So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
321 episodes - English - Latest episode: 23 days ago - ★★★★★ - 166 ratingsSo to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast takes an uncensored look at the world of free expression through the law, philosophy, and stories that define your right to free speech. Hosted by FIRE's Nico Perrino.
New episodes post every other Thursday.
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Episodes
Ep. 164 ‘The First Amendment created gay America’
June 23, 2022 04:15 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MB“Every advance gay people have made in this country has been the result of the exercise of free expression,” argues writer James Kirchick, author of the New York Times bestseller, “Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington.” Transcript: https://www.thefire.org/so-to-speak-podcast-transcript-the-first-amendment-created-gay-america/ www.sotospeakpodcast.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SotoSpeakTheFreeSpeechPodcast Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Facebo...
Ep. 163 The new FIRE
June 06, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBToday, the Foundation for Individual Rights *in Education* becomes the Foundation for Individual Rights *and Expression*. America’s leading defender of free speech, due process, and academic freedom in higher education announced it is taking its free speech mission beyond college campuses with a $75 million expansion initiative. FIRE President & CEO Greg Lukianoff and FIRE COO Alisha Glennon join the show to discuss how the organization is changing and why. Transcript: www.sotospeak...
Ep. 162 “Parental Advisory” and music censorship with Eric Nuzum
May 26, 2022 04:15 - 42 minutes - 39.6 MBIn this week’s episode of So to Speak, we focus on some of the notable cases of music censorship in America, the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), and the lasting effects of the PMRC’s efforts on the music industry. Author Eric Nuzum joins us to discuss his 2001 book, “Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America.” Nuzum illustrates examples of music censorship ranging from the Reconstruction era, when Southerners were prevented from publicly singing pro-Confederate ba...
Ep. 161 What did ‘On the Media’ get wrong about free speech … again?
May 09, 2022 17:15 - 1 hour - 69.5 MBTwitter is going to become 8chan. At least, that’s what a recent episode of the popular radio program “On the Media” suggests will happen if Elon Musk successfully buys Twitter. Musk promised to bring greater free speech protections to the social media platform. But where Musk sees an opportunity for more freedom, some see the potential for too much freedom. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, Matt Taibbi, Nadine Strossen, and Amna Khalid discuss what “On the Media...
Ep. 160 What did ‘On the Media’ get wrong about free speech … again?
May 09, 2022 17:15 - 1 hour - 69.5 MBTwitter is going to become 8chan. At least, that’s what a recent episode of the popular radio program “On the Media” suggests will happen if Elon Musk successfully buys Twitter. Musk promised to bring greater free speech protections to the social media platform. But where Musk sees an opportunity for more freedom, some see the potential for too much freedom. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, Matt Taibbi, Nadine Strossen, and Amna Khalid discuss what “On the Medi...
Ep. 160 Hugh Hefner, free speech scrapbooker
May 05, 2022 14:21 - 45 minutes - 42.3 MBDid you know Hugh Hefner holds the Guinness World Record for owning the largest personal scrapbook collection in the world? When he was not building the global Playboy empire, he spent his Saturdays compiling more than 3,000 scrapbooks, chronicling free speech and press issues during his lifetime. Stuart N. Brotman, professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was granted exclusive access to Hefner’s scrapbooks. On today’s episode, he talks about what he found and about his new b...
Ep. 159 Hugh Hefner, free speech scrapbooker
May 05, 2022 14:21 - 45 minutes - 42.3 MBDid you know Hugh Hefner holds the Guinness World Record for owning the largest personal scrapbook collection in the world? When he was not building the global Playboy empire, he spent his Saturdays compiling more than 3,000 scrapbooks, chronicling free speech and press issues during his lifetime. Stuart N. Brotman, professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was granted exclusive access to Hefner’s scrapbooks. On today’s episode, he talks about what he found and about his new b...
