Let’s Talk Space Law! It’s Law, but From OUTER SPACE!

Opening Arguments

Opening Arguments Media LLC

Atheist, Opinion, Harvard, News, Politics, Legal, Law, Liberal, Supremecourt

4.3 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

OA1173 - More people have been to space than practice space law, and Professor Michelle Hanlon is one of its most important modern pioneers. Professor Hanlon joins to talk Star Trek captains, preserving historic sites on the Moon, and why she believes the mass privatization of space is--at least if properly regulated--the only way forward.

Prof. Michelle Hanlon’s University of Mississippi faculty biography
“Why Are We All So Obsessed with the Moon?”, Michelle Hanlon, New York Times (12/7/2024)
The Artemis Accords (signed 10/30/2020)
“The Wild Wild West of Space Law,” Michael O’Shea, The Walrus (8/13/2020)

Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

Transcript

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0:00.0	The expanse really is what happens when you do not regulate space mining.
0:07.7	It seems like.
0:09.0	Everyone focused on the wrong thing.
0:20.0	We sent five people into space who had no training.
0:23.6	They weren't crew.
0:24.6	They couldn't fly a spaceship.
0:25.6	We brought them all back safely.
0:27.6	It's a huge step. Hello and welcome to opening arguments.
0:44.0	This is episode 1173.
0:46.2	I'm your host, Thomas Smith, and we're doing something fun today, a little bit different.
0:50.1	It's space law.
0:51.3	Space law.
0:52.3	It's law, but in space.
0:54.5	And when you think about it, there's a lot of interesting questions about space law.
0:59.4	Like, who owns what?
1:00.7	Who owns the moon?
1:01.5	If you get there and you just a la Eddie is or do you just plant a flag on the moon, do you own it?
1:06.0	How much of it?
1:07.0	All of it?
1:07.5	None of it?
1:08.3	Well, you got to study sidereal property to know who owns the moon, maybe.
1:13.4	How far up? Where is space? Where does anybody know? Where's space? Where does it start? Where does it get off?
	...

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