So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 185 Sex, drugs, and free speech (Bob Guccione Jr. and Nick Gillespie) Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

Does music censorship still happen in America? Is "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll" dead? Is transgression in art and culture celebrated anymore (or was it ever)? From Beyonce and Taylor Swift to Ozzy Osbourne and Robin Thicke, SPIN magazine founder Bob Guccione Jr. and Reason magazine Editor at Large Nick Gillespie join a lively discussion of our current moment in pop culture. Bob also shares some war stories from his fight against the Parents Music Resource Center in the 1980s.

Transcript: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-podcast-transcript-sex-drugs-and-free-speech

www.sotospeakpodcast.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freespeechtalk Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/ Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Ep. 184 What's going on in Florida? Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

What's going on in Florida? Host Nico Perrino and his FIRE colleagues break down the latest efforts to censor speech in the Sunshine State.

Show notes:

www.sotospeakpodcast.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freespeechtalk

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/

Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Ep. 183 The Stanford shout-down with David Lat Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

UPDATE: Just as this podcast was to be published, Stanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez sent a 10-page memorandum to the law school community outlining a path forward for the school, including updating school policies to prevent future speaker disruptions and mandatory student free speech training. She also announced that Associate Dean Tirien Steinbach is on leave.

–

The heckling began almost as soon as Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan started his invited lecture at Stanford Law School on March 9. Signs in the audience read "RESPECT TRANS RIGHTS," "FEDSUCK," "BE PRONOUN NOT PRO-BIGOT." What transpired over the next 40 minutes captured national headlines and raised questions about the state of free speech at America's law schools.

David Lat writes commentary about law and the legal profession for Original Jurisdiction. Until 2019, he was an editor at the legal news website Above the Law, which he founded. Prior to his journalism career, David was a practicing lawyer.

Show notes:

Transcript
"Yale Law is no longer #1 for free speech debacles" by David Lat
"7 updates on Judge Kyle Duncan and Stanford Law" by David Lat
"The full audio recording of Judge Kyle Duncan at Stanford Law" by David Lat
Transcript of Stanford administrator Dean Tirien Steinbach's remarks on March 9 at event featuring Fifth Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan
Email to Stanford Law School from Dean Jenny Martinez
Stanford apology letter to Judge Kyle Duncan
Flyers protesting Stanford law event
"Shouting down speakers is mob censorship" by Nadine Strossen and Greg Lukianoff
Kalven Committee: Report on the university's role in political and social action (University of Chicago report)

www.sotospeakpodcast.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freespeechtalk

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/

Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Ep. 182 Ilya Shapiro on Fox/Dominion and his 'cancel culture nightmare' Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

Ilya Shapiro joins the show to discuss the fireworks in the Fox/Dominion defamation lawsuit, his recent speaking appearance at the University of Denver, and his "cancel culture nightmare" at Georgetown University.

Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute. He previously (and briefly) served as executive director and senior lecturer at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution and as a vice president at the Cato Institute.

Shapiro will speak at FIRE's gala celebration in NYC on April 18. Reserve your tickets now at this link.

Show notes:

Transcript
"My cancel culture nightmare is over" by Ilya Shapiro
"Ilya Shapiro resigns from Georgetown following reinstatement after 122-day investigation of tweets" (featuring Ilya's resignation letter)
Ilya's Substack, Shapiro's Gavel
"Why the mental health of liberal girls sank first and fastest" by Jonathan Haidt

Ep. 181 New York Times v. Sullivan and its future Feb 23, 2023

Show notes

The seminal 1964 Supreme Court decision in New York Times v. Sullivan limited the ability of public officials to silence their critics by successfully suing them for defamation. Sullivan made "American public officials more accountable, the American media more watchful, and the American people better informed," said William Rehnquist, the late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. But Sullivan is increasingly under attack from politicians, activists, and even sitting Justices of the Supreme Court. They believe the decision went too far, enabling the news media and others to defame others with little-to-no consequence. On today's show, we are joined by lawyers Floyd Abrams (Cahill Gordon & Reindel), JT Morris (FIRE), and Matthew Schafer (Fordham Law) to discuss New York Times v. Sullivan and its future. Show notes:

