While I Breathe

During the rush to rig Congressional maps in May 2026, South Carolina delivered a rare piece of good news: We stopped the redistricting plan in its tracks (at least for now). We’re still processing how it all went down, but we know that South Carolinians from across the state and political spectrum played a part. Beyond the headlines about Trump and national politics, the winners of the redistrict...

From opening prayers to religious authoritarian laws to the pastors who show up to defend their transgender congregants, religion is an unavoidable fact in the South Carolina Statehouse. What does it mean when people from the same faith traditions find themselves at odds in the political arena? We've met some remarkable faith leaders and people of faith who joined us in the pursuit of civil libert...

What was Reconstruction, and why was it so radical in South Carolina? Historian Dr. Robert Greene II joins us to discuss the revolutionary expansion of democracy and civil rights that followed the Civil War, how it ended, and how we might pursue a new Reconstruction today. Check out Dr. Greene’s podcast Our New South and his work with the Modjeska Simkins School . Find him on Instagram and Threads...

South Carolina lawmakers are fast-tracking a bill that would discriminate against transgender students by forcing them into restrooms according to their sex assigned at birth or, possibly, into porta-potties. H. 4756 is a dangerous and insulting bill that applies to K-12 schools and colleges alike. We have the chance to reduce the harm before it passes.  In this emergency episode, we are joined by...

A forced ICE collaboration bill advances in the Statehouse. Public discontent grows against the mass deportation regime’s secretive moves in Columbia. And we launch a statewide campaign with faith leaders proclaiming a simple message: Immigrants are welcome here. Joining us on today’s episode is Dulce J. López, Immigrant Rights Advocacy Strategist at the ACLU of South Carolina.   Tell your state l...

South Carolina lawmakers started 2026 with a barrage of bills attacking our reproductive freedom, voting rights, free speech rights, and more. But even on the ugliest days of the legislative session, South Carolinians showed up, spoke out, and wrote in to their lawmakers demanding something better. How do we keep showing up for this work, and just as importantly, why? We get into it with advocacy...

Public funding of religious schools. A victory for the rights of young voters at the DMV. A green light for partisan gerrymandering. A total abortion ban stopped in its tracks. On this episode, Jace and Paul try to remember all the highlights and low points of 2025. No victory is final, and neither are the losses.   Governor Henry McMaster has sent National Guard troops to Washington D.C.  again ....

A total abortion ban is advancing in the South Carolina legislature. On today’s episode, we’re breaking down Senate Bill 323, which would equate abortion with homicide. Our guests are Courtney Thomas (Advocacy Director, ACLU of South Carolina) and Vicki Ringer (Director of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic).  Send a message to your lawmakers using this form:  https://www.aclusc.org...

As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) goes rogue and violates our civil liberties, South Carolinians are demanding that their local law enforcement agencies stop signing new ICE collaboration agreements under the 287(g) program. For the second half of our two-part series on the mass deportation agenda in our state, we’re headed to the Lowcountry to hear how locals are pushing back.   C...

On June 18 at a strip mall in a small town in the far Upstate of South Carolina, Homeland Security Investigations arrested 10 people at Puerto Nuevo, a popular Mexican restaurant. What really happened that day? And why is communication breaking down between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve in places like Oconee County? Today's episode explores the way the Trump administr...

A medically discredited practice known as “conversion therapy” seeks to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ+ people. Medical experts long ago reached the conclusion that this practice is harmful, and many of the leading founders of “ex-gay” organizations have apologized and renounced their own work in the past decade. So why are South Carolina’s most powerful politicians push...

You sent in questions for your transgender neighbors in South Carolina. Now we’re answering them. For the Season 2 premiere, we’re hosting a panel conversation with transgender South Carolinians from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. Eboni Sims (she/her), Sterling Misanin (he/him), and Gwenn McClune (she/her) share their joys, struggles, and insights as trans people living in the Palme...

Ever heard the name Howard Rich? How about Jeff Yass? You didn’t vote for them, but they and a handful of other out-of-state billionaires have been leading the push to fund private religious schools with public money in South Carolina.  On this episode we are joined by Professor Josh Cowen, author of the 2024 book The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers. As...

