Ep. 231: What is academic freedom? With Keith Whittington
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
Release Date: 12/12/2024
Ep. 260: Remembering ‘free-thinking’ writer Nat Hentoff
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
On January 7, 2017, The Associated Press announced that “Free-thinking author and columnist Nat Hentoff is dead at 91.” For well over 60 years, Hentoff was a one of America’s foremost public intellectuals and a familiar byline to free speech advocates and jazz aficionados. The First Amendment was a way of life for Nat Hentoff. He would have been 100 years old this year. To reflect on his life and legacy, we are joined by his son Nick Hentoff and filmmaker David Lewis, whose 2013 documentary, “,” explored Nat Hentoff’s embodiment of free expression as the defining characteristic of...
info_outline
Ep. 259: FIRE answers your questions
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
Changes at the Pentagon, Charlie Kirk and cancel culture, free speech and misinformation, globalized censorship, Indiana University, how to support FIRE, and more! Timestamps: 00:00 Introductions 02:11 What is the Press Clause, and who does it apply to? 05:53 FIRE’s position on Oklahoma student grading incident 08:50 What does FIRE need from besides financial support? 15:59 and what they mean 19:44 What is the latest on the ? 22:08 What is FIRE’s view on the ? 24:50 What is the value of small donations? How can FIRE supporters volunteer? 29:21 Indiana University is good at...
info_outline
Ep. 258: Donor disclosure and campaign finance at SCOTUS
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
The Institute for Free Speech’s Bradley Smith and Brett Nolan join the show to discuss two upcoming Supreme Court arguments involving donor disclosure (First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin) and political party contributions to candidates (National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC). The conversation also explores the broader landscape for political speech and campaign regulation, what legal battles may be next for the Supreme Court, and how both guests found their way into First Amendment advocacy. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:32 02:39 Personal paths into free...
info_outline
Ep. 257: Conversion therapy at the Supreme Court
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
FIRE’s Ronnie London and Conor Fitzpatrick join the show to discuss the Supreme Court’s oral argument in the conversion therapy case, the Pentagon’s new press rules, Indiana University’s censorship rampage, and where the situation stands with visa and green card holders who say things the feds don’t like. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:19 Chiles v. Salazar, the conversion therapy case 30:03 The Pentagon’s new press rules 48:48 What the hell is going on at Indiana University? 55:38 Feds boot noncitizens for Charlie Kirk speech 01:05:02 Outro Enjoy listening to the...
info_outline
Ep. 256: Ten arguments against free speech
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
We tackle ten common arguments against free speech. FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff and FIRE Senior Fellow and former ACLU President Nadine Strossen are the co-authors of the new book, “War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail.” Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:18 Book’s origins 04:25 Argument #1: Words are violence 20:27 Argument #2: Words are dangerous 25:09 Argument #3: Hate speech isn’t free speech 31:06 Argument #4: About shoutdowns 37:18 Argument #5: Free speech is outdated 45:41 Argument #6 Free speech is right-wing 50:14 Argument #7:...
info_outline
Ep. 255: Authoritarians in the Academy
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
FIRE Senior Scholar Sarah McLaughlin discusses her new book, “Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech.” Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:17 Book origins 03:38 How China censored speech on American campuses 18:36 COVID’s impact for international students’ speech 22:05 What is sensitivity exploitation? 25:35 Free speech at international satellite campuses 31:28 Attempted deportations of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk 36:52 Sarah’s free speech inspirations: literature and people About the...
info_outline
Ep. 254: What is going on with the FCC?
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
What is the Federal Communications Commission, and why does its chairman think the agency can regulate Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes? Note: Shortly after recording this episode, Nexstar and Sinclair announced they would return “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to their stations. Joining us: , FCC Commissioner , FIRE General Counsel , FIRE Chief Counsel Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 04:46 What’s the FCC? 07:35 What’s the “public interest” standard? 14:20 What is the “fairness doctrine”? 25:21 What is the “broadcast hoax” rule? 28:55 What is “news distortion”? 35:31 Role...
info_outline
Ep. 253: Pam Bondi says hate speech is not free speech — is she right?
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
FIRE staff also take your questions on Charlie Kirk's assassination, President Trump's lawsuit against The New York Times, cancel culture, and more. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:42 Attorney General Pam Bondi's comments that "hate speech" is distinct from "free speech" 02:23 Is it OK for the Department of Justice to target people for "hate speech"? 05:42 How have “hate speech” laws played out overseas? 07:19 President Trump's response to Pam Bondi's “hate speech” remarks 08:50 Are “fighting words,” “incitement,” and “true threats” free speech? 11:22 What about doxxing? 15:15...
info_outline
Ep. 252: America’s first free speech crisis — the Sedition Act of 1798
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
We’re joined by award-winning author, , to discuss his book, . Slack focuses on the infamous , which sparked the first major controversy over freedom of speech in America. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro (including note about Charlie Kirk) 03:59 Book origins 12:05 What were the Alien and Sedition Acts? 16:00 Prosecutions under the Act and their free speech implications 25:35 Free speech during the Revolutionary era 28:14 Adams’ perspective on the Sedition Act 46:02 Was Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase a partisan hack? 53:57 Sedition Act fallout 01:01:02 Outro Enjoy listening to the...
info_outline
Ep. 251: Free speech and ‘the executive power’ with Advisory Opinions
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
What are the limits of presidential power? How many days has it been since President Trump’s TikTok ban moratorium went into place? What is the state of the conservative legal movement? And where did former FIRE president go on his first date? French and of the popular legal podcast “” join the show to answer these questions and discuss the few free speech issues where they disagree with FIRE. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:18 Origin story of “Advisory Opinions” 08:15 Disagreements between FIRE and AO 15:04 Why FIRE doesn’t editorialize on the content of speech 24:27 Limits of...
info_outline“Who controls what is taught in American universities — professors or politicians?”
Yale Law professor Keith Whittington answers this timely question and more in his new book, “You Can’t Teach That! The Battle over University Classrooms.” He joins the podcast to discuss the history of academic freedom, the difference between intramural and extramural speech, and why there is a “weaponization” of intellectual diversity.
Keith E. Whittington is the David Boies Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Whittington’s teaching and scholarship span American constitutional theory, American political and constitutional history, judicial politics, the presidency, and free speech and the law.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:00 The genesis of Yale’s Center for Academic Freedom and Free Speech
04:42 The inspiration behind “You Can’t Teach That!”
06:18 The First Amendment and academic freedom
09:29 Extramural speech and the public sphere
17:56 Intramural speech and its complexities
23:13 Florida’s Stop WOKE Act
26:34 Distinctive features of K-12 education
31:13 University of Pennsylvania professor Amy Wax
39:02 University of Kansas professor Phillip Lowcock
43:42 Muhlenberg College professor Maura Finkelstein
47:01 University of Wisconsin La-Crosse professor Joe Gow
54:47 Northwestern professor Arthur Butz
57:52 Inconsistent applications of university policies
01:02:23 Weaponization of “intellectual diversity”
01:05:53 Outro
Show notes:
-
“Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech” Keith Whittington (2019)
-
“You Can't Teach That!: The Battle Over University Classrooms” Keith Whittington (2023)
-
AAUP Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure (1915)
-
AAUP Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure (1940)
-
“Kinsey” (2004)
-
Stop WOKE Act, HB 7. (Fla. 2022)
-
Indiana intellectual diversity law, S.E.A. 354 (Ind. 2022)
-
“Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District” (1969)