Podcasts about individual rights

Three Big Conversations: Sydney Sweeney released a borderline pornographic commercial for Novig - 3:18 what the memes about Charlie Kirk may really mean - 19:52 why not every tween wants to grow up to be a YouTuber. - 33:20 Resource of the Week: "Breaking the Algorithm" - 00:46 → Click here to watch the first episode → Click here to read the discussion guide In Other News: - 46:38 Whispering the phrase "go play" has become a way to tell someone to leave you alone, with the implication that they are being childish.  Rapper Macklemore was removed from being the opening act for Ed Sheeran's tour after saying "Free Palestine" from the stage.  The comedy-horror series Widow's Bay dominated the Emmys this past Monday, taking home 14 total awards—including the top prize for the comedy genre, Outstanding Comedy Series.  A recent study from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression asked college students whether violence was an acceptable way to stop controversial speakers. 3% said "always," 12% said "sometimes," and 16% said "rarely." These numbers are down from last year, in which 34% total agreed that violence may sometimes be acceptable.  The indie band Bon Iver has apparently written a jingle to help promote "meatloaf dippers" at Howard's Bar in Minnesota.

Sydney Sweeney released a borderline pornographic commercial for Novig, what the memes about Charlie Kirk may really mean, and why not every tween wants to grow up to be a YouTuber. Resource of the Week: "Breaking the Algorithm" → Click here to watch the first episode → Click here to read the discussion guide In Other News: Whispering the phrase "go play" has become a way to tell someone to leave you alone, with the implication that they are being childish.  Rapper Macklemore was removed from being the opening act for Ed Sheeran's tour after saying "Free Palestine" from the stage.  The comedy-horror series Widow's Bay dominated the Emmys this past Monday, taking home 14 total awards—including the top prize for the comedy genre, Outstanding Comedy Series.  A recent study from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression asked college students whether violence was an acceptable way to stop controversial speakers. 3% said "always," 12% said "sometimes," and 16% said "rarely." These numbers are down from last year, in which 34% total agreed that violence may sometimes be acceptable.  The indie band Bon Iver has apparently written a jingle to help promote "meatloaf dippers" at Howard's Bar in Minnesota.

Meta agreed to a settlement last month with 52 attorneys general in a landmark case over teen social media addiction. The company promised a number of restrictions for under 18-year-old users, like time limits, overnight blackouts on some features and hidden likes. It also agreed to pay up to $17 billion, partly contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting similar reforms.Surveys show a strong majority of Americans support stricter limitations on social media for kids. But, this settlement could fundamentally change how everyone accesses the internet, according to Will Creeley, legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.More on this:“That $17B Meta settlement comes with a catch: Your online speech rights” from The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression“Majority of Americans support banning social media for kids under 16” from Pew Research Center

Meta agreed to a settlement last month with 52 attorneys general in a landmark case over teen social media addiction. The company promised a number of restrictions for under 18-year-old users, like time limits, overnight blackouts on some features and hidden likes. It also agreed to pay up to $17 billion, partly contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting similar reforms.Surveys show a strong majority of Americans support stricter limitations on social media for kids. But, this settlement could fundamentally change how everyone accesses the internet, according to Will Creeley, legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.More on this:“That $17B Meta settlement comes with a catch: Your online speech rights” from The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression“Majority of Americans support banning social media for kids under 16” from Pew Research Center

This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, September 9th, 2026. In today's newscast, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, ranked Indiana University the sixth worst college in the nation for freedom of speech. WFHB News speaks with Dominic Coletti, student press program officer for FIRE, in today's featured interview. Also coming …