Ep. 159 Disney and Elon Musk
April 26, 2022 22:26 - 39 minutes - 36 MBDoes Disney have free speech rights? And did Florida violate the First Amendment when it punished the company for its political activism? Elon Musk is buying Twitter. What should free speech advocates make of that? Recurring guest and famed First Amendment scholar Robert Corn-Revere is here to break it all down for us. He’s a partner at the law firm Davis Wright-Tremaine, a member of FIRE’s Advisory Council, and the author of “The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder: The First A...
Ep. 158 What is academic freedom?
April 21, 2022 20:27 - 1 hour - 79.6 MBWhat is academic freedom? And who polices its boundaries? Our guests on today’s show argue that the popular conception of academic freedom has become too closely connected with the concept of free speech. Penn State Professor Michael Bérubé and Portland State Professor Jennifer Ruth are the authors of “It’s Not Free Speech: Race, Democracy, and the Future of Academic Freedom.” Show notes: Transcript The AAUP’s 1915 and 1940 statements on academic freedom The AAUP’s “On Freedom ...
Ep. 157 Former BBC bureau chief Konstantin Eggert and what you need to know about censorship in Russia
April 11, 2022 20:49 - 1 hour - 75.9 MBKonstantin Eggert, a native Muscovite, has reported on Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. He started his reporting career in Moscow in 1990. From 1998-2009, he was senior correspondent, then editor-in-chief, of the BBC Russian Service Moscow bureau. Later he worked for ExxonMobil Russia and Russian media outlets, Kommersant and TV Rain. Now, living in Lithuania, Eggert is a vocal critic of the Putin regime and has more than a few thoughts on censorship in Russia: specifically, how...
Ep. 156 What Russians don’t know about the war in Ukraine
March 24, 2022 04:10 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBThe Russian government has purged independent media, banned protests, and shut down social media access. So, do Russians know the truth about the war in Ukraine? Ksenia Turkova is a journalist from Russia who currently works for Voice of America. Before coming to the United States she worked for a number of Russian news outlets, including some that were shut down by the Russian government. She also spent time as a radio host in Ukraine. On today’s episode of “So to Speak: The Free Spee...
Ep. 155 The John Roberts Supreme Court
March 10, 2022 05:10 - 1 hour - 55.5 MB“No chief justice in our history has had as much influence on the law of freedom of expression as John Roberts,” according to Ronald K.L. Collins and David L. Hudson Jr. They are the authors of a new Brooklyn Law Review article, “The Roberts Court—Its First Amendment Free Expression Jurisprudence: 2005–2021.” On today’s episode of “So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast,” Collins and Hudson review 58 First Amendment rulings that have been issued since John Roberts became Chief Justice of...
Ep. 154 Sarah Palin v. New York Times
February 22, 2022 16:45 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MBOn today’s episode of “So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast,” we are joined by Robert Corn-Revere and David Hudson to discuss Sarah Palin v. New York Times, a defamation case that has captured national attention. Corn-Revere is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and the author of the new book, “The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder.” Hudson is the Justice Robert H. Jackson legal fellow at FIRE and a professor at Belmont University College of Law. Transcript www.sotospe...
Ep. 153 Elitist vs. egalitarian free speech (live recording, Q&A)
February 04, 2022 17:06 - 1 hour - 62.5 MBOn today’s episode, we feature a live recording of “So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast” with Jacob Mchangama, author of “Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media,” in conversation with FIRE’s Greg Lukianoff, Sarah McLaughlin, host Nico Perrino, and NYU professor Stephen D. Solomon. The panelists discuss how lessons from free speech movements throughout world history can help explain today’s divisions over the value of free speech, and how conflicts between egalitarian and eliti...
Ep. 152 Banning critical race theory
January 20, 2022 05:10 - 1 hour - 72.9 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by FIRE’s Joe Cohn and the American Enterprise Institute’s Max Eden to debate and discuss legislative efforts to ban critical race theory, or so-called “divisive concepts,” from being taught in schools. Transcript Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order on critical race theory “Ban Critical Race Theory now” by Max Eden “Legislative efforts to address teachings on race pose threats to academic freedom”...
