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Ep. 239: Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, DEI, law firms, and more

Release Date: 03/27/2025

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

One year into Trump 2.0, we examine the administration’s record on free speech and how it compares to the president’s campaign pledge to “bring back free speech to America.” We also discuss recent ICE protests, including the right to carry a gun and to film law enforcement, and what these encounters reveal about protest rights today. Today we are joined by: Clark Neily, senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute Timothy Zick, professor of government and citizenship at William & Mary Law School and author of the new book Conor Fitzpatrick, supervising...

Ep. 262: Escaping Iran

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Recent protests in Iran have drawn renewed attention to dissent under the country’s authoritarian government. The demonstrations have been met with mass arrests, internet restrictions, and even accusations of murder. While large-scale demonstrations appear to have subsided for now, from Iran describes a tense calm, a heightened security presence, and widespread “disappointment and disillusionment” among Iranians. Today we are joined by Pouya Nikmand, an Iranian-born writer who escaped Iran at 18. He writes about how his experiences have shaped his understanding of expression,...

Ep. 261: Thomas Paine’s rise and fall

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Thomas Paine arrived in America in 1774 with little to his name and a long record of personal failure behind him. Within a year, he wrote Common Sense, one of the most influential political pamphlets in history, helping to ignite the American Revolution and catapulting Paine into the American history hall of fame. But by the end of his life, he was widely reviled, politically isolated, and personally abandoned. Once celebrated as the voice of liberty, he died an outcast, mourned by only six people at his funeral. How does one man become the voice of the American Revolution and end up...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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:...

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...

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...

More Episodes

We explore how censorship is impacting institutions — from universities to law firms to the Maine House of Representatives.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:40 Federal government cuts Columbia’s funding

16:57 Updates on the Mahmoud Khalil case

27:01 Ed Martin’s Georgetown letter

34:59 Trump targeting law firms

55:01 Maine House censure of Rep. Laurel Libby

01:03:37 Outro

Read the transcript.

Guests:

- Will Creeley, FIRE’s legal director

- Conor Fitzpatrick, FIRE’s supervising senior attorney

- Lindsie Rank, FIRE’s director of campus rights advocacy

Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more. If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack’s paid subscriber podcast feed, please email sotospeak@thefire.org.

Show notes:

- “DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA announce initial cancelation of grants and contracts to Columbia University worth $400 million” U.S. Department of Justice (2025)

- HHS, ED, and GSA follow up letter to Columbia. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Government Services Administration (2025)

- “Columbia yields to Trump in battle over federal funding” The Wall Street Journal (2025)

- “Advancing our work to combat discrimination, harassment, and antisemitism at Columbia” Columbia University (2025)

- “Columbia caves to feds — and sets a dangerous precedent” FIRE (2025)

- “ED, HHS, and GSA Respond to Columbia University’s Actions to Comply with Joint Task Force Pre-Conditions” U.S. Department of Education (2025)

- “FIRE demands answers from Trump admin officials on arrest of Mahmoud Khalil” FIRE (2025)

- “Brief of Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner's Motion for Preliminary Injunction - Khalil v. Joyce” FIRE (2025)

- “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio via X (2025)

- “‘ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a radical foreign Pro-Hamas student on the campus of @Columbia University. This is the first arrest of many to come.’ President Donald J. Trump” The White House via X (2025)

- “WATCH: White House downplays stock market declines as ‘a snapshot’” PBS NewsHour (2025)

- “Secretary Rubio's remarks to the press” U.S. Department of State (2025)

- “Mahmoud Khalil. Notice to appear.” Habeeb Habeeb via X (2025)

- “Alien and Sedition Acts” National Archives (1798)