In 2017, Simon Tam walked away from a $4 million settlement and chose instead to take his band’s name — and a much larger question about free speech — all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

As the frontman of The Slants, the first all-Asian American rock band to reclaim a racial slur as a badge of defiance, Simon and his bandmates found themselves sidelined on the very day their case was argued. Barred from speaking and seated in the back pews, they were the only Asian people in the courtroom during a precedent-setting debate over who gets to decide what is anti-Asian.

Odd One In’s third episode follows Simon from a bullied childhood in California to the steps of the Supreme Court, tracing a years-long legal battle that reshaped America’s understanding of free speech and cultural ownership. The episode then widens its lens with Portland-based violinist, composer, and Tiger Tiger founder Joe Kye, as the two reflect on loneliness, leadership, and the uncrushable hope that fuels artists and misfits who dare to make good trouble.