Democracy Doctors

Restorative justice, work/professional life as a mission, fundraising v sales, intersection of faith and policy and more  

Intresections of Immigration, Palestine and civil rights in the City of Chicago with 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez who is currently running for Congress in Illinois' 4th District.  This discussion was recorded in November of 2025 for a diffrent platform but is being published here instead with permission from all parties. 

"Extra-curricular" advocacy as central to lawyering, first amendment/free speech issues, intersections of justice from Gaza to domestic civil right suppression, mitigating cognitive bias, principles of veganism and more.

Law & advocacy as a calling, immigration law practice in the context of weaponized immigration policy, ICE & militarization of communities, navigating clients through trauma & uncertainty, justifying philosophy degrees and more

The great American lawyer, philosopher and U.S. Dept. of Justice veteran Bruce Fein on civics, structural democracy, constitutional law, foreign policy, human nature and the roles of lawyers and citizens in maintaining liberty and equality in the face of consolidated power, corruption and tyranny.   

Jeff's work monitoring, documenting and exposing right wing ethnonationalist movements including in relation to the Trump administration and MAGA, broader discussion of nationalism and patriotism in the context of liberal pluralistic democracy, linguistics, semantics, word games, rhetorical branding and domestic democracy, civil rights and rule of law degradation against the backdrop and because of foreign conflict engagements and "forever wars."   

Naval and community service, criminal justice reform including death penalty abolition and elder parole, continuing education, international securites and futures regulation and litigation and more with retired big law partner William Nissen. 

Service and leadership through the Judicial Evaluations Committee of The Chicago Bar Association, motivations for becoming a lawyer and dedication to rule of law, the role of the judiciary in democracy, reflections on the current state of the judiciary and democracy, the importance of civics and an educated public and the value of local engagement and action. 

The legendary constitutional, international and human rights lawyer, fomer Justice Department Official, consultant, scholar, author and more on his recent lawsuit against the U.S. Secretary of State, Gaza v. Blinken, on behalf of Palestinians alleging violation of the U.S. Federal Leahy Law via weapons provision to Israel while Israel is engaged in gross human rights violations, the role of lawyers in society, the philosophical origins and dynamics of rule of law and democracy and beyond.  

Immigration and the intersections of economics, national security and criminal law, the threat of mass deportations, fear politics, the spirit/ideals of the U.S., practical and political challenges to consistent sound policy, potential solutions/reforms and much more with the multitalented and interdiscsiplinary attorney John Heiderscheidt.    

Retired big law partner, University of Chicago law professor, recent Biden administration/Dept. of Labor appointee and renaissance man Chuck Wolf on the election, constitutional and structural design, foundations of democracy and more, for the inagural episode of Democracy Doctors.  

A real law & policy podcast with Mike Alk & friends