So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

On Wednesday, the Department of Education published its long-awaited new Title IX regulations. Over the years — and with the federal government’s prodding — Title IX has been twisted and used to justify censorship and the denial of core due process rights for those accused of sexual misconduct on America’s college campus. The new regulations will better protect certain free speech and due process rights long denied to students. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino is joined by FIRE Executive Director Robert Shibley and FIRE Senior Fellow Samantha Harris for a deep-dive analysis of the new regulations and the history of Title IX abuse on campus. Show notes: Podcast transcript New Title IX regulations text FIRE press release on new Title IX regulations Information on the April 4, 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter List of lawsuits filed since 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter Campus Due Process Litigation Tracker “Twisting Title IX” by Robert Shibley www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

With much of the country under stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19, what do these orders mean for the five freedoms of the First Amendment? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino and constitutional law expert Josh Blackman will break it all down. Blackman is a professor of law at the South Texas College of Law in Houston and the author of three books, including his recently co-authored book with Professor Randy E. Barnett, “An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know.” Show notes: Podcast transcript John Adams’ second annual address to Congress, December 8, 1798 “The Right to Protest During the Pandemic,” National Coalition Against Censorship coalition statement “Are Quarantine Orders Constitutional?,” by Mark Miller, Pacific Legal Foundation “If Liquor Stores Are Essential, Why Isn’t Church?,” by Michael W. McConnell and Max Raskin First Amendment News 251: Public health and the First Amendment in the age of COVID-19 www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

For authoritarian leaders across the globe, the coronavirus emergency presents an opportunity to silence critics and consolidate power. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino is joined by international free expression experts Jacob Mchangama and Sarah McLaughlin to discuss how countries like Turkey, Hungary, Egypt, and Thailand are banning “fake news” amidst the pandemic — but, in doing so, are making the crisis worse.  Mchangama is the executive director of Justitia, a Copenhagen-based think tank focused on human rights and the rule of law. He is also the host and producer of the podcast Clear and Present Danger: A History of Free Speech. McLaughlin is the director of Targeted Advocacy at FIRE.  Show notes: “Coronavirus has started a censorship pandemic” by Jacob Mchangama and Sarah McLaughlin Clear and Present Danger podcast: A conversation with Monika Bickert, Head of Global Policy Management at Facebook Podcast: “The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history,” a lecture by John M. Barry “Hospitals must let doctors and nurses speak out,” an interview with Nicholas Christakis by Conor Friedersdorf “Responding to ‘Zoombombing’: Best practices for students and faculty” by FIRE’s Alex Morey FIRE statement on protecting academic freedom and freedom of expression in virtual classrooms www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

How and why do authoritarian regimes seek to control information? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino is joined by University of Maryland Associate Professor Cynthia L. Martin to explore how one country, the former Soviet Union, restricted access to information and stifled dissent — and what changed when that regime collapsed in 1991. Show notes: Podcast transcript Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia Cato Institute lecture: Stalin’s Propaganda and Putin’s Information Wars, featuring Princeton University Professor Stephen Kotkin Call for Proposals: 2020 FIRE Faculty Conference www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

"Coronavirus and the failure of the ‘Marketplace of Ideas’" by Foundation for Individual Rights in Education President & CEO Greg Lukianoff, as read by Susan Kruth. www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org  

On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino sits down with FIRE President & CEO Greg Lukianoff to discuss how FIRE is adapting to the coronavirus outbreak. We also explore the ideas behind Greg’s new, widely discussed article, “Coronavirus and the failure of the ‘Marketplace of Ideas’.” Show notes: Transcript Greg’s “The Eternally Radical Idea” blog Abrams v. United States (1919) FIRE’s free speech high school curricula Yale’s “Woodward” report” on freedom of expression www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Why is it important that we protect freedom of speech? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino speaks with Duke University School of Law professor Joseph Blocher, who argues that one of the most common justifications for free speech — creating a “marketplace of ideas” in our search for truth — rests on unstable ground in our “post-truth” era. In his article, “Free Speech and Justified True Belief,” Blocher argues for a reframing of this epistemic theory of free speech around knowledge, rather than truth. Nico and Blocher are joined in their discussion by frequent guest and First Amendment News Editor Ronald K.L. Collins. Show notes: Video of conversation Podcast transcript “Coronavirus and the failure of the ‘Marketplace of Ideas’” by Greg Lukianoff “Bans” by Joseph Blocher National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Bacerra (2018) www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

At a time when artistic expression has never enjoyed greater First Amendment protection, rap music has seemingly been left behind. Rap lyrics are routinely used as evidence by police and prosecutors to justify arresting and charging suspects for all manner of alleged crimes. In their new book, “Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America,” authors Erik Nielson and Andrea L. Dennis identify approximately 500 cases where the violent and aggressive themes within rap lyrics were used against defendants in court. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino speaks with Nielson and Dennis about their book, in which they argue that no other form of creative expression — or genre of music — is treated the same way as rap by the law. “That’s why we call this book ‘Rap on Trial.’ It’s not art on trial. It’s not music on trial. It’s rap on trial.” Read the podcast transcript. www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Do violent video games make people more violent? Amid calls to censor or restrict access to violent video games because of their perceived contributions to violent events (such as school shootings), the question is as important as ever. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, host Nico Perrino explores this question. He is joined by FIRE’s resident video game expert (and FIRE staffer) Ryne Weiss and Villanova University professor Patrick M. Markey. Markey is the co-author with Christopher J. Ferguson of Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong. Show notes: Podcast transcript Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011) “Addiction and expression” by Luke Morgan (Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly) The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Is carrying a weapon during a political demonstration protected by the First Amendment? What about intentionally creating an addictive video game?  Does the First Amendment’s press clause require the existence of news outlets? On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we explore these three topics and more with First Amendment scholar Luke Morgan, who has written three fascinating articles that examine the scope of the First Amendment’s protections: “Leave your guns at home: The constitutionality of a prohibition on carrying firearms at political demonstrations” (Duke Law Journal) “Addiction and expression” (Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly) “The broken branch: Capitalism, the Constitution, and the press” (forthcoming) www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org