So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

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 ap...

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...

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 fascinati...

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...

"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...

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 Wrigh...

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 Univer...

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: sotospeak@thefire.org

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 "T...

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 ne...

In 1999, criminal defense attorney Harvey Silverglate joined with University of Pennsylvania Professor Alan Charles Kors to found the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we connect with Silverglate at his office in Cambridge, Mass. to discuss FIRE's founding, the origins of his interest in campus civil liberties, and what he s...

On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , journalist Kevin Williamson joins us to discuss his new book, " The Smallest Minority: Independent Thinking in the Age of Mob Politics ." Williamson is the roving correspondent for National Review and co-host of the podcast Mad Dogs & Englishmen . Show notes: Podcast transcript " When the Twitter Mob Came for Me " by Kevin Williamson FIR...

One year ago this week, "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure" was published. On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we sit down with FIRE President & CEO Greg Lukianoff, who co-authored the book with Jonathan Haidt, to reflect on what's changed — or hasn't changed — in the intervening year. Show notes: T...

On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we are joined by Knight First Amendment Institute Litigation Director Alex Abdo to discuss free speech, privacy, and President Donald Trump's Twitter account. Show notes: Podcast transcript " Why Rely on the Fourth Amendment To Do the Work of the First? " " Knight Institute v. Trump — lawsuit challenging President Trump's blocking of cri...

Last fall, three writers and scholars announced they had submitted 20 fake papers to academic journals to test whether  — as they suspected — certain fields of study lacked scientific and academic rigor. Of the 20 papers they submitted before revealing their hoax, seven were accepted, four published, seven were "still in play," and six were retired. The result is what's become known as the "Grieva...

National Review senior writer and former FIRE President David French has become an "-ism."  On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , French joins us to discuss "David French-ism" and " the battle dividing conservatives " over civil liberties. Also joining us is FIRE's current President & CEO Greg Lukianoff, author of The New York Times bestseller "The Coddling of the American M...

His office door was vandalized. He was accused of causing "harm" to his "college community." There was even a demand — supported by dozens of his faculty peers — to review his tenure. Why? Because he wrote an op-ed in The New York Times arguing for more viewpoint diversity at his campus. On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , Sarah Lawrence College professor Samuel Abrams joi...

Community libraries have always been a target for would-be censors — and the past few months are no exception. On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we explore past and present challenges to library content, and the unique role libraries play historically as bastions for free inquiry. We are joined by James LaRue , an award-winning librarian and the former director of the Am...

The Constitution grants Congress the power "[t]o promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." However, figuring out how Congress actually does this can be confusing. Copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, fair use? What do they all mean? Today's episode of So to Sp...

On today's episode of So to Speak , we are joined by Williams College Professor of Biology Luana Maroja . Professor Maroja's experience growing up under a dictatorship in Brazil led her to become an outspoken advocate for free speech at Williams College and a skeptic of the idea that words are violence. Show notes: Podcast transcript Relevant writings from Professor Maroja: " Freedom of speech at...

On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we are joined by Wen Fa , an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation who regularly litigates free speech cases. One of his most high-profile cases was the 2018 Supreme Court case Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, dealing with a polling-place dress code in Minnesota. Show notes: Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky Ostrewich v. Traut...

" I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness." So begins Allen Ginsberg's famous poem " Howl ." You might be familiar with Allen Ginsberg. You might be familiar with the poem. But chances are you don't know about the efforts in San Francisco in 1957 to censor the poem. On today's episode of So to Speak , we discuss those efforts with distinguished First Amendment scholar and recurr...

On today's episode of So to Speak , we sit down with Cato Institute Senior Fellow Mustafa Akyol to discuss threats to freedom of thought and expression around the world, with a particular focus on situations in Turkey and China. Akyol has been described by CNN's Fareed Zakaria as "Turkey's finest political analyst." Prior to joining Cato, he was a senior fellow at The Freedom Project at Wellesley...

On today's episode of So to Speak , we ask the question, "can free speech be progressive?" Our guest is Louis Michael Seidman . He is the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown Law and the author of the much-discussed 2018 Columbia Law Review article " Can Free Speech Be Progressive? " Click here for a transcript of the podcast. www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitt...

On today's episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast , we speak with Techdirt.com founder and editor Mike Masnick. Since founding Techdirt in 1997, Masnick has written nearly 50,000 blog posts for the publication and covered many of tech's hottest free speech controversies. He even coined the phrase " Streisand Effect ." In this conversation, we discuss some of the issues Masnick has recentl...