Why Laws Are Written Like Palimpsests

Why do so many jurisdictions layer amendment on amendment instead of writing clean new laws? This episode explores the structural reasons behind legislative opacity — from Israel's 1971 Tenant Protection Law to the US tax code's 2.6 million words. We look at how amendment culture creates a dependency on legal professionals, and examine the countries that have actually tried to fix it: New Zealand's plain-language revolution, the UK's "good law" initiative, and Keeling schedules that show what a law actually says after an amendment. If you've ever tried to read a statute and given up in frustration, this one's for you.