On 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 Union, ...
Oct 29, 2020•45 min
Since 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 of Play...
Oct 15, 2020•41 min
Watch-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]...
Oct 12, 2020•1 hr 42 min
Former 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 mo...
Oct 12, 2020•1 hr 6 min
On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , FIRE Senior Research Fellow Sean Stevens joins us to discu ss 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 stude...
Oct 01, 2020•50 min
He is most widely known for his role as lead attorney in what’s simply become known as “the Skokie case.” But David Goldberger’s storied legal career goes far beyond his representation of neo-Nazis who wanted to rally in a village where a large number of Holocaust survivors lived. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we are joined by Goldberger to discuss his half century of practice in First Amendment law — including his four (successful) trips to the U.S. Supreme Court....
Sep 17, 2020•55 min
On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we are joined by FIRE’s Robert Shibley and Samantha Harris to discuss a whirlwind summer: FIRE has fielded a record number of requests for help, and this week the Department of Education’s much-anticipated new Title IX regulations go into effect. There’s also “cancel culture.” Show notes: FIRE’s recent cases “Law alone can’t protect free speech” by Greg Lukianoff and Adam Goldstein “In memoriam: Professor Mike Adams, 1964-2020” by Robe...
Aug 14, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Princeton Professor Peter Singer has been called “the world’s most influential living philosopher.” But he may be as controversial as he is influential. It’s perhaps fitting then that he is a founding editor of a new academic publication called the Journal of Controversial Ideas . The journal claims to be the world’s “first open access, peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal specifically created to promote free inquiry on controversial topics.” On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech...
Aug 05, 2020•44 min
On today’s episode of So to Speak , we are joined by PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel to discuss campus censorship, cancel culture, how different generations think about free speech, the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in 2015, and more. Nossel is the author of the forthcoming book, “ Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All. ” Show notes: Transcript Bari Weiss’ resignation letter ; Andrew Sullivan’s “farewell letter” for New York magazine So to Speak podcast: Debating “Is there a campus free speech ...
Jul 21, 2020•1 hr 6 min
As protests against racial injustice continue across America, colleges and universities are increasingly speaking out in support of the protests. What’s more, some are also taking action to investigate or punish faculty critical of the protesters’ perceived aims. What does this mean for academic freedom and freedom of speech? And does this signal a shift away from the idea, best exemplified by the University of Chicago’s Kalven Report , that there should be a “heavy presumption against the unive...
Jul 08, 2020•55 min
This episode is a rebroadcast from March 2017. “If you spend five minutes with your worst enemy, you will find you have something in common,” said Daryl Davis. “If you spend 10 minutes, you’ll find you even have more in common. And the more you find that you have in common and build upon those things, the less the things that you have in contrast will begin to matter, like skin color.” Since the early 90s, Davis, a black man, has taken up the curious pastime of befriending members of the Ku Klux...
Jun 24, 2020•40 min
During the summer of 2017, a fierce dispute over the removal of Confederate monuments in Charlottesville, Va. captured national attention. The events that summer led to racial animosity and heated debate over our nation’s history and the First Amendment, and threw one historic city into turmoil, ultimately culminating in death and tragedy during the weekend of Aug. 11. On today’s episode of So to Speak , we are joined by Rodney Smolla to reflect on what happened in Charlottesville. Smolla is Dea...
Jun 04, 2020•1 hr 1 min
A new FIRE report finds that 77% of public colleges and universities use a blacklist of secret words to censor comments on their Facebook pages. What’s more, 87% of them block particular users on Facebook or Twitter. How do these blacklists work? How were they discovered? And do they violate the First Amendment? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , host Nico Perrino is joined by the director of FIRE’s Individual Rights Defense Program, Adam Steinbaugh. He is the author of...
May 21, 2020•37 min
On Wednesday, the Department of Education published its long-awaited new Title IX regulations. Over the years — and with the federal government’s prodding — Title IX has been twisted and used to justify censorship and the denial of core due process rights for those accused of sexual misconduct on America’s college campus. The new regulations will better protect certain free speech and due process rights long denied to students. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , host Ni...
May 08, 2020•1 hr
With much of the country under stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19, what do these orders mean for the five freedoms of the First Amendment? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , host Nico Perrino and constitutional law expert Josh Blackman will break it all down. Blackman is a professor of law at the South Texas College of Law in Houston and the author of three books, including his recently co-authored book with Professor Randy E. Barnett, “An Introduction to Constitutiona...
Apr 28, 2020•37 min
For authoritarian leaders across the globe, the coronavirus emergency presents an opportunity to silence critics and consolidate power. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , host Nico Perrino is joined by international free expression experts Jacob Mchangama and Sarah McLaughlin to discuss how countries like Turkey, Hungary, Egypt, and Thailand are banning “fake news” amidst the pandemic — but, in doing so, are making the crisis worse. Mchangama is the executive director o...
Apr 16, 2020•50 min
How and why do authoritarian regimes seek to control information? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , host Nico Perrino is joined by University of Maryland Associate Professor Cynthia L. Martin to explore how one country, the former Soviet Union, restricted access to information and stifled dissent — and what changed when that regime collapsed in 1991. Show notes: Podcast transcript Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia Cato Inst...