Ep. 151 Fighting words
January 13, 2022 05:10 - 45 minutes - 41.9 MBThere are very few exceptions to the First Amendment. “Fighting words” is one of them. But since the Supreme Court first outlined this exception in 1942, it hasn’t shown much interest in revisiting the issue. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we’re joined by First Amendment scholar and FIRE Legal Fellow David L. Hudson Jr., who argues the “fighting words” doctrine is still alive and well in lower courts and is used to justify punishing everything from toilet tir...
Ep. 150 George Orwell
December 14, 2021 12:05 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBWho was Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name “George Orwell?” On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we explore the life and work of an author who died at the age of 46 but whose writings — namely “Animal Farm” and “1984” — still help to shape our understanding of the freedoms of speech and conscience. Joining us for the discussion is the author of Orwell’s authorized biography, Indiana State University professor Michael Shelden. Shelden’s biography of Orw...
Ep. 149 Caitlin Flanagan and Greg Lukianoff
November 23, 2021 15:36 - 1 hour - 63.9 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by The Atlantic magazine Staff Writer Caitlin Flanagan and FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff to discuss a wide range of topics, including Caitlin’s articles that touch on free speech, her growing up in Berkeley, Calif. the daughter of a professor, and newsroom orthodoxies and censorship. Show notes: Transcript Caitlin’s The Atlantic article archive “Can We Take a Joke?” documentary “That’s Not Funny!” by ...
Ep. 148 University of Austin, a new university devoted to free speech
November 09, 2021 15:48 - 46 minutes - 42.4 MBPano Kanelos believes higher education is broken. But he isn’t waiting for colleges and universities to fix themselves. He’s starting his own. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Kanelos who is the inaugural president of the University of Austin, a new university devoted to free speech and open inquiry. Its initial programming, a Forbidden Courses summer program, aims to foster spirited discussion about the most provocative questions that often lead...
Ep. 147 ‘The Mind of the Censor’ with Robert Corn-Revere
October 28, 2021 04:10 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBCensors almost never think they are censors. They often see themselves as heroes, saving the world from the destructive effects of rock ‘n’ roll, movies, comic books, pornography, video games, the internet, etc. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, author Robert Corn-Revere joins us to discuss how censors operate and why they never occupy the moral high ground. Robert is an attorney and partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and the author of the new book, “The Mind o...
Ep. 146 Trigger warnings and DEI statements
October 14, 2021 04:10 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBA consensus has emerged from a growing pile of scholarly research: Trigger warnings don’t work. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Carleton College associate professors Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Snyder to explore what the latest research says about the efficacy of trigger warnings. We also discuss one of the more contentious debates surrounding academic freedom: the rising prevalence of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion statements for colleg...
Ep. 145 First Amendment history with Yale Professor Akhil Amar
September 30, 2021 04:10 - 1 hour - 88.9 MBSeptember 25 was First Amendment Day in America — the anniversary of the date in 1789 when Congress approved 12 amendments to our Constitution, including what we today call the Bill of Rights. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we discuss the origin story and history of America’s First Amendment and its five freedoms. To do so, host Nico Perrino is joined by Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University Akhil Reed Amar. Amar is the author of...
Ep. 144 Matt Taibbi, Nadine Strossen, and Amna Khalid respond to ‘On the Media’ free speech critiques
September 16, 2021 04:10 - 1 hour - 70.4 MBLast month, On the Media, a popular radio program from New York City’s WNYC, aired an episode that questioned free speech values and challenged so-called “free speech absolutism.” On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Matt Taibbi, Nadine Strossen, and Amna Khalid, who provide direct responses to many of the free speech critiques made in On the Media’s program. Show notes: Transcript On the Media’s free speech episode: “Constitutionally Speakin...
Ep. 143 Politics and thought reform in K-12 education
September 02, 2021 04:10 - 52 minutes - 48 MBAre America’s schools becoming too political? FIRE’s Director of High School Programs argues, “Yes.” Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder is an educator with over 20 years of experience, and she’s worried by what she sees. Amidst controversies surrounding so-called critical race theory, school walkouts, and standardized tests, Snyder increasingly hears reports of children “being indoctrinated, bullied, and harassed by their fellow students and teachers for not falling into line on various topics.” ...