Ralph welcomes sportswriter Dave Zirin to talk about his new book, "The People's Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn." Then Ralph speaks to labor activist Gene Bruskin about their upcoming Labor Day event at Busboys and Poets in DC, "Galvanizing Labor Day for a Workers' Compact."Dave Zirin is the sports editor for The Nation, a columnist for the Progressive, and the author of eight books on the politics of sports, including What's My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in the United States and A People's History of Sports in the United States. His new book is The People's Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn.There's a despondency that exists now, I believe, among people who are also very angry about the state of our politics. And the thing that Howard always insisted upon—he was an activist who happened to be a historian, not a historian who was an activist. And that doesn't denigrate his incredible skills as a historian, it just says where his priorities were in his time on this planet. And one of the things that Howard believed so strongly is that the movements themselves needed to have a strong sense of history. The movements needed to know that we live in a time of great ups and downs.Dave ZirinPeople did step up to create the Zinn Education Project. And every book event I'm doing, I'm showing up with copies of their materials and they usually have somebody on the ground doing the organizing at the event. And at the very least, we're helping it be a little bit sticky. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's not just a book event. It's not just celebrating Howard. But it's also something that allows us to be able to make it matter in a way that it otherwise would not—because it's not just about selling books, it really is about building a movement.Dave ZirinGene Bruskin is a veteran of the labor movement as a local union president, an organizer, and campaign coordinator for numerous local and national unions. He has done extensive international labor solidarity work, including with Iraqi workers and unions, and is a founder of US Labor Against the War.What we're breaking through here now (and partly this has been the definition of this resistance movement) it's workers versus billionaires. And I think the labor movement in general coming out of World War II has been captured by this mythology that “What's good for General Electric is good for the nation.” And the more the economy “prospers,” the more it's good for everybody. And it turns out that that's not really the case, because we don't have that kind of equality. And also what's in the national interest in terms of our foreign policy is not in the interest of the average working class person. A lot of that stuff is being challenged and reversed—not enough, but it's forcing some of the more moderate forces to the left, just as we're seeing in some of these Senate and House elections.Gene BruskinI think this is a really important moment for Labor Day because Labor Day, among other things, is generally the kickoff for whatever elections are happening in November. And it's going to be that on steroids this year. But I think the important thing is that, of course, we want to throw out a bunch of these Neanderthal Republicans in the House and Senate. But it's not just a matter of restoring a Democratic majority in the House and Senate. The question is: to what end? And what is on the agenda of a Democratic-majority Congress at this minute? What is the vision that we have for our future that we have to be fighting for? … We have to change this whole climate so that people have some kind of hope, some kind of vision for what we want and what we deserve. And the same old, same old, whether it's a Democratic Congress or not, is not acceptable anymore.Gene BruskinGalvanizing Labor Day for a Workers' Compact (Sep 7, 2026 2:00 pm ET): Busboys and Poets and Ralph Nader present Galvanizing Labor Day for a Workers' Compact, a discussion of how unions can maximize the impact of Labor Day to mobilize workers and voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and afterwards. (Event is in-person @ Busboys and Poets 14th & V + Livestreamed. Free and open to all, but registration is required.)News 9/4/26* Our top story this week is the neo-colonial oil extraction deal that has been struck between the Trump administration and the government of Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela. This government has been running the country under the barrel of a gun since Trump sent Delta Force to kidnap President Nicolás Maduro from his home in the Bolivarian Republic in January. According to the BBC, the new deal “grants a US-led company 100-year concessions over 17 oilfields in Venezuela, amounting to a staggering 65 billion barrels of crude,” or over one-fifth of the country's proven oil reserves. The White House has released a fact sheet, stating that much of the new extraction will be conducted by North American Blue Energy Partners (Nabep), and that the U.S. government will have “veto power over the appointment of any member of the board of directors, and a majority of Nabep's board of directors must be US citizens.” The announcement of this deal drew scorn from a wide variety of sources. These range from Trump's former special representative on Venezuela and Iran, Elliott Abrams who called the deal “terrible” and sees it as Rodríguez “simply complying with the demands she's getting from Washington,” to Rafael Ramírez, who served as the head of the state-run energy firm, PDVSA, and as the oil minister under former President Hugo Chávez, who is quoted saying the deal “hands over [the oil] and opens the doors to a new colonialism of the United States.”* In more outrageous foreign policy news, Reuters reports the Trump administration has designated the United Kingdom-based pro-Palestine activist group Palestine Action a ”terrorist organization,” part of the administration's “campaign to crack down on left-wing groups” using post-9/11 anti-terrorism laws. The United Nations has decried this move, with the UN's human rights office chief Volker Turk calling it a “disproportionate and unnecessary ⁠restriction on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association as well as the right ​to participate in public affairs,” adding that the “expansive use ​of the term ‘terrorism' has been documented to have a chilling effect on civic space.” The UK has sought to bring the legal hammer down on Palestine Action, though these efforts have been somewhat stymied by the courts. Sarah McLaughlin, senior scholar of global expression at free speech group Foundation for Individual Rights and Free Expression (FIRE), ​said that the US “must reject that censorship - not import it.” Reuters notes that “Israel's foreign ministry welcomed the designation.”* This is not the only case wherein the Trump administration has gone to extreme lengths to punish pro-Palestine activism. California District Judge Noel Wise highlighted this in her recent decision, excoriating the State Department and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for their attempts to deport noncitizens over protected speech. This ruling, stemming from a lawsuit filed by FIRE, “centred on how the second Trump administration revoked visas and detained international students studying in the US after they engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy.” Judge Wise stated in her decision that “in the United States, freedom of speech belongs to the people..It is not the government's to take.” She added that the strength of our democracy is “diminished when members of our society — citizens and noncitizens alike — must self-censor and ‘behave' or suffer the government's retaliation.” Mahmoud Khalil, the most prominent victim of the administration's policy of seeking to deport activists they want to silence, applauded the decision, saying “No one should fear speaking up for Palestine.” This from Al Jazeera.* Our final Palestine-related story for this week takes us to Hollywood, where prominent actor and activist Mark Ruffalo's recent comments in opposition to the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. merger, related to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison's ties to his father's software company Oracle, have been cynically branded as “antisemitic tropes.” According to the LA Times, Ruffalo shared a clip of Safra Catz, Oracle's former CEO and a current Paramount board member speaking at an Israeli-American Council National Summit conference, where she said that “she couldn't discuss Oracle's work with Israel's military, but ‘we have some profoundly scary technology at Oracle and we wanted to make sure that it was available' to Israel,” after October 7th. Paramount's lawyers quickly sought to smear Ruffalo with the charge of antisemitism, including by deploying their allies in pro-Israel groups like the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League. In response, over 150 Jewish filmmakers, academics, writers and even rabbis, signed an open letter which reads, in part, “Pointing out the crucial connections between what is happening in Gaza and what is happening in Hollywood is the exact opposite of antisemitism. It is, for us, the very essence of Jewish ethical duty.”* In other news, NBC reports the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday that “federal commodities-trading law does not preempt Nevada's gambling law as to the regulation of placing wagers on sports.” This piece notes that the 3-0 ruling marks the prediction markets industry's most significant legal setback yet and sets up a showdown at the Supreme Court, since the Third Circuit has already ruled that New Jersey cannot regulate Kalshi. The Trump administration has sought to keep regulation of betting markets under the jurisdiction of the federal body known as the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Notably, the commission, usually composed of five appointees, currently boasts only one single member: Michael S. Selig. Selig is extremely friendly to the prediction market industry and has sought to stave off state-level regulation by arguing for federal preemption.* Kalshi has been in the news for other reasons as well, namely for its attempts to self-regulate. For one, the Wall Street Journal reports that Kalshi issued its first ever lifetime ban this week, to none other than former Congressman and notorious grifter George Santos. This ban was precipitated by Santos' making over $17,000 by “placing bets on his attendance at President Trump's State of the Union address.” Kalshi adds that they issued a $71,356 fine to Santos. For his part, Santos tweeted “Hey @Kalshi thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform…Let's see how much longer you guys are around for.” Newsweek reports that at the same time, Kalshi fined and suspended North Carolina Republican congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout for betting on her own race. Buckhout dismissed her bet as a “dumb mistake” and joked that her “career as a Kalshi trader was short-lived.” Buckhout is running against incumbent Congressman Don Davis in a newly-redrawn district engineered to favor Republicans, but polling shows a tight race. If Buckhout narrowly loses, many will point to this “dumb mistake” as a key reason why.* Another legal battle is unfolding in New York City, where landlords are challenging Mayor Zohran Mamdani's rent freeze for rent-stabilized tenants. PIX11 reports that the suit, originally filed in Staten Island but now moved to Manhattan, centers on complaints from landlords that the decision by the rent guidelines board (RGB) to keep rents flat on one and two-year lease renewals for NYC's million rent-stabilized apartments was “predetermined and illegal.” They argue that the board “cherry-picked data and was packed with supporters of Mayor…Mamdani's campaign promise to freeze rents,” while the Mamdani administration maintains that the board is an “independent body and considers both tenant and landlord concerns.” The mayoral administration will defend the decision in court, while the Legal Aid Society and Legal Services NYC have filed a request for the court to dismiss the suit entirely. An article in POLITICO from earlier this month reports that the plaintiffs in this suit hope to bring this case all the way to the US Supreme Court.* Our final stories this week take us back to the campaign trail. First up, Alaska Public Media is out with a report about a “chain of political maneuvers in the governor's race,” kicked off by former Anchorage mayor Tom Begich's “decision to step down to give fellow Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins a better shot at winning.” Kreiss-Tomkins finished first in the August primary, followed by Begich in second place and two Republicans in third and fourth respectively. Under Alaska election law, the top four finishers advance to the general election. This piece recounts how Begich's withdrawal sent shockwaves through the Republican candidate field. With Begich out, “Republican Treg Taylor moved into the fourth spot. But on Sunday, Taylor called for [fellow Republicans Bernadette] Wilson and [Dave] Bronson to consolidate their campaigns and pledged to endorse a combined Republican ticket. In a statement, Taylor urged Republicans to unite behind a single candidate, to counter Kreiss-Tompkins.” While fascinating for political junkies, many have observed that the maneuvers on display here and in Alaska's Senate race seem to undercut many of the arguments in favor of ranked-choice voting, with more effort being put into confusing voters or seeking to induce so-called “ballot exhaustion” rather than facilitating a more enlightened civil discourse.* Our final two stories cover the Massachusetts primaries held this Tuesday. The topline, as Semafor reports, is that incumbents swept their primaries in a stark reversal of the insurgent trend in Democratic primaries this cycle. The most notable of these was the crushing victory of 80-year-old incumbent Senator Ed Markey over his 47-year-old challenger, Congressman Seth Moulton. Markey won with approximately two-thirds of the vote. This piece notes that Moulton, younger but running to Markey's right, was never able to establish the “generational change” dynamic he wanted in this race, as “progressives and LGBTQ rights groups rallied behind…[Senator Markey].” On this latter point, Moulton was roundly criticized by Democratic voters, even in his own district, for “scapegoating” transgender people in the wake of the 2024 election. Reporter Dave Weigel adds a coda to this piece: “The subtext of Markey ‘26 was that he would be a reliable progressive vote for whatever the movement wanted for six more years, and then Ayanna Pressley could come in and replace him. Pressley campaigned [with] Markey, starred in ads; [and] at rallies he gushed about how she was the ‘north star' and if you wanted to know what the right side of an issue was, it was the side she was on.”* Finally, with all of that said, the pro-incumbent wave in Massachusetts did cut both ways. Progressive challengers to moderate Democrat incumbents fell short in the state's eighth congressional district – reelecting Congressman Stephen Lynch for a 14th term over progressive voting rights advocate Patrick Roath. Meanwhile, in the first district, WAMC reports Congressman Richie Neal, a longtime scourge of progressives, fended off a primary challenge from teacher Jeromie Whalen in his bid for a 20th term in the House – though Whalen, a political newcomer, won an impressive 46% of the vote. Neal will however face the formidable independent candidate Nadia Milleron in the general election. Milleron won nearly 40% of the vote against Neal in 2024; perhaps, if she wins over enough of Whalen's primary supporters, she can pull out a victory in November.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Richard Lim, historian at Prager U. and host of the This American President podcast joins the guys to discuss his recent book on George Washington's legacy, Refusing a Crown. Breaking through mainstream secularist assumptions, Lim argues that Washington's greatness is best understood in the context of his Christian faith. Meanwhile, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has challenged the Trump Administration's attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Özturk for anti-American speech. FIRE argues the constitution protects resident aliens, and even that immigrant speech cannot be scrutinized in the vetting process. Will reason prevail?Recommended:Refusing a Crown: How George Washington Changed the World This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Age verification is reshaping how people access the internet. An ever-growing patchwork of laws can now require government IDs, facial age estimation, or behavioral inference before you can enter digital spaces. Discord, app stores, social media platforms, and AI chatbots are all being pulled into these requirements. Almost always, these measures are enacted under the banner of protecting children. However, beneath that goal lies a set of hard questions about privacy, anonymity, security, and the line between what a private platform may choose to do and what a government may compel. John Coleman is a legislative counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, where he focuses on artificial intelligence and free speech policy. In this episode, John joins Kevin Ball to discuss the different methods of age verification and their privacy implications, the long constitutional history of anonymous speech, how recent court decisions are reshaping what governments can require, the data breach and surveillance risks these mandates create, and what engineers and companies should keep in mind when they are asked to build these systems.Sponsorship inquiries:sponsor@softwareengineeringdaily.com The post The Death of Online Anonymity appeared first on Software Engineering Daily.

