In this episode, we get garrulous with Samuel Weiss, the founder and Executive Director of Rights Behind Bars, an organization that uses strategic litigation to protect and advance prisoners’ rights. We tackle the hot-button issue of “qualified immunity”—a controversial legal doctrine that often protects prison guards and police officers from liability for constitutional violations—and talk with Sam about the path to victory in Taylor v. Riojas, one of the very few cases in which a prisoner prevailed on that issue in the Supreme Court.  Then, we’ll chat with Sam about getting back to his roots in creative writing, and his plans to finish his great unfinished novel.