Even stricter abortion bans? Juvenile justice reform? Legalizing pinball for minors? All of these ideas and more are on the table as the South Carolina General Assembly prepares for its next session to begin in January 2025. We’ve been getting ready. Join us as we preview what’s to come. Music on this episode is by Daft Hartley. 

This episode is about a South Carolina law that discriminates against trans adults, trans youth, and the families of trans youth. We’re suing to defend the rights of our fellow South Carolinians.  The lawsuit is Misanin v. Wilson . Guests on today’s show are Executive Director Jace Woodrum and Staff Attorney Meredith McPhail. You can read more about our case here: https://www.aclusc.org/en/cases/m...

We're suing to end partisan gerrymandering in South Carolina. This week on the podcast we are joined by Lynn Teague, Vice President for Issues and Action with the League of Women Voters of South Carolina. When we said we'd keep fighting after the unfortunate 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Alexander v. SC NAACP in May, we really meant it. To read more about the case and find ways to joi...

Dr. Herb Silverman ran for governor of South Carolina to challenge the state’s unconstitutional religious oath requirement for public office. Today we are joined by Herb as well as Dr. Bonnie Cleaveland, a leader with the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry who has found herself tangled up in a fight over comprehensive sex education in the Charleston County School District.  Secular Coalition for...

Book banning fights used to be hyper-local affairs, argued and settled in county school board meetings. The current censorship wave seeks to impose ideological purity at the level of state government, and the self-appointed bookshelf cops have rich and powerful allies on their side.  Today we’re talking about local and statewide censorship battles with school librarian Katherine Freligh and ACLU-S...

There’s an old saying that South Carolina is too small for a republic but too large for an insane asylum. But what if there was a better way of thinking about our state’s problems? What if we knew our system of representative democracy was broken on purpose, and we could name the people who broke it? And what if we fought back?   On this episode, we’re diving deep on gerrymandering. Members of our...

May 9th, 2024, marked the end of a two-year legislative session in the South Carolina State House ... sort of. On this episode we dig into the bad bills that passed, the bad bills we stopped, and how we can fight back against a legislature that’s increasingly hostile to civil liberties.  One bill that is still live in the legislature is the classroom censorship bill, H. 3728. If you would like to...

Our guests are three people living with the consequences of South Carolina’s extreme anti-abortion law. They are Dr. Jessica Tarleton, an OB-GYN from South Carolina; and Emma and Zach Giglio, a married couple from Summerville who were forced to seek an abortion out of state. To sign the Repeal the Ban petition, visit aclusc.org/RepealTheBan Disclaimer: The participants in this podcast episode are...

Today we're going to housing court. South Carolina is in the midst of an eviction crisis, and special dockets within local courts have been set up to hear case after case of residential evictions. We'll listen in on some high-stakes, high-stress cases. On the second half of the episode, our guest is Charlotte Martin, a renter and organizer with the South Carolina Housing Justice Network. W...

The eviction crisis is ongoing in South Carolina. Our first guest today is Tony Jones, a student at the University of South Carolina School of Law who has a deeply frustrating story to share involving South Carolina's landlord-tenant laws. In the second half of the show, we have an interview with Michelle Mapp about what Eviction Right to Counsel means and how we can achieve it. Use this link...

Being homeless in the capital city of South Carolina means having your rights curtailed. Your daily decisions about where to sit, eat, or sleep are in part made up for you; your range of movement is limited; and your actions are closely monitored by police. One wrong move and you’re arrested, spending the night in one of the most dangerous jails in South Carolina. Being homeless in Columbia is, in...

“While I Breathe, I Hope.” It’s the state motto of South Carolina. It’s about surviving and fighting and overcoming despair. This is Paul Bowers from the ACLU of South Carolina, here to announce we’re starting a podcast. It’s called While I Breathe . It’ll be a wide-ranging program about the most important civil rights and civil liberties issues of our time. We’ll feature interviews with people li...