In this Federalist Society America 250 series, experts analyze modern legal and policy debates through the lens of the Founding generation. The Founders gave us the tools to answer many contemporary questions; join us as we explore those answers.American lawyers have long been defined by a commitment to represent even the most unpopular clients—a tradition that traces back to the Founding. When John Adams defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre, he did so in the face of intense public hostility, underscoring a simple but enduring principle: the right to counsel does not turn on public approval. This webinar revisits that moment to examine the lawyer’s role in an adversarial system—not as an endorsement of a client’s conduct, but as a safeguard of the legal system itself.That principle has been under strain in recent decades. Lawyers representing controversial clients or causes have faced increasing public backlash and, in some cases, professional consequences. Similar pressures surfaced during the Red Scare, when attorneys representing alleged subversives were themselves subject to suspicion. As criticism shifts from clients to the lawyers who represent them, the question becomes harder to ignore: what happens to the legal system when representation itself is treated as suspect? Join our panel as they discuss what the Founding-era commitment to principled representation means for lawyers today.Featuring:William Creeley, Legal Director, The Foundation for Individual Rights in EducationErin E. Murphy, Partner, Clement & Murphy PLLC Prof. Richard Samuelson, Associate Professor of Government, Hillsdale College, Washington, D.C. Campus(Moderator) Hon. Jennifer Perkins, Judge, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One CLEThis event has been approved for1.00 Total CLE HoursApproved specialty credit (DEI, Civility, Ethics, etc.) is included on the State Approval Status chart below.State Approval Status In order to receive CLE credit for this webinar, attendees must attend the Zoom Webinar and have access to the chat box. This event's accreditation is highly predicated upon interactivity and verification measures that are only available via the webinar.If you join via audio, calling in, SIP, or H.323, you will not be eligible to receive CLE Credit. CLE Materials Questions? Check out our CLE FAQ page.

