Beyond the First Podcast

In January 2025, a few days after President Trump signed his executive order attacking birthright citizenship, I wrote one of the first essays on this newsletter. It began with a sentence that was not really about law at all: My grandmother was very brave. I wrote those words because before I could explain the Fourteenth Amendment , before I could talk about United States v. Wong Kim Ark , before...

Leading up to the Fall 2026 elections, you will see the Democratic Party try to run two opposite campaigns at the same time. In the end, it won’t work. In Maine, the message is all about the bro culture. Graham Platner, who just won the Democratic Senate nomination , is being sold as the party’s answer to Donald Trump—a fighter who can’t (or I should say won’t) be embarrassed. Through primary day,...

When President Donald J. Trump was asked recently about the UFC arena rising on the South Lawn of the White House, he reached for an unexpected historical comparison . The Eiffel Tower, he noted, was originally intended to be temporary. Built for the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris, the structure was supposed to be dismantled after the exposition ended. Instead, it remained, eventually becoming perhaps...

At first glance, this may look like a conversation about religion and politics. I think it’s actually a much bigger conversation about democracy itself and what happens when political power starts sounding sacred. I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of religion in public life, especially in a free society that cherishes freedom of expression. Not because I’m uncomfortable with religion in publ...

Beyond the First Podcast, with First Amendment scholar Chris Terry. I’m going to say something that sounds dramatic, but I mean it plainly: 2025 is the year the internet’s First Amendment footing started to shift. It’s not because speech disappeared or because the government passed one giant “censorship law.” But because the Supreme Court signaled - quietly and almost politely - that the internet...

Hollywood isn’t just about making movies—it’s about crafting narratives, both on-screen and off. In previous episodes of Beyond the First , we’ve explored the Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni legal battle and the larger implications of defamation in the digital age . * In Episode 4 , we analyzed the legal mechanics of defamation , breaking down the claims at the heart of Lively and Baldoni’s lawsuit...

The rise of artificial intelligence has sparked a revolution in creative industries , from film and music to digital art and design. AI can generate stunning images, compose music, and even write scripts in mere seconds. But as these technologies advance, so do the ethical and legal dilemmas surrounding them. When human expression meets machine learning, fundamental questions emerge: Is AI expandi...

Every time you go online, your data is being collected, analyzed, and sold —often without your full awareness. The concept of “surveillance capitalism,” popularized by Harvard Professor Shoshana Zuboff , describes this phenomenon where personal data is extracted and monetized on an unprecedented scale. From search history to social media interactions, your digital footprint fuels an industry built...

High-profile lawsuits aren’t just fought in the courtroom—they’re litigated in the media and the court of public opinion. The legal battle surrounding It Ends With Us is a prime example of how defamation cases unfold in the digital age , where narratives are shaped as much by public relations strategies as they are by legal arguments. But what happens when reputation management collides with free...

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a futuristic fantasy—it’s here, shaping industries, influencing decisions, and redefining what it means to be human. But as AI tools become more powerful, ethical concerns are emerging at an alarming rate . Can AI truly be ethical, or does it simply reflect the biases of its creators? Who should be held accountable when AI makes decisions that impact society? A...

The internet has redefined communication, but it has also reshaped the way reputations are built—and destroyed. In today’s digital world, a single tweet, viral video, or misleading headline can cause irreparable harm. How do defamation laws apply in an era where falsehoods can spread faster than the truth? Has technology made it harder to differentiate between free speech and reputational harm? An...

In Hollywood, lawsuits often unfold like carefully scripted dramas, with every legal filing, public statement, and media leak contributing to a narrative that plays out in front of millions. The ongoing defamation dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni over the It Ends With Us film is no exception. While the case raises serious legal questions, it also highlights how public figures strate...

From banned books to campus speech restrictions, debates over the limits of free expression continue to shape American society. As government officials push for more control over classroom content and public institutions wrestle with how to regulate controversial speech, the boundaries of the First Amendment are being tested in new and complex ways. In this episode of Beyond the First , I sit down...

The U.S. government has long debated the potential ban of TikTok, citing national security risks. But how much of this is about genuine concerns over data privacy, and how much is political theater? In the second episode of Beyond the First , we examine whether the push to regulate TikTok is rooted in national security concerns or if it’s simply a convenient way for lawmakers to exert control over...

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept—it’s here, shaping industries and redefining creativity. As AI-generated content floods the internet, legal battles over copyright and ethical dilemmas around artistic integrity are intensifying. Can an AI truly create? Who owns the work it generates? And is the rapid rise of AI in creative industries a revolution or an existential threat t...