It’s summertime and the livin’ is easy (channeling Ella Fitzgerald & Janus Joplin). So, if you’re driving to the beach, or at the beach under an umbrella, or in a hammuck watching the stars, why not plug into a mind-opening podcast on free speech? Sound inviting? If so, check out these great podcasts (all free!):
- Fire in a Crowded Theater (Ken White explores the origins of the phrase “You can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater” and whether or not it actually calls for exceptions to the First Amendment.)
- Street (In this episode, host Ken White examines Street v. New York, the Supreme Court case which concluded that the First Amendment allows freedom of expression towards the American flag.
- Crush (Ken White and guest Marc Randazza examine the question of whether the government can continually come to the Supreme Court with potential exceptions to the First Amendment._
- The Great Disruption: Part I: The Printing Press and the Viral Reformation (In episode 10, we cover the invention, spread, and effects of the Gutenberg printing press:
- What significance did this new technology have for the dissemination of knowledge and ideas?
- Why was the printing press instrumental in helping a German monk and scholar break the religious unity of Europe?
- What happened when new religious ideas raged through Europe like wildfire?
- And did Martin Luther’s Reformation lead to religious tolerance and freedom, or persecution and censorship?)
2. Expert Opinion: Christime Caldwell Ames (Our last stop in the Middle Ages is an interview with professor Christine Caldwell Ames, who is an expert on medieval heresy and inquisition in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The discussion highlights the similarities and differences between Christianity, Catholic and Orthodox, Judaism, and Islam when it comes to defining and policing orthodoxy.)
3. The Hounds of God — Medieval Heretics & Inquisitors (From the High Middle Ages, Europe developed into a “persecuting society,” obsessed with stamping out the “cancer” of heresy. But questions about how this was accomplished — and the consequences of these developments — abound)
- Supreme Court Review: Kennedy, Kavanaugh, and “weaponizing the First Amendment” (On this episode of So to Speak, we discuss President Donald Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court and what it might mean for the First Amendment. We also review Anthony Kennedy’s legacy, the free speech cases from this past Supreme Court term, and Justice Elena Kagan’s contention that some of her colleagues are “weaponizing the First Amendment.” The guests on today’s show are: Paul Sherman: Senior attorney, Institute for Justice Bob Corn-Revere: Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine Walter Olson: Senior fellow, Cato Institute)
- ‘HATE’ with Nadine Strossen (On this episode of So to Speak, we welcome back to the show former ACLU president and New York Law Professor Nadine Strossen. She is the author of “HATE: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech, Not Censorship.” In this new book, she argues that America’s broad protections for hateful speech are a good thing, and that efforts to censor such speech has historically backfired or been proven ineffective.)
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Most memorable FIRE cases (In this episode of So to Speak, we take a trip down memory lane. We are joined by FIRE’s Greg Lukianoff, Samantha Harris, and Will Creeley to discuss memorable cases from FIRE’s 19-year history. You can watch a video of this conversation on FIRE’s YouTube channel(youtube.com/thefireorg).
Related
- NPR, Stories About Free Speech
- PlayerFM: Free Speech Podcasts
- Freedom Forum Institute: Free Speech & the Internet (Jan. 23, 2018)
- The First Amendment and hate speech, Constitution Daily (Sept. 28, 2017)