Age verification is reshaping how people access the internet. An ever-growing patchwork of laws can now require government IDs, facial age estimation, or behavioral inference before you can enter digital spaces. Discord, app stores, social media platforms, and AI chatbots are all being pulled into these requirements. Almost always, these measures are enacted under the banner of protecting children. However, beneath that goal lies a set of hard questions about privacy, anonymity, security, and the line between what a private platform may choose to do and what a government may compel. John Coleman is a legislative counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, where he focuses on artificial intelligence and free speech policy. In this episode, John joins Kevin Ball to discuss the different methods of age verification and their privacy implications, the long constitutional history of anonymous speech, how recent court decisions are reshaping what governments can require, the data breach and surveillance risks these mandates create, and what engineers and companies should keep in mind when they are asked to build these systems.Sponsorship inquiries:sponsor@softwareengineeringdaily.com The post The Death of Online Anonymity appeared first on Software Engineering Daily.

This week, I'm joined by Robert Corn-Revere. Currently the chief counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Corn-Revere also served as the chief counsel to the Federal Communications Commission chair in 1993 and as a counsel on important First Amendment cases that have made their way all the way to the Supreme Court. (Seriously, check out his Wiki, it's crazy.) We had a pretty in-depth chat about how the FCC works and the myriad ways in which Trump's hand-picked chair, Brendan Carr, is perverting some of the long-term ideals of the commission. 

Here are links to some of the stories mentioned in today's episode:   Christianity Today reports that “after making deep cuts in global health, food assistance, and other foreign aid based on allegations of fraud and abuse in USAID, the Trump administration announced $2 billion in humanitarian-aid funding for faith-based groups, with a consortium of US Christian organizations overseeing $1.4 billion.” Here's Warren's 2016 talk to the Western Conservative Summit. It's called: “The Political Illusion: Choosing Christianity Over Political Ideology.” The talk begins at the 2:35 mark. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) does an annual survey that with a sample size of more than 68,000 from more than 400 colleges and universities. It's one of the most comprehensive surveys of its kind. The survey asks about church attendance, and – according to Ryan Burge, who has parsed the numbers – “the two most “teched up” majors are the least Christian: data science and computer science. Just 27-28% of these folks identify as Protestants, Catholics, or generic Christians. In contrast, about 30% say that they are atheist/agnostic and another 13% are non-religious. In other words, they are about fifteen points more apt to be nones than Christians. An excellent article in the online British publication “Premier Christianity” by Derek Hughes reflects on the “quiet power of slow faithfulness and asks whether Christians have forgotten how to commit to work whose fruit they may not live to see.”   The producer for today's program is Jeff McIntosh. I'm Christina Darnell, along with Warren Smith. Until next time, may God bless you.