Ep. 142 Alfred Hitchcock and Hollywood’s Production Code
August 12, 2021 04:10 - 45 minutes - 42.2 MBHollywood’s Motion Picture Production Code, popularly referred to as the Hays Code, loomed over films in every stage of movie production from 1934 to 1968. Scripts were reviewed and altered. Actors and filmmakers were forced to redo entire scenes. Editors were asked to cut dialogue and scenes from films. Music was changed. Ultimately, directors had to be cognizant of the censors at all times. In this episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we interview three prominent guests to tr...
Ep. 141 Morris Ernst, Free Speech Renegade
July 29, 2021 04:10 - 46 minutes - 42.4 MBMorris Ernst may be the most influential free speech lawyer you’ve never heard of. He was the longtime general counsel for the ACLU, helped found the National Lawyers Guild, and just about single-handedly whittled away at obscenity laws in the United States — even litigating the famous “Ulysses” case, which overturned a 13-year ban on James’ Joyce’s renowned novel. But he was an enigma: A staunch anti-communist and sometimes red-baiter, a close confidant of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, an...
Ep. 140 Free speech, psychology, and madness
July 15, 2021 04:10 - 1 hour - 74.6 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Stetson University Professor of Psychology Christopher J. Ferguson for a wide-ranging conversation about the psychology of censorship, the role of madness and eccentricity in shaping history, the effects of social media, the growing polarization and politicization of modern institutions, including academia, and more. Ferguson is the author of the new book “How Madness Shaped History: An Eccentric Array of Maniacal...
Ep. 139 Mahanoy v. B.L. Supreme Court ruling analysis
June 24, 2021 20:10 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBThis week, the United States Supreme Court vindicated the First Amendment rights of a high school cheerleader who was punished for a salty Snapchat she sent outside of school. It was a resounding victory for free speech advocates and the first time the Supreme Court has considered a high school free speech case since its disappointing 2007 ruling in Morse v. Frederick. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we analyze the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mahanoy Area School...
Ep. 138 A history of Western censorship with Eric Berkowitz
June 17, 2021 04:10 - 1 hour - 73.3 MBSocrates’ fateful hemlock. Henry VIII’s death decree for those who imagined his downfall. The 1836 “Gag Rule” banning slavery discussions in Congress. Britain’s early ban on films criticizing Hitler and Stalin. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by lawyer and writer Eric Berkowitz to discuss his fascinating new book, “Dangerous Ideas: A Brief History of Censorship in the West, from the Ancients to Fake News.” Berkowitz’s “Dangerous Ideas” is a comp...
Ep. 137 The Constitution of Knowledge with Jonathan Rauch
June 03, 2021 04:10 - 1 hour - 67.6 MBWhat differentiates Albert Einstein from a madman? How do we turn disagreement into knowledge? How do we know what’s true in a world filled with disinformation, conspiracy theories, trolling, and social media pile-ons? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Jonathan Rauch to discuss his new book “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” which is set for release on June 22, 2021. Also joining the conversa...
Ep. 136 Comic book panic!
May 20, 2021 04:10 - 42 minutes - 38.9 MBRebellion! Crime! Juvenile delinquency! On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, producer Chris Maltby explores the rise of comic books in the early 20th century and the moral panic, book burnings, and censorship that followed. Show notes: “The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare And How It Changed America” by David Hajdu “The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder” by Bob Corn-Revere “A National Disgrace” by Sterling North “Puddles of Blood,” ...
Ep. 135 Are education schools secretly driving campus censorship?
May 06, 2021 04:10 - 1 hour - 55.6 MBAre education schools secretly driving campus censorship? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Lewis & Clark Associate Professor of English Lyell Asher to discuss his 2018 article for the Chronicle of Higher Education, “How Ed Schools Became a Menace.” Also joining the conversation is FIRE President & CEO Greg Lukianoff, co-author of the bestseller “The Coddling of the American Mind.” Show notes: Transcript “Educating School Leaders” by Art...
