Represent More

"If It Makes Your Skin Crawl…" — Ryan Clarkson on Law, Life, and the Cases Worth Fighting For

Welcome to Represent More, a production of We Are Them Media. In Episode 7, co-host Shireen Clarkson turns the tables and puts Ryan Clarkson in the hot seat — tracing the arc of his life from a big Midwestern family to the courtroom, and asking the questions that reveal what really drives one of the country's leading consumer and public interest litigators. In this episode: * Ryan's upbringing in Michigan — a factory-worker dad, a community-minded mom, and the values they instilled that still show up in how he practices law * How he found his way to law without a single lawyer in the family — and the early career moments that forged his instincts * What separates a good litigator from a great one, and how Ryan knows in his gut when a case is worth fighting * The misconceptions people have about plaintiff lawyers — and why Ryan believes corporations are running a deliberate disinformation campaign against the very people fighting for everyday consumers * How his definition of success has shifted with age, and what the "back nine" of life has clarified about what actually matters When the legislature won't act and the executive branch won't regulate, the courts become the last line of defense. Ryan has spent decades showing up to that fight — and this episode is the story of how he got there. If you believe justice doesn't move on its own, this one's for you. Subscribe to Represent More wherever you get your podcasts, and find us on Substack at representmore.substack.com [https://representmore.substack.com].

"Because Bees Be Bees" — False Advertising, Kratom's Hidden Toll, and the Corporate Playbook for Avoiding Accountability

Welcome to Represent More, brought to you by We Are Them Media. In Episode 6, Ryan and Shireen dig into two stories about what happens when companies make promises they never intend to keep — and then blame you for believing them. This week: * Panelli v. Target — A Ninth Circuit Win for Consumers: Target sold bedsheets labeled as "800 thread count." Testing revealed the actual count was 288. When the case was dismissed at the district court level using an "impossibility defense" — the idea that if a claim is factually impossible, consumers can't be deceived — Ryan and Shireen's appellate team took it to the Ninth Circuit and won. The ruling clarifies and narrows a defense that corporations had been weaponizing across false advertising cases involving food, cosmetics, supplements, and more. A big win for consumers, and for the litigation landscape. * Kratom's Hidden Toll: Kratom is a plant-based supplement marketed as a natural, safe mood enhancer — and it's completely unregulated by the FDA. But people who use it as directed are becoming addicted, suffering seizures, and dying. With lawsuits now cropping up nationwide, kratom companies are responding to wrongful death cases by blaming the victims. Ryan and Shireen break down why the supplement industry's regulatory gap is so dangerous, what the litigation looks like, and why failure-to-warn cases like these matter beyond the courtroom. Because bees be bees — and companies are counting on you not knowing the difference. Subscribe to Represent More wherever you get your podcasts, and find us on Substack at https://representmore.substack.com [https://representmore.substack.com]

"An Underdog Spirit" – Inside the Fight for Everyday People with Appellate Lawyer Glenn Danas

Welcome to Represent More, produced by We Are Them Media. In Episode 5, Ryan and Shireen sit down with Glenn Danas, partner at Clarkson and chair of the firm's Appellate and Employment Litigation practice groups, for a wide-ranging conversation about what it means to fight for everyday people from inside the legal system. * Glenn's path from Big Law to public interest litigation — and why it felt like coming home * The landmark Iskanian v. CLS Transportation decision and the ongoing battle over mandatory arbitration * Clarkson's high-stakes cases against UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and Cigna — and how health insurers are using AI algorithms to deny Medicare Advantage claims at scale * The California Supreme Court's upcoming review of a major consumer privacy case against Twitter * An amicus brief filed on behalf of Senator Cory Booker in the Monsanto/Roundup preemption case before the U.S. Supreme Court * What 66 appellate arguments teaches you about the law — and about people Corporations are finding new tools to avoid accountability — algorithms that deny care, preemption arguments that erase state protections, arbitration clauses that close courthouse doors. Glenn Danas has spent his career pushing those doors back open. This episode is about the cases, the strategy, and the underdog spirit that drives it all. Subscribe to Represent More and find us on Substack at representmore.substack.com.

"This Is Just the Start" – Social Media Addiction Lawsuits, Landmark Verdicts & the Coming Wave of Big Tech Accountability

Welcome to Represent More, brought to you by We Are Them Media. In Episode 4, Ryan and Shireen dig into the wave of social media addiction lawsuits making their way through the courts — and what two landmark verdicts this week tell us about where this fight is headed. * What a Los Angeles bellwether jury found when it ruled YouTube and Meta liable for negligence and failure to warn * Why a $375 million verdict against Meta in New Mexico barely moved the company's stock — and what that may mean for punitive damages * How mandatory arbitration provisions and Section 230 have kept courthouse doors shut for years, and how plaintiffs' lawyers finally found a way through * Why minors can't be bound by arbitration agreements — and how that became the key to getting these cases in front of a jury * The slot machine technology hidden inside your social media feed — and how Meta allegedly knew it was addictive long before anyone sued * Clarkson's own lawsuit against Meta over its AI smart glasses, and how the case fits into a broader reckoning with big tech Big Tech has spent years privatizing profits while the public absorbs the harm. Mandatory arbitration kept cases out of court. Section 230 provided cover. And the platforms allegedly kept designing products they knew were dangerous — because the money was too good to stop. These verdicts don't just matter for the plaintiffs. They're the first real signal that the legal system is catching up. Subscribe to Represent More wherever you get your podcasts, and find us on Substack at https://representmore.substack.com [https://representmore.substack.com]

“People Are Going to Be Alarmed” – Meta’s AI Glasses, Data Collection, and the Fight for Transparency

Welcome back to Represent More, a podcast from We Are Them Media. In Episode 3, hosts Ryan Clarkson and Shireen Clarkson break down a week packed with major legal developments — including a brand new lawsuit that's already making waves in the tech world and beyond. Fresh off a weekend in Cabo, Ryan and Shireen get into it, covering: * The Meta AI glasses lawsuit: why Clarkson filed a false advertising case against Meta in the Northern District of California — and what investigative journalists uncovered about footage from your home, your bathroom, and your private spaces being reviewed by workers halfway around the world * Why "it's in the fine print" isn't good enough — and how 24,000 words of legalese isn't notice, it's a shield * Mark Zuckerberg walking into a Los Angeles courtroom wearing the glasses he's being sued over — and what that stunt reveals about how out of touch Big Tech has become * Two Ninth Circuit appellate hearings: a false advertising case against Target over misrepresented bedsheet thread counts, and a consumer protection case against Brita over what its water filters actually do — and don't — remove from your tap * The war in Iran: the human cost, the absence of a plan, and what it means to Shireen, whose own family is living through it * Why Ryan's rose of the week is the ballot box — and what this November means for the direction of the country The through line? The same one that runs through every episode of Represent More: powerful interests are moving faster than the systems designed to hold them accountable. Whether it's a tech giant commodifying your privacy while promising to protect it, a filter brand leaving consumers in the dark about what's still in their water, or a government entering a war with no clear plan — the pattern holds. And if corporations won't come clean on their own, it falls to the courts — and to the consumers, lawyers, and journalists willing to demand answers. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and join the conversation on Substack at https://representmore.substack.com [https://representmore.substack.com]