Employees at several leading AI companies are asking the US government and international bodies to slow the development of frontier models. Doing so would put governments in the position of deciding when new models are safe enough to release. Yet policymakers also warn that the United States must move faster than China and that prerelease reviews could stifle innovation. Are these two goals in tension with one another? Can existing laws and liability rules address AI harms without giving governments control over which models reach the market? And can any international institution realistically govern a technology spread across the entire digital economy?To discuss this, Shane is joined by Milton Mueller and Adam Thierer. Milton is a professor and director of the master of science in cybersecurity program at Georgia Tech University's Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy. He is also the cofounder and director of the Internet Governance Project at Georgia Tech. Adam is a resident senior fellow with the technology and innovation team at the R Street Institute and a visiting senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

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4:20 pm: Aaron Terr, Director of Public Advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, joins the program for a conversation about a case in Minnesota where a woman was convicted of disorderly conduct after directing racial slurs toward a Somalian man. The conviction has many questioning its validity under the First Amendment.4:38 pm: Peter Rosenberger, a caregiver, author and national radio host, joins the show to discuss his piece in The Blaze about how climate activists demand rules from a distance, while ranchers and others are forced to live with the consequences of those actions.6:05 pm: Professor Greg Jackson, Chair of Integrated Studies and Deputy Director of National Security Studies at Utah Valley University and host of the History That Doesn't Suck podcast, joins Rod and Greg to discuss his work that shows today's political climate is more the norm than it is unique.

As a bonus, today we're sharing a special episode of The Blessings of Liberty, a new podcast from Open to Debate debater Jeffrey Rosen and our friends at FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. In celebration of America's 250th anniversary, Jeffrey sits down with award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, walking through the Declaration of Independence, clause by clause, to encapsulate the big ideas at the heart of the American story. The Blessings of Liberty is a weekly podcast hosted by Jeffrey Rosen — CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center, professor of law at George Washington University Law School, and senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Learn more and subscribe on Substack, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. To continue the conversation, visit Open to Debate's Substack—share your perspective on this episode and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for curated insights from our debaters, moderators, and staff.  Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and TikTok to stay connected with our mission and ongoing debates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Congressman Andy Biggs discusses his decision to run for governor of Arizona, his views on health freedom, international influence, and how state leadership can protect individual liberties while promoting healthier communities. Congressman Biggs agrees that local control is the way to go for health freedom and choice. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Arizona Governor's Race 01:20 Local Control and Health Freedom 04:29 International Influence vs. Local Governance 07:03 Medical Freedom and Individual Rights 08:36 Protecting Healthcare Workers' Freedom 10:00 Rebuilding Trust in Medicine and Government 11:46 State Government's Role in Health 14:45 Nutrition and Health Education 16:24 Appealing to Independent Voters 18:44 Top Priorities for Arizona 22:22 Engagement and Voting in Arizona Resources Mentioned Andy Biggs for Arizona Governor Arizona Voter Guide from Stand for Health Freedom One Dream on Instagram: @onedream.podcast — DM us your detox questions Follow The One Dream Podcast:

[Announcement: From November 4 through 6, 2026, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is hosting its inaugural Soapbox free speech conference in Philadelphia, the city where so many of America's defining debates over liberty began. I and the wife of the pod will be there and would love to hoist one with listeners of the History of the Americans. More compellingly, there will be several far more famous podcasters for whom free speech is an important value. Were he able to attend, William Penn would be there too, probably as a keynote speaker. Soapbox will bring together leading writers, comedians, scholars, and others for three days of lively debate and thought-provoking conversations about free expression, history, law, culture, and current events. Learn more and grab early-bird tickets before July 4 at soapbox.fire.org, link in the episode notes.  Listeners of The History of the Americans Podcast can use promo code HISTORY in all caps to save an additional $50 on their tickets. I hope to see you there.] This episode is about William Penn, founder of three American colonies, before he founded them. The best way to describe the story to be told here is with a quotation from David Hackett Fischer, in his book Albion’s Seed: [The] “Delaware culture area” developed not by some random process of social selection, but from the conscious will and purpose of its Quaker founders. The leading role was played by one founder in particular, William Penn, who served Pennsylvania, Delaware, and also West Jersey as lawgiver, social planner, organizer, tireless promoter, and regulator of the immigration process. The cultural history of this region cannot be understood without knowing something about the mind and character of this extraordinary man. William Penn was a bundle of paradoxes – an admiral's son who became a pacifist, an undergraduate at Oxford's Christ Church who became a pious Quaker, a member of Lincoln's Inn who became an advocate of arbitration, a Fellow of the Royal Society who despised pedantry, a man of property who devoted himself to the welfare of the poor, a polished courtier who preferred the plain style, a friend of kings who became a radical Whig, and an English gentlemen who became one of Christianity's great spiritual leaders. This episode and the next will explore the mind and character “of this extraordinary man.” Subscribe to my Substack! X – @TheHistoryOfTh2 – https://x.com/TheHistoryOfTh2 Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/HistoryOfTheAmericans Primary references for this episode David Hackett Fischer, Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America Andrew R. Murphy, William Penn: A Life

The Kids Act Could End Internet Freedom As We Know It. SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co        Support my work on Patreon: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz   A massive new package of legislation, dubbed the "Kids Act," is moving through Congress with unprecedented speed. The package is a broad-based censorship and surveillance scheme that will affect every single American.In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I sit down with Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), to break down the terrifying reality of what's happening in Washington D.C. right now. Adam, who has been fighting for internet freedom since the 1990s, explains how these laws demand mass age verification (which applies to adults too), regulate design features like infinite scroll, and even target messaging apps and VPNs. We also dive into the 1,800 AI bills popping up across states, Bernie Sanders' misguided plans for AI, and why the government is moving to create an identity layer for the entire internet. We also discuss the toxic brew of "moral panic," fake anti-big tech sentiment, and censorship that is driving this legislation forward.Topics covered:What the Kids Act is and how it passed committeeMass age verification and the internet ID layerThe end of online anonymityWhy messaging apps and video games are targetsState laws controlling the national internetState AI preemption and Bernie Sanders' AI plansThe history of internet censorship from 1996 to today#AI #Tech #TechNews #InternetFreedom #KidsAct #Censorship #TechPolicy #OnlinePrivacy #AILaws #VPNBan #FreeSpeech #MassSurveillance #FirstAmendment #BigTech #BernieSanders #KOSA #DataPrivacy

Truth Be Told with Booker Scott – Democratic socialism gains ground as frustrated voters face debt, rising costs, and broken trust in government. Promises of free benefits clash with concerns over liberty, border security, voter integrity, spending restraint, and accountability as Americans weigh whether government control or individual rights should define the nation's future direction...

For most of human history, offensive speech was equal to violence, and saying the wrong thing could get your tongue chopped off. Today, we aim to use words instead of violence. But what do you do when those words really hurt? This week on A Braver Way, Moni sits down with Greg Lukianoff, who she fondly calls “the free speech guy.” Greg is an attorney, author and president of the mighty Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Together, they explore the complicated relationship between speech and safety, and how what we let ourselves say determines how we let ourselves live.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Fred Neal preaches through 1 Corinthians 9:1-18.