Transcript
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
"Two Justices Say Supreme Court Should Reconsider Landmark Libel Decision" by Adam Liptak
"How to Restore Balance to Libel Law" by Glenn Reynolds
Florida HB 991, the anti-Sullivan bill
Matthew Schafer's tweet thread on Florida's HB 991
"New York Times v. Sullivan and the Forgotten Session of the US Supreme Court" by Matthew Schafer
"The Most Important Supreme Court Precedent for Freedom of the Press Is in Jeopardy" by Matthew Schafer and Jeff Kosseff

www.sotospeakpodcast.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freespeechtalk

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/

Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Ep. 180 Super Bowl free speech fumble Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

FIRE's Will Creeley and Aaron Terr join the show to discuss Phoenix, Arizona's unconstitutional "clean zone" for Super Bowl LVII, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's effort to get public school students to volunteer for her re-election campaign, recent polling on how much people really know about the First Amendment (sadly, not much), and Indiegogo, Kickstarter, and Crowdfundr canceling fundraisers for comic books they deemed politically unacceptable.

We also provide an update on the Hamline University Muhammad art censorship case.

Show notes:

Ep. 179 Artificial intelligence: Is it protected by the First Amendment? Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

What does the rise of artificial intelligence mean for the future of free speech and the First Amendment? Who is liable for what AI produces? Can you own a copyright for works produced by AI? Does AI itself violate intellectual property rights when it uses others' information to generate content? What about that Morgan Freeman "deep fake"? And is ChatGPT going to make all of our jobs irrelevant?

Show notes:

Transcript

Guests:

Eugene Volokh, professor at UCLA School of Law
David Greene, senior staff attorney and civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Alison Schary, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine

Ep. 178 The costs of offending religious sensitivities Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

A faculty member at Hamline University lost her job. Twelve staffers at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were murdered. And Salman Rushdie was repeatedly stabbed. All of them offended certain people's religious sensitivities.

On today's show, we are joined by Amna Khalid and Michael Moynihan to discuss the risks and costs of teaching, talking, writing, and creating art about religion, particularly Islam. We also discuss the recent #TwitterFiles reporting.

Amna Khalid is an associate professor of history at Carleton College and host of the podcast "Banished." Michael Moynihan is a writer, reporter, and co-host of "The Fifth Column" podcast.

Show notes:

Transcript
New York Times: "A Lecturer Showed a Painting of the Prophet Muhammad. She Lost Her Job." by Vimal Patel
The offending image
"Most of All, I Am Offended as a Muslim" by Amna Khalid
"Hamline Student Newspaper (the Oracle) Removed Published Defense of Lecturer Who Showed Painting of Muhammad" by Eugene Volokh
"We must stand up to Iran's threats to free speech" by FIRE's Sarah McLaughlin (reflecting on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks)
"Capsule Summaries of all Twitter Files Threads to Date, With Links and a Glossary" by Matt Taibbi

Ep. 177 Are Ann Coulter's words really 'violence'? Dec 21, 2022

Show notes

Do Ann Coulter's words equal "violence"? Does Emerson College care more about not offending the Chinese Communist Party than protecting student free speech rights? And are faculty political litmus tests back in vogue? FIRE's Alex Morey and Zach Greenberg join the show to discuss the latest in campus censorship.

Please support this show by donating to FIRE before the end of the year: thefire.org/support

Show notes:

Ep. 176 Can a graphic designer be compelled to design a website for a same-sex wedding? Dec 08, 2022

Show notes

Hot on the heels of oral argument in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, FIRE's Ronnie London and David Hudson join the show to discuss the case, as well as other high profile free speech cases at the Supreme Court this year.

Show notes:

www.sotospeakpodcast.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thefireorg Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/ Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected