So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 195 'Don't Tread on Me,' misgendering, cancel culture, and three strikes for Texas Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff and FIRE General Counsel Ronnie London join the show to preview Greg's new co-authored book on cancel culture and to discuss recent free speech cases and headlines:

Transcript: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-podcast-transcript-dont-tread-me-misgendering-cancel-culture-and-three

"The Canceling of the American Mind," by Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott (out Oct. 17)

Colorado public school to allow student to display Gadsden flag patch — as long as nobody complains

California library violates First Amendment, boots speakers for referring to transgender women as 'biological men'

Police stage 'chilling' raid on Marion County newspaper, seizing computers, records and cellphones

Federal judge: Texas Law Mandating Age Verification for Sexually Themed Sites Violates First Amendment (Court Also Strikes Down "Public Health Warning" for Porn Sites)

Judge blocks Arkansas law requiring parental OK for minors to create social media accounts

Federal judge bars Texas from enforcing book rating law

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Ep. 194 Harvey Silverglate, the beatnik criminal defense attorney Aug 24, 2023

Show notes

Harvey Silverglate is a criminal defense and civil liberties attorney. He is also the co-founder of FIRE.

On today's show, Harvey defends the work of criminal defense attorneys, explaining why even guilty people must have the right to a robust legal defense. He also shares stories from his life, from growing up in Brooklyn to defending Vietnam War protesters to co-founding FIRE.

Transcript

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Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Ep. 193 Can you still have a debate in high school debate? Aug 10, 2023

Show notes

High school debate is considered an ideal extracurricular activity for aspiring lawyers, politicians, or anyone seeking to learn the tools of effective communication and persuasion. But a slew of recent reports argue that high school debate is being captured by political ideology, rendering certain arguments off-limits, some debate topics undebatable, and ad hominem attacks fair game.

Debate judges disclose their judging paradigms by saying things like, "I will listen to conservative-leaning arguments, but be careful," or, "Before anything else, including being a debate judge, I am a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist. . . . I cannot check the revolutionary proletarian science at the door when I'm judging." Some debates even devolve into personal attacks, spurred on by judges who say they "will consider indictments of an opponent on the basis that they have done [or] said something racist, gendered, [or] -phobic in their personal behavior."

On today's show, we're joined by two former high school debaters who are dismayed by these trends. James Fishback is the founder of Incubate Debate, which hosts free debate tournaments for students in Florida. Matthew Adelstein is a rising sophomore studying philosophy at the University of Michigan and publishes Bentham's Newsletter, a newsletter about utilitarianism.

Show notes:

Transcript of episode
"Part I: At high school debates, debate is no longer allowed" by James Fishback
"Part II: At high school debates, watch what you say" by James Fishback
"How critical theory is radicalizing high school debate" by Maya Bodnick
Nico's current reading list on critical theory: "Grand Hotel Abyss" by Stuart Jeffries and "America's Cultural Revolution" by Christopher F. Rufo

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Ep. 192 Free speech at the Supreme Court Jul 27, 2023

Show notes

We review the Supreme Court's free speech cases during the 2022-23 term and speculate on what's in store for the next term. FIRE Vice President of Litigation Darpana Sheth guest hosts and is joined by FIRE Chief Counsel Robert Corn-Revere and FIRE General Counsel Ronnie London.

This episode was recorded before a virtual live audience on July 20. Watch a video of the conversation.

Transcript

Cases discussed:

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Ep. 191 Civil liberties and Civil War Jul 13, 2023

Show notes

In the last episode of the "So to Speak" podcast, we traced the dramatic story of free speech in the United States from colonial America to the abolitionists' campaign to abolish slavery. In this week's episode, we pick up where we left off and explore the complicated history and legacy of civil liberties during the American Civil War.

Professor and author Joseph R. Fornieri and FIRE Chief Counsel Robert Corn-Revere join the show this week to unpack Abraham Lincoln's justifications for suspending civil liberties and the important lesson that, in war, civil liberties can be hard to uphold, and our rights can be difficult to defend.

Show notes:

Transcript
"Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction" by Allen Guelzo
"Lincoln's First Amendment Record" by Eve Errickson (The Lincoln Cottage)
"The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties" by Mark E. Neeley, Jr.
"All the Laws but One: Civil Liberties in Wartime" by William H. Rehnquist
"Did Abraham Lincoln Exceed His Presidential Powers during the Civil War?" (The Bill of Rights Institute)
"Lincoln and Civil Liberties" (The Gilder-Lehrman Institute)

Join FIRE on July 20th at 3:00 PM EST for a special live-streamed episode of the "So to Speak" podcast about the Supreme Court's free speech decisions from this past term.

Hear from FIRE's Darpana Sheth, Bob Corn-Revere, and Ronnie London on what these decisions mean for free expression, (and maybe even for you), and ask the panel anywhatever burning questions you may have. You can register here.

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Ep. 190 Free speech and Abolitionism Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Last Constitution Day, we traced the origins of free speech in the United States from colonial America to the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791. In this episode, we jump forward to the antebellum period, where abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, John Quincy Adams, William Lloyd Garrison, and Angelina Grimké clashed with pro-slavery advocates over the monumental issue of slavery.

Journalist and author Damon Root, FIRE Senior Fellow Jacob Mchangama, and Washington and Lee University professor Lucas Morel join the show this week to explore how free speech and the free press became the essential tools in the abolitionists' campaign for freedom.

Show notes:

Transcript
"Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media" by Jacob Mchangama
"Glorious Liberty: Frederick Douglass and the Fight for an Anti-Slavery Constitution" by Damon Root
"Speaking the Truth" by Lucas Morel (Persuasion)
"A Plea for Free Speech in Boston" by Federick Douglass (National Constitution Center)
"Frederick Douglass" (The First Amendment Encyclopedia)
"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass (Teaching American History)
"With the Freedom of Speech, the Responsibility to Listen" (Ford Foundation)

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Ep. 189 Why should we care about punk rock? Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

Nico knows very little about punk rock. On today's show, Reason magazine's Nick Gillespie and FIRE Vice President of Communications Matt Harwood do their best to explain to Nico why he and other free speech advocates should care about punk rock.

Transcript: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-podcast-transcript-why-should-we-care-about-punk-rock

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Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Ep. 188 How to make a winning free speech argument Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

Winning in the court of public opinion is hard. On today's show, Ewing School founder Bob Ewing shares communications strategies that anyone — including free speech advocates — can use to win in the marketplace of ideas.

Prior to founding the Ewing School, Bob was director of communications for the Institute for Justice and pioneered a communications training program for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Bob is also the author of the Talking Big Ideas Substack, which Nico highly recommends.

Bob first shared his ideas on effective communication with host Nico Perrino over lunch in May 2013. Some of those ideas went on to shape FIRE's communications strategy for the next decade.

Transcript: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-podcast-transcript-how-make-winning-free-speech-argument

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Ep. 187 Dominion vs. Fox lawyers reflect on historic case May 15, 2023

Show notes

On April 18, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit stemming from allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The historic settlement came just before the trial was set to begin in a case many saw as having significant First Amendment implications. In this exclusive conversation, attorneys for Fox and Dominion join First Amendment attorney Lee Levine to reflect on what led to the case, its outcome, and the arguments they would have made had the case gone to trial.

Tom Clare is a founding partner of Clare Locke LLP and was counsel to Dominion. Dan Webb is co-executive chairman of Winston & Strawn and was counsel for Fox News.

The conversation was organized and presented by The First Amendment Salon on Tuesday, May 9.

Show notes:

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Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Ep. 186 Killer Mike on free speech, racial justice, and Rap on Trial Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

Rocking their tuxedos in preparation for the 2023 FIRE gala in New York City, Host Nico Perrino speaks with rapper and free speech advocate Killer Mike about his journey toward learning the value of free expression.

They also discuss the importance of free speech in American history, the value of engaging and arguing with those who disagree with us, why free speech was critical to gaining racial equality, defending rappers and artists being prosecuted for their lyrics, and why polarization is more dangerous than anything anybody can say.

The interview is followed by Killer Mike's keynote speech.

Watch Killer Mike's keynote speech at the 2023 FIRE Gala in New York City:

https://youtu.be/OBuXYtmQ8mw