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My True Crime Obsession Nov 18, 2021

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I’m Paige Fernandez, the ACLU’s Policing Policy Advocate and I’m so excited to be taking the At Liberty reins for the next month. I have a confession to make: I have had a true crime obsession most of my life. My job at the ACLU and my organizing work and personal beliefs may make this surprising. I spend my time working to help communities divest from their local police forces and I talk openly about how abolition, to me, feels like the best solution to ending our carceral punishment system and police violence. These two interests feel at odds with each other, but I can’t quite figure out what it is about true crime media that has me so hooked. It’s made me wonder what its popularity has on the American psyche, particularly as it relates to our views on the criminal legal system and policing. That’s why I’m so thrilled to have Kelli Boling joining us today. Kelli is an Assistant Professor of Advertising and Public Relations in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After 12 years as a marketing and advertising executive in North and South Carolina, Boling received her Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina in Mass Communication. Her research focuses on the audience reception of media, specifically media depiction and reception by traditionally marginalized audiences based on race and gender.

Judy Heumann on Disability Discrimination and The Fight For Rights Nov 11, 2021

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Today we are running a conversation between Amber Hikes, the ACLU’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and disability rights icon Judy Heumann on CVS v. Doe, a case that the Supreme Court was set to hear on Dec 8. The case threatened to attack the very foundation of disability rights laws, specifically by threatening Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. If CVS had pursued the case and won, people with disabilities would no longer have the ability to sue for discrimination that is based on ignorance as opposed to animus, or actual intent to harm. In this conversation, Judy discusses the disability rights laws we’ve fought for and won and explains why disability discrimination is consistently questioned by both the general public and the courts. Yesterday CVS reached a settlement likely thanks to the pressure of disability advocates over the past few weeks. Though this case will no longer be heard by the Court, we’re running this conversation, recorded late last week, because the argument that CVS presented has been seen in copycat arguments in different cases across the country. This issue is likely to get to the Supreme Court in some form soon. For more information on these kinds of cases, follow the ACLU across social and subscribe to our email list. We’ll keep you updated.

Can the Government Wrongfully Spy on You and Get Away With It? Nov 04, 2021

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This week, we are bringing you a story about an upcoming Supreme Court case: FBI v. Fazaga, set to be argued on November 8th. This case will have big implications on the ability for private citizens who have been wrongfully surveilled by the U.S. government to seek redress for the infringement on their personal privacy and the damages associated. There’s a lot to dig into here, both about the case itself and also about the backdrop of the case, the 20th anniversary of the Patriot Act, an act that made it easier for Muslim Americans to be surveilled after 9/11. Joining us on this episode are Sheikh Yassir Fazaga, our client in the case, and Patrick Toomey, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU’s National Security Project.

Special Edition: Texas Abortion Ban at the Supreme Court Nov 02, 2021

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On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases challenging Texas’ ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy known as SB 8 -- one case brought by the ACLU and our partner organizations on behalf of abortion providers, Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson, and a separate case brought by the Department of Justice, United States v. Texas. The rulings will determine whether or not abortion providers and the Department of Justice are entitled to challenge SB 8 as the law was written purposefully to skirt federal judicial review. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court declined to rule on an emergency request to block SB 8, allowing the ban to take effect on September 1st. Since then, the majority of Texans seeking abortions have been unable to access them in the state. What does this all mean for the future of SB 8 and abortion access in the U.S. at large? That remains to be seen. There are so many unanswered questions. Brigitte Amiri, Deputy Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project joins us to help break it all down. Plus, we hear from demonstrators Kenya Martin and MJ Flores rallying right outside of the Supreme Court building. If you’d like to support our right against forced pregnancy, you can donate at www.aclu.org/access. We really appreciate the support.

The Biden Administration's Immigration Double Talk Oct 28, 2021

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Last month, horrifying images hit the news: border patrol agents on horses were seen whipping Haitian migrants. This was the latest in a long line of anti-immigrant practices that have emboldened border patrol over the last few years. Some of these practices include the invocation and overuse of Title 42, a policy that closed the borders due to public health concerns and the transmission of COVID, Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy that forces asylum seekers to wait for their hearings in Mexico, and the vast expansion of privately owned ICE detention facilities. Biden campaigned on fixing the immigration system and his administration has consistently touted their disapproval of Trump-era immigration policies. Even Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, has been honest about the state of immigration affairs, calling it a “completely broken system.” But when we look critically at the administration's positive immigration reform, we see that words and actions aren’t lining up. What’s it going to take to move the needle on immigration reform during the Biden era? Have we made any headway since Trump left office? Here to answer these questions and more is Cecillia Wang, Deputy Legal Director here at ACLU and the Director of the ACLU’s Center for Democracy.

Finding Trans Joy Through Sports Oct 21, 2021

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More than 100 anti-trans bills have been levied in states across the country this year. These bills range from blocking trans youth from seeking healthcare to banning trans students from participating in school sports. In Texas, lawmakers are getting ready to move forward House Bill 25, the law that will change the landscape of sports for trans people in the state. For Schuyler Bailar, former division one NCAA swimmer, these threats and discrimination are familiar. As the first openly transgender man to compete at his level in college athletics, he’s had to break boundaries both within institutions and within public opinion to be allowed to compete and be seen as a competitor. Those trying to ban trans students from school sports often center the debate on trans women with claims rooted in transphobia — and refuted by scientific experts — that trans women have an unfair advantage. One of the additional consequences of the focus on this argument is that we hear less from athletes who are trans men. This gap in perspective is one of many reasons we are excited to have Schuyler with us.

Glitch in the Code: Black Girls and Algorithmic Justice Oct 14, 2021

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Imagine you’ve forgotten once again the difference between a gorilla and a chimpanzee, so you do a quick Google image search of “gorilla.” But instead of finding images of adorable banana-obsessed animals, photos of a Black couple show up. Is this just a glitch in the algorithm? Or, is Google an ad company, not an information company, that’s replicating the discrimination of the world it operates in? How can this discrimination be addressed and who is accountable for it? Our guest today, UCLA professor, MacArthur Fellow, and best-selling author of “Algorithms of Oppression,” Dr. Safiya Noble answers some of these questions. This week's episode comes from the At Liberty archive.

This Fall's Fight Against Forced Pregnancy Oct 07, 2021

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2021 is shaping up to be one of the most devastating years for abortion access in decades. State legislatures have enacted a blitz of new anti-abortion legislation. As of September 1st, when Texas’s six-week abortion ban went into effect, abortion has become functionally illegal in the state. The law, which deputizes citizens to sue anyone involved in abortion care, has emboldened other states to introduce copy cat bills, threatening to make it near-impossible to access an abortion in parts of the country. The Supreme Court is gearing up to hear challenges to some of these state laws including a case from Mississippi that directly challenges the 1973 precedent set in Roe v. Wade. Given the court’s conservative super majority, many legal experts are warning that access to abortion may hang on Congressional action. The Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill that could legally enshrine the right to abortion care, passed the House on September 24th but faces a battle in the Senate. To discuss the state of abortion rights and to preview what’s to come this fall, we’re joined by 3 experts leading the legal dialogue: Melissa Murray, constitutional and family law professor at NYU Law and co-host of Strict Scrutiny, Imani Gandy, senior editor at the Rewire News Group and co-host of the podcast Boom! Lawyered, and our very own Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project.

Climate Change Is a Racial Justice Issue Sep 30, 2021

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Over the last couple of months, climate disasters have erupted around the world. In the US alone, we’ve seen wildfires in the west, tornadoes in the midwest, and hurricanes pummeling the Gulf and East Coasts. The environments we live in have become hostile to our health, our livelihood, and our community. Many have been forced to leave their homes and some will never be able to return. Globally, nearly 24 million people have been displaced due to climate effects since 2008. But this issue, both in the U.S. and around the world, isn’t impacting everyone equally. Black, Brown, and Indigenous people are disproportionately impacted by climate change. This is a racial justice issue, an immigration issue, and an indigenous rights issue. Shamyra Lavigne and Devi Lockwood talk to us to better understand how climate change intersects with other forms of injustice.

Blues Musician Takes On White Supremacy One KKK Member at a Time Sep 23, 2021

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As the political divide deepens through disinformation campaigns about the election results, vaccines, 9/11, and more, it can feel like unity and consensus are shrinking on the horizon. And yet, the only way to address the pandemic or the fault lines in our democracy is if we can bridge the divide and find an enclave of common ground. Our guest today has decades of experience finding common ground and, in some cases, persuading people to change their minds about deeply held beliefs. Daryl Davis is a Blues musician by profession, but has devoted a lifetime to reaching out to KKK members and starting a dialogue. Since he began the work, he has persuaded over 200 KKK members to leave the organization. He joins us to discuss how he manages to persuade people to abandon long-held beliefs and how these tactics might help the national crisis of polarization.

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