Apr 02, 2020•1 hr 2 min
"Coronavirus and the failure of the ‘Marketplace of Ideas’" by Foundation for Individual Rights in Education President & CEO Greg Lukianoff, as read by Susan Kruth. 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]...
Mar 20, 2020•17 min
On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , host Nico Perrino sits down with FIRE President & CEO Greg Lukianoff to discuss how FIRE is adapting to the coronavirus outbreak. We also explore the ideas behind Greg’s new, widely discussed article, “ Coronavirus and the failure of the ‘Marketplace of Ideas’ .” Show notes: Transcript Greg’s “The Eternally Radical Idea” blog Abrams v. United States (1919) FIRE’s free speech high school curricula Yale’s “Woodward” report” on freedom of...
Mar 20, 2020•52 min
Why is it important that we protect freedom of speech? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , host Nico Perrino speaks with Duke University School of Law professor Joseph Blocher , who argues that one of the most common justifications for free speech — creating a “marketplace of ideas” in our search for truth — rests on unstable ground in our “post-truth” era. In his article, “ Free Speech and Justified True Belief ,” Blocher argues for a reframing of this epistemic theory ...
Mar 19, 2020•1 hr 14 min
At a time when artistic expression has never enjoyed greater First Amendment protection, rap music has seemingly been left behind. Rap lyrics are routinely used as evidence by police and prosecutors to justify arresting and charging suspects for all manner of alleged crimes. In their new book, “Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America,” authors Erik Nielson and Andrea L. Dennis identify approximately 500 cases where the violent and aggressive themes within rap lyrics were used against de...
Mar 05, 2020•56 min
Do violent video games make people more violent? Amid calls to censor or restrict access to violent video games because of their perceived contributions to violent events (such as school shootings), the question is as important as ever. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , host Nico Perrino explores this question. He is joined by FIRE’s resident video game expert (and FIRE staffer) Ryne Weiss and Villanova University professor Patrick M. Markey . Markey is the co-author w...
Feb 20, 2020•55 min
Is carrying a weapon during a political demonstration protected by the First Amendment? What about intentionally creating an addictive video game? Does the First Amendment’s press clause require the existence of news outlets? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we explore these three topics and more with First Amendment scholar Luke Morgan, who has written three fascinating articles that examine the scope of the First Amendment’s protections: “Leave your guns at home: Th...
Feb 06, 2020•1 hr 33 min
On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , host Nico Perrino is joined by his FIRE colleagues Robert Shibley, Samantha Harris, and Will Creeley to discuss: the firing of a faculty member at Babson College for a satirical Facebook post; the punishment of two students at the University of Connecticut for the use of a racial epithet; an executive order on antisemitism ; and upcoming regulations on Title IX . Recorded on Jan. 15. www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https...
Jan 22, 2020•57 min
“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we explore how America’s fear of communism in the early- to mid-20th century led to firings and blacklists in Hollywood, government, and higher education — and how these actions compromised America’s treasured principles of free speech, free conscience, free association, and due process of law. We are joined by Ellen Schrecker , a former professor at Yeshiva Universit...
Jan 02, 2020•1 hr 9 min
On today’s edition of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we celebrate 100 episodes by bringing back on the show popular past guests for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of free speech in America. Joining us are: Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow, Brookings Institution Nadine Strossen, professor, New York Law School, past president of the ACLU (1991-2008) Bob Corn-Revere, partner, Davis Wright Tremaine Greg Lukianoff, president & CEO, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education Show notes...
Dec 12, 2019•1 hr 31 min
On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we are joined by professor Dale E. Miller to discuss the life and philosophy of the English philosopher John Stuart Mill, whose 1859 essay “On Liberty” is a classic text — maybe the classic text — defending the principles of free expression. Miller is a professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies at Old Dominion University. He is the author of J.S. Mill: Moral, Social, and Political Thought . Show notes: Podcast tran...
Nov 26, 2019•1 hr 28 min
On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we are joined by William & Mary Law School Professor Timothy Zick to discuss his new book, “ The First Amendment in the Trump Era .” 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]...
Nov 14, 2019•1 hr 1 min
Does free speech exist? According to Cardozo Law Professor Stanley Fish, it does not. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we dig into what the colorful professor means by this assertion and discuss his forthcoming book, “ The First: How to Think About Hate Speech, Campus Speech, Religious Speech, Fake News, Post-Truth, and Donald Trump .” Show notes: Podcast transcript “There’s No Such Thing As Free Speech: And It’s a Good Thing, Too” by Stanley Fish “Areopagitica” by Jo...
Oct 31, 2019•1 hr 11 min
He brought 45 First Amendment cases to the United States Supreme Court between 1939 and 1955. His success rate before the court was second only to future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. He handled as many as 50 major cases a year and is responsible for much of the First Amendment doctrine we take for granted today. Who was this man — and why have most free speech scholars and activists never heard of him? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we discuss the life a...
Oct 17, 2019•48 min
