About Public Defenseless

Public Defenseless uncovers the rot at the heart of our criminal legal system and what we can do about it. It's a podcast about public defense, hosted by public defender Hunter Parnell.

If you're charged with a crime that could put you in jail, you have the right to a lawyer, even if you can't afford one. That promise comes from the Sixth Amendment and the Supreme Court's 1963 decision in Gideon v. Wainwright. Public defenders keep it. When public defense fails, the rights it protects fail with it.

Each episode, Hunter looks at the people, policies and pressures that shape the criminal legal system, from inside it and out. The thread running through them is the right to counsel: how it works in practice, where it breaks down and what it would take to fix it.

Guests have included public defenders at every level, union leaders and tribal defenders; journalists, authors and scholars; advocates and policymakers; people who have lived through the system; and voices from the other side of the courtroom.

In 2024, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice recognized Hunter's work on the show with its Journalistic Integrity Award, calling the podcast "a vital resource for both the public and practitioners alike."

New episodes come out every Tuesday and Thursday wherever you get podcasts. Patreon supporters get each new episode a day early, full video at least six weeks before it reaches YouTube, and appearances from Beans, Hunter's long-haired mini dachshund. YouTube carries clips and full video of past episodes.