Mahmoud Khalil was detained and arrested at his Manhattan apartment. The video is chilling. Plainclothes agents are there. They refuse to give their names. He's handcuffed and shoved into the back of a car. His wife — eight months pregnant — watches and tries to understand what's happening.This is not a scene from some dark chapter of a distant past filled with black-and-white photos of bygone dictatorships. This happened here, in the United States of America, in 2025.In this podcast series, in the lead-up to the country's 250th anniversary, journalists Michael Fox and Marc Steiner look at the battle for our free speech rights today, and attacks on people speaking out in the United States.Hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner. Theme music by Michael Fox, Jordan Klein, and Daniel Nuñez. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound. Production and Sound Design by Michael Fox and Stephen Frank.  Editorial support by: Kayla Rivara and Heather Gies. Research by Ben Schweiger.Guests: Lisa Femia, Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier FoundationCorinna Mullin, CUNY professorDavid Rubin, Staff Attorney, Foundation for Individual Rights and ExpressionAllen Chaney, Legal Director, ACLU - South CarolinaResources: The Charlie Kirk purge: How 600 Americans were punished in a pro-Trump crackdown  Clemson Settles With Professor Fired for Kirk CommentsRetired police officer jailed over Charlie Kirk post settles lawsuit for more than $800K The war on our sightBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Graduation season is once more upon us. The long school year has come to a close, and now, in caps and gowns, the nation's graduates gather to receive their various certifications, diplomas, and degrees, and listen to wisdom from a speaker.  However, many college graduations are not the same tranquil affairs they used to be. FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, reports that attempts by students to disinvite commencement speakers over political beliefs have increased sharply over the last decade or so. To name one example, students at Morehouse School of Medicine are attempting to block the commencement speech of alumnus Congressman Rich McCormick, over his stances against DEI, abortion, and transgender surgeries among other views. Some schools, such as New York University, have switched to recorded remarks by students in lieu of an in-person speaker.  At this point, the level of intolerance and intellectual coddling taking place at American universities is not a new story. It's bad, but is there a way back? This week, the Heritage Foundation is releasing a new book: Higher Education in America: It's Worse than you Think. I sat down with Jonathan Butcher, Acting Director of Heritage's Center for Education Policy and one of the book's authors, to ask whether he believes there is hope for the American university.  --- Email us with thoughts, questions, or suggestions: HeritageExplains@heritage.org  ---Jonathan Butcher on X: https://x.com/JM_Butcher?lang=enHigher Education in America: It's Worse Than You Think: https://a.co/d/0aMuIWzN

Today on Uncommon Sense, we're discussing what may be the most consequential political moment of Donald Trump's career. With Trump's approval ratings slipping, the Iran conflict escalating, renewed questions surrounding the Epstein files, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk continuing to reverberate through the conservative movement, many Americans are asking whether these events are isolated, or part of a much larger story.In this episode, I examine the connections I believe may exist between these developments, including my view that the Epstein files may have been used as leverage against powerful political figures and that foreign interests have exerted significant influence over American policy in the Middle East.We'll discuss:Trump's declining support among his baseThe growing controversy surrounding U.S. involvement with IranThe unanswered questions surrounding the Epstein filesThe political impact of Charlie Kirk's assassination and its aftermathWhy I believe these stories intersect in ways the mainstream media refuses to exploreMy goal is not to tell you what to think, but to encourage you to question narratives, follow incentives, and examine who benefits from the decisions being made in Washington.--https://www.bible.com/

Greg Lukianoff is one of our nation's foremost defenders of free speech, co-author of "The Canceling of the American Mind," and president of FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. His journey to this place wasn't easy, on a personal level, but the depressive spiral Greg eventually transcended gave him insight into the problems plaguing our public discourse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, hosts Chuck Warren and Sam Stone are joined by Kamden Mulder, Khosro Isfahani, Cary Davis, and Jon Fleischman for a packed episode covering the Biden DOJ, the FACE Act, pro-life investigations, Iran nuclear negotiations, free speech, FIRE, California politics, and B's Crime Corner.     First, Kamden Mulder, William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism at National Review, joins the show to discuss her reporting on the Biden Department of Justice and allegations that the DOJ misused the FACE Act to target pro-life groups. Kamden breaks down concerns over dozens of investigations, uneven sentencing between pro-life and pro-choice activists, and what these cases reveal about politics inside the justice system. Kamden also discusses her reporting on Steve Descano, the Commonwealth's Attorney for Fairfax County, Virginia, who has faced criticism for being soft on crime. She highlights cases involving dropped charges, lenient sentencing, violent offenders, illegal immigration concerns, and public safety in Fairfax County. Kamden Mulder:
X: @kamdenmulder_     Next, Khosro Isfahani, Research Director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran, joins the program to discuss his background growing up in Iran, the Islamic Republic, and the current nuclear negotiations with the United States. Isfahani explains why he believes the Islamic Republic is an expansionist regime that cannot be contained through agreements alone. He discusses the possibility of targeted action against regime officials and tools of oppression, arguing that the Iranian opposition can be supported without American boots on the ground. Isfahani also reflects on his Washington Post opinion piece about America being vilified in Iran. He shares how American movies, culture, and values influenced him and many other Iranians, contrasting that admiration with modern criticism of the United States from the political left. Khosro Isfahani:
X: @KhosroIsfahani     Then, Cary Davis, litigation attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, joins the show to discuss a major First Amendment case involving Larry, a retired Tennessee law enforcement officer who was jailed for 37 days after posting a political meme on Facebