So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast FIRE

What’s going on in Florida?

Host Nico Perrino and his FIRE colleagues break down the latest efforts to censor speech in the Sunshine State.


Show notes:


Transcript “VICTORY: After FIRE lawsuit, court halts enforcement of key provisions of the Stop WOKE Act limiting how Florida professors can teach about race, sex”
“Thought the ‘Stop WOKE Act’ was bad? A new Florida bill is worse”
“Unconstitutional and un-American, Senate Bill 1316 would force bloggers who criticize the government to register with the state”
“Florida bill attacking NYT v. Sullivan would ‘spell disaster’ for free speech”
Miami Herald: “Florida undercover agents reported no ‘lewd acts’ at drag show targeted by DeSantis” by Nicholas Nehamas and Ana Ceballos
 
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UPDATE: Just as this podcast was to be published, Stanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez sent a 10-page memorandum to the law school community outlining a path forward for the school, including updating school policies to prevent future speaker disruptions and mandatory student free speech training. She also announced that Associate Dean Tirien Steinbach is on leave.
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The heckling began almost as soon as Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan started his invited lecture at Stanford Law School on March 9. Signs in the audience read “RESPECT TRANS RIGHTS,” “FEDSUCK,” “BE PRONOUN NOT PRO-BIGOT.”  What transpired over the next 40 minutes captured national headlines and raised questions about the state of free speech at America’s law schools.
David Lat writes commentary about law and the legal profession for Original Jurisdiction. Until 2019, he was an editor at the legal news website Above the Law, which he founded. Prior to his journalism career, David was a practicing lawyer.


Show notes:


Transcript “Yale Law is no longer #1 for free speech debacles” by David Lat
“7 updates on Judge Kyle Duncan and Stanford Law” by David Lat
“The full audio recording of Judge Kyle Duncan at Stanford Law” by David Lat
Transcript of Stanford administrator Dean Tirien Steinbach’s remarks on March 9 at event featuring Fifth Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan
Email to Stanford Law School from Dean Jenny Martinez
Stanford apology letter to Judge Kyle Duncan
Flyers protesting Stanford law event
“​​Shouting down speakers is mob censorship” by Nadine Strossen and Greg Lukianoff
Kalven Committee: Report on the university’s role in political and social action (University of Chicago report)
 
www.sotospeakpodcast.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freespeechtalk
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/
Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org
 

Ilya Shapiro joins the show to discuss the fireworks in the Fox/Dominion defamation lawsuit, his recent speaking appearance at the University of Denver, and his “cancel culture nightmare” at Georgetown University.
Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute. He previously (and briefly) served as executive director and senior lecturer at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution and as a vice president at the Cato Institute.
Shapiro will speak at FIRE’s gala celebration in NYC on April 18. Reserve your tickets now at this link.
Show notes:
Transcript “My cancel culture nightmare is over” by Ilya Shapiro
“Ilya Shapiro resigns from Georgetown following reinstatement after 122-day investigation of tweets” (featuring Ilya’s resignation letter)
Ilya’s Substack, Shapiro’s Gavel
“Why the mental health of liberal girls sank first and fastest” by Jonathan Haidt
www.sotospeakpodcast.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freespeechtalk
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/
Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org
 

The seminal 1964 Supreme Court decision in New York Times v. Sullivan limited the ability of public officials to silence their critics by successfully suing them for defamation. Sullivan made “American public officials more accountable, the American media more watchful, and the American people better informed,” said William Rehnquist, the late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

But Sullivan is increasingly under attack from politicians, activists, and even sitting Justices of the Supreme Court. They believe the decision went too far, enabling the news media and others to defame others with little-to-no consequence.

On today’s show, we are joined by lawyers Floyd Abrams (Cahill Gordon & Reindel), JT Morris (FIRE), and Matthew Schafer (Fordham Law) to discuss New York Times v. Sullivan and its future.

Show notes:
Transcript  New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
“Two Justices Say Supreme Court Should Reconsider Landmark Libel Decision” by Adam Liptak
“How to Restore Balance to Libel Law” by Glenn Reynolds
Florida HB 991, the anti-Sullivan bill
Matthew Schafer’s tweet thread on Florida’s HB 991
“New York Times v. Sullivan and the Forgotten Session of the US Supreme Court” by Matthew Schafer
“The Most Important Supreme Court Precedent for Freedom of the Press Is in Jeopardy” by Matthew Schafer and Jeff Kosseff
 
www.sotospeakpodcast.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freespeechtalk
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk
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Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

FIRE’s Will Creeley and Aaron Terr join the show to discuss Phoenix, Arizona’s unconstitutional “clean zone” for Super Bowl LVII, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s effort to get public school students to volunteer for her re-election campaign, recent polling on how much people really know about the First Amendment (sadly, not much), and Indiegogo, Kickstarter, and Crowdfundr canceling fundraisers for comic books they deemed politically unacceptable. 
We also provide an update on the Hamline University Muhammad art censorship case.
Show notes:
Transcript “Phoenix ordinance restricting signs during Super Bowl is offsides on the First Amendment” “Here’s why Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot can’t ask teachers to help her reelection campaign” “Indie-no-go: Popular crowdfunding sites cancel fundraisers for comic books about gender identity and the U.S.-Mexico border” “Do Americans know their rights? Survey says: No.” “Hamline Faculty vote 71-12 to urge president to step down after academic freedom scandal” www.sotospeakpodcast.com
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/
Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

What does the rise of artificial intelligence mean for the future of free speech and the First Amendment? Who is liable for what AI produces? Can you own a copyright for works produced by AI? Does AI itself violate intellectual property rights when it uses others’ information to generate content? What about that Morgan Freeman “deep fake”? And is ChatGPT going to make all of our jobs irrelevant?
Show notes:
Transcript Guests:
Eugene Volokh, professor at UCLA School of Law David Greene, senior staff attorney and civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Alison Schary, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine www.sotospeakpodcast.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freespeechtalk
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/
Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org