Ep. 134 A cheerleader’s free speech case lands at the Supreme Court
April 22, 2021 04:10 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBNinth grader Brandi Levy was frustrated when she didn’t make her high school’s varsity cheerleading team so she posted an intemperate video about it on Snapchat to her 250 “friends.” Four years later, that video, which led to her suspension from the junior varsity cheer team, will take center stage at the United States Supreme Court. Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. is a case that University of Florida Professor Frank LoMonte says will determine “the future of student free speech.”...
[FIXED] Ep. 133 University of Wisconsin Professor Donald Downs
April 12, 2021 13:15 - 1 hour - 66.8 MBEditor's note: A previously published version of this episode featured an incorrect audio file for a different FIRE podcast. The error has been fixed and the correct audio file uploaded. We apologize for the error. Retired University of Wisconsin Professor Donald Downs is a legendary champion of free speech and academic freedom. But before he became one of the country’s preeminent defenders of these values, he wrote a book that challenged prevailing free speech arguments. On today’s epis...
Ep. 133 University of Wisconsin Professor Donald Downs
April 08, 2021 04:10 - 1 hour - 66.8 MBRetired University of Wisconsin Professor Donald Downs is a legendary champion of free speech and academic freedom. But before he became one of the country’s preeminent defenders of these values, he wrote a book that challenged prevailing free speech arguments. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Professor Downs to discuss his journey from somewhat of a free speech skeptic to one of its most fervent defenders. Transcript Free Speech and Liberal ...
Ep. 132 Academic Freedom Alliance with Keith Whittington
March 25, 2021 04:10 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we discuss the newly formed Academic Freedom Alliance, which is a union of American college faculty members dedicated to protecting faculty expressive and academic freedom rights. Keith E. Whittington is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics in the Department of Politics at Princeton University. Professor Whittington is the chair of AFA’s Academic Committee. He also is a member of FIRE’s Board of Directors. Transcri...
Ep. 131 ‘Incitement’ with David L. Hudson Jr.
March 08, 2021 05:10 - 39 minutes - 36.5 MBThere are very few exceptions to the First Amendment, and “incitement to imminent lawless action” is one of them. In the wake of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial over his alleged incitement of the Jan. 6 violence at the U.S Capitol, this obscure legal doctrine has captured headlines. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we discuss the incitement doctrine, and whether Trump’s Jan. 6 speech amounted to incitement, with First Amendment scholar and FIRE...
Ep. 130 Stonewalling by the University of California
February 25, 2021 05:10 - 18 minutes - 17.5 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we explore a multi-year public records odyssey at the University of California, Los Angeles involving former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a campus appearance, administrative stonewalling, and, finally, a successful lawsuit filed by FIRE. And, on the eve of Student Press Freedom Day, we learn about the challenges student journalists face accessing public records in the University of California system and why access to such r...
Ep. 129 ‘The Fight for Free Speech’ with Ian Rosenberg
February 11, 2021 05:10 - 50 minutes - 46 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by media lawyer Ian Rosenberg to discuss his new book, “The Fight for Free Speech: Ten Cases That Define Our First Amendment Freedoms.” Rosenberg is assistant chief counsel at ABC, Inc., where he has provided pre-broadcast counsel for ABC News clients on libel, newsgathering, intellectual property, and FCC regulatory issues since 2003. Show notes: Transcript www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https:...
Ep. 128 John McWhorter says academics are really, really worried
January 28, 2021 05:10 - 45 minutes - 42 MBLast summer, Columbia University Professor John McWhorter wrote that he was receiving missives almost daily “from professors living in constant fear for their career because their opinions” are incompatible with campus orthodoxies. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we catch up with McWhorter to discuss how the culture has changed (or not) since The Atlantic published his article, “Academics Are Really, Really Worried About Their Freedom.” McWhorter is a member of...
Ep. 127 What happened to American childhood? with Kate Julian and Greg Lukianoff
January 14, 2021 15:07 - 57 minutes - 53.3 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by senior editor at The Atlantic Kate Julian and FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff to discuss rising rates of childhood depression, anxiety, and suicide. How might these trends be connected to the way we parent our kids — and what do they mean for our wider society and for campus free speech? Kate is the author of the 2020 Atlantic cover story, “What Happened To American Childhood?,” and this conversation is p...
Ep. 126 Free speech after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
January 12, 2021 16:16 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Reason Magazine Senior Editor Robby Soave and FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff to discuss the Washington, DC Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021 and the effect it has had — and will have — on free speech, particularly speech on the internet. Robby is the author of the forthcoming book “Tech Panic.” www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://...
Ep. 125 National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke
December 10, 2020 05:10 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino is joined by the editor of NationalReview.com, Charles C.W. Cooke, to discuss free speech philosophy, Christopher Hitchens, the October murder of a school teacher in France, and recent attacks on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Show notes: Transcript “Hate Speech and the Limits of Free Expression,” a Kenyon College panel (video) “What ‘Snowflakes’ Get Right About Free Speech” by Ulrich Baer ...
Ep. 124 ‘Burning the Books’ with Richard Ovenden
December 01, 2020 05:10 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino is joined by Richard Ovenden to discuss his new book, “Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge.” Ovenden is the Director of the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Balliol College. In 2019, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire. Show notes: Transcript www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Lik...
Ep. 123 Campus mobs, heckler’s vetoes, racial segregation, and a rogue student government!
November 13, 2020 00:09 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by FIRE’s Robert Shibley and Adam Goldstein to discuss recent cases of censorship — and a case of racial segregation — on campus. Show notes: Teaching history not permitted: St. John’s bulldozes academic freedom, punishes professor for posing question about ‘Columbian Exchange’ Portland’s Lewis & Clark College mandates racial segregation in orientation programming Dear University of North Texas: The ‘Heckler’...
Ep. 122 U.S Constitution masterclass with Judge Douglas Ginsburg
October 29, 2020 04:10 - 44 minutes - 41.3 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Senior Circuit Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg for a masterclass on the history of the U.S. Constitution. Judge Ginsburg was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1986 and served as that court’s Chief Judge from 2001-2008. He is also a Professor of Law at George Mason University and the host of the new PBS television series about the U.S. Constitution, “A More or Less Perfect U...
Ep. 121 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards
October 15, 2020 18:56 - 41 minutes - 38 MBSince 1980, the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards have recognized those who go above and beyond to protect and enhance First Amendment rights. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Christie Hefner, who founded and chairs the awards, to discuss the awards’ origins and this year’s awardees in the categories of law, book publishing, journalism, arts & entertainment, education, and lifetime achievement. From 1988 to 2008, Christie Hefner — daughter ...
Ep. 120.1 Mighty Ira documentary watch-along
October 12, 2020 22:44 - 1 hour - 98.5 MBWatch-along as Co-Director Nico Perrino narrates the new documentary film about the life and career of former ACLU Executive Director Ira Glasser, “Mighty Ira: A Civil Liberties Story.” Show notes: MightyIra.com Watch Mighty Ira in virtual cinema through Angelika Film Center www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: [email protected]
Ep. 120 ‘Mighty Ira’ Glasser
October 12, 2020 22:41 - 1 hour - 60.7 MBFormer ACLU Executive Director Ira Glasser discusses the new film about his life and career, “Mighty Ira: A Civil Liberties Story.” The film, now in “virtual cinema,” makes the case for robust free speech protections amidst the “tough” cases, including the 1978 Skokie case and Charlottesville. Along the way, viewers will also learn about Glasser’s growing up in Brooklyn, his friendship with William F. Buckley Jr., his path to the ACLU, which led through Senator Bobby Kennedy’s office, and m...
Ep. 119 2020 College Free Speech Rankings
October 01, 2020 04:10 - 49 minutes - 45.8 MBOn today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, FIRE Senior Research Fellow Sean Stevens joins us to discuss the “2020 College Free Speech Rankings: What’s the Climate for Free Speech on America’s College Campuses?” The rankings are based on the largest free speech survey of college students ever performed, which collected the views of 20,000 students. We discuss the best and worst colleges for free speech and other interesting data points from the survey: For example, 31% of ...