A Podcast by Blake Turley

Tabula
Rasa.

Blank Slate · Long-Form Conversations

The law podcast for people who think lawyers are boring.

Every episode starts with a question I can't stop thinking about. Where it goes from there is anyone's guess. Law, technology, business, and the invisible architecture of everyday life.

The Premise
Law is the most fascinating subject on earth. The problem is, most people only experience it at its worst — confusing, expensive, and intentionally intimidating.

This show exists to fix that.

Territory

What you'll hear.

Six lanes. No guardrails. Every episode picks a question and follows it wherever it goes.

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Law

Contract clauses that changed history. Supreme Court cases that should scare you. Why your landlord's lease is structured the way it is.

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Technology

AI terms of service nobody reads. Open source licensing wars. The legal scaffolding underneath every app on your phone.

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Business

Operating agreements founders sign without reading. The economics of starting a law firm. Why most "standard" contracts are anything but.

Culture

How legal structures shape music, art, food, and everything else. The invisible rules you follow every day without knowing it.

Philosophy

What is justice, really? Where does a contract end and a relationship begin? When does compliance become theater?

Wildcard

Hot peppers. Photography. Homebrew. Whatever I'm obsessed with this week that somehow always ties back to the law.

Now Playing
Tabula Rasa
With Blake Turley
New Episode
EP 001

Why Every Founder Should Read Their Own Operating Agreement

You signed the most important document in your company and you didn't read it. We need to talk about that — and what to do about it now, before it costs you everything.

42 min · Mar 2026
Listen Now

Every contract tells a story. Most people just skip to the signature page.

All Episodes

The archive.

Every conversation, from the beginning. No filler episodes. No ads. Just the thread, followed to wherever it goes.

The Format

How this works.

Four rules. Everything else is improvised.

01
Start with a question.

Not a topic. Not a thesis. A real question I've been thinking about at 2 AM when I should be sleeping. If I already know the answer, it's not interesting enough.

02
Follow the thread.

No rigid outline. No five-point framework. If the conversation wants to go somewhere unexpected, we let it. The best episodes are the ones I didn't plan.

03
No jargon without translation.

If I use a legal term, I explain it. Not because you're not smart enough — because the legal profession has spent centuries making simple things sound complicated on purpose.

04
No sponsors. No ads.

This show exists because I want it to, not because someone's paying me to read mattress copy. The day that changes is the day this stops being fun.

The Host

About Blake.

Tabula Rasa means "blank slate."

I'm Blake Turley. I'm a technology and business lawyer based in Madison, Connecticut. I run Turley Law PLLC, where I work with startups, founders, and growing businesses across CT, NY, and MA.

I went to Cornell Law School. I'm licensed in three states. I've read more operating agreements than any human should. And somewhere along the way I realized: law is actually fascinating — we just have a PR problem.

This podcast is my attempt to fix that. No billable hours. No disclaimers at the end. Just a blank slate and a microphone and a question I can't stop thinking about.

Sometimes it's a contract clause. Sometimes it's a Supreme Court case. Sometimes it's why your landlord's lease is designed to confuse you. I follow the thread wherever it goes, because the interesting stuff is never where you expect it.

Credentials
  • Blake Turley
  • Cornell Law School
  • CT, NY & MA Bar
  • Madison, Connecticut
Also Find Me
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If your lawyer can't explain it in plain English, they either don't understand it themselves — or they don't want you to.

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