the “A Hard Look” podcast.