July 26th, 2026
By Corinna Lain
Sunday afternoon from 3-5:30 pm, Mike Vitiello, Rachel Wechsler, Alex Kreit, Ben Varadi, and Corinna Lain gathered to talk about “regulating sin.” Mike began by explaining the reason for the panel—this is the title of a book proposal pending with NYU Press—and defining the scope of the topic, which quickly led to a lively discussion with the audience about what we mean by the term “sin” and whether it is even capable of definition.
Then the panelists spent some time critiquing the proposal, and discussing with attendees the various issues that that raised. Ben added a clarifying frame to the project by suggesting the words “the law’s approach to moral panic” as a subtitle (and the crowd roared). Alex talked about how we might regulate “sin” (aka crimes of moral panic, including sex work, gambling, the prohibition of alcohol, and regulation of various types of drugs), and helpfully mapped out a harm reduction principle that could be used to theorize the proper limits of such regulation. Rachel gave a presentation on a slice of regulating sin, talking about the different ways that different parts of the world treat sex work. And Corinna asked what Michael Foucault would say about the “regulating sin” project (spoiler alert: he would have said it was totally on point) and used the prosecution of animals (primarily pigs, but other animals too, sometimes arrayed in human clothing) as an example of the sort of theatrical spectacles that were used in the medieval times as a show of authority.
Corinna also reminded those in attendance that we would all be executed, or at the very least severely punished, for what we were doing in that moment—gathering sticks on a Sunday (or any unnecessary work) was a capital offense, as was unnecessary travel. With that we decided to break for the day and enjoy a beverage instead.
And today, Mike heard back from NYU Press—with a contract on the book!