So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

“Words are weapons in the world’s most lyrical sport.” That’s how competitive battle rap is described by the makers of “Bodied,” a new satirical film produced by Eminem about a college student who decides to write a thesis paper on battle rap and through a twist of fate finds himself becoming a prodigy in the sport. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we speak with“Bodied” director Joseph Kahn. Kahn is a filmmaker and Grammy-award winning music video director, who has directed videos for Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, Blink 182, Britney Spears, Maroon 5, and many other best-selling artists. Kahn describes himself as a free speech absolutist. During the course of this conversation, we unpack what that means and take a look at the free speech interests in his new, controversial film. Show notes: Joseph Kahn podcast transcript Bodied movie trailer: https://youtube.com/watch?v=oUry7CpMpCE Bodied is in theaters now and will be available on YouTube Premium on Nov. 28 BodiedMovie.com JosephKahn.com “Joseph Kahn doesn’t care if he’s ‘canceled’” — Vulture, Nov. 2, 2018 “Power/Rangers (unauthorized NSFW bootleg)” www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we discuss how decision-making, “information liquidity,” and luck fit into our daily lives — and how a solid understanding of these concepts can point to an underappreciated benefit of free expression. Our guest is Annie Duke. She is a decision strategist, renowned poker player, and author of Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts. Duke won more than $4 million in tournament poker during her career, and in 2004 she won the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. Show notes: Podcast transcript AnnieDuke.com Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts Friedrich Hayek’s “The Use of Knowledge in Society” www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we speak with Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. Jaffer and the Knight Institute seek to defend “the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital era through strategic litigation, research, and public education.” Show notes: Podcast transcript Knight First Amendment Institute website Clapper v. Amnesty International, the U.S. Supreme Court case Jaffer argued challenging the constitutionality of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. So to Speak podcast with Glenn Greenwald on free speech and privacy Knight Institute v. Trump, the Knight Institute’s legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s blocking of critics on Twitter. “Knight Institute calls on Facebook to lift restrictions on digital journalism and research” www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we partner with the First Amendment Salon to present a conversation between former Solicitor General of the United States Donald B. Verrilli Jr. and University of Washington School of Law scholar Ronald Collins. Verrilli was solicitor general of the United States from June 2011 to June 2016 and during that time he argued dozens of cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, including many First Amendment cases. He is now a partner with Munger, Tolles & Olson, and the founder of its Washington, D.C. office. During this conversation, Verrilli and Collins discuss Verrilli’s advocacy in front of the Supreme Court on First Amendment cases and beyond. Verrilli also provides his take on the future of the court. The First Amendment Salon is a quarterly gathering of members of the First Amendment community for a 90-minute discussion with leading thinkers concerning a timely topic related to freedom of expression.A video version of this and past First Amendment Salon conversations can be found on FIRE’s YouTube page. To learn more about the First Amendment Salon, visit the Salon’s archive on FIRE’s First Amendment Library. www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcastEmail us: sotospeak@thefire.org

There are very few exceptions to the First Amendment, and a “true threat” is one of them. But defining a true threat isn’t easy. Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court first examined true threats in the 1969 case Watts v. United States, it’s been a messy doctrine. The court didn’t provide a definition of a true threat until many years after Watts, and even then questions still remained. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we discuss the true threats doctrine with First Amendment scholar and FIRE Legal Fellow David L. Hudson Jr. He is the author of an ABA Journal article about true threats titled “When do rants exceed First Amendment boundaries and become true threats?” Also, don’t miss Hudson tell the story of many important student free speech court cases as part of our “FIRE Starter” video series. You can watch the short videos on FIRE’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/theFIREorg. www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Tribalism and group polarization are on the rise. So too are rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. On campuses, professors and students are afraid to speak out. And on social media, outrage mobs rule the day. How did we get here? On today’s episode of So to Speak, we are joined by FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff to discuss his new co-authored book with New York University professor Jonathan Haidt, “The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure.” It’s a social science detective story that seeks to explain “the growing inability of Americans to live, work, and cooperate across party lines” — and in this discussion, Greg points us toward all the clues. www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Much has been written in recent months about online campaigns to get certain journalists, movie directors, and professors fired from their jobs because of things they said or wrote. Some campaigns have been successful. Some have not. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we talk about how these outrage mobs affect the world of comedy — in particular, one comedy club in Long Island City, New York. How should free speech advocates think about outrage mobs? Do they represent more speech, or a form of private censorship? Or is it more complicated? This episode of So to Speak is presented in partnership with Comedy Cellar: Live From the Table. It features: Nico Perrino, host, So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast Noam Dworman, owner, The Comedy Cellar Rebecca Trent, owner, The Creek and the Cave Dan Naturman, comedian Monroe Martin, comedian www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.orgCall in a question: 215-315-0100

How should we think about speech rights in the age of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics? On today’s episode of So to Speak, we are joined by First Amendment scholars Ronald Collins and David Skover. They are the authors of the new book, Robotica: Speech Rights & Artificial Intelligence. From the printing press to the internet, advances in communications technology often upset the established order and spawn demands for censorship. There is little reason to suspect advances in artificial intelligence will be treated differently. As free speech advocates, how should we respond to these demands? To answer that question, Collins and Skover argue that we need to take a step back and ask some more fundamental questions about the values we seek to advance in protecting speech in the first place. www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.orgCall in a question: 215-315-0100

On this episode of So to Speak, we chat with lawyer and free speech activist Jacob Mchangama. He is the founder and CEO of the Danish think tank Justitia, a visiting fellow at FIRE, and host of Clear and Present Danger: A History of Free Speech. Mchangama is also the author of the lead essay for the Cato Institute’s June Cato Unbound online debate on the topic of “how censorship crosses borders.” Our conversation focuses on the origins of Mchangama’s interest in free speech issues, the 2005 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, the history of free speech, and the critiques of his Cato Unbound essay. Show notes: Mchangama’s podcast, Clear and Present Danger: A History of Free Speech June Cato Unbound debate, “Free speech in international perspective” Mchangama’s essays for Cato So to Speak episode with Flemming Rose, who commissioned the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.orgCall in a question: 215-315-0100

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 www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.orgCall in a question: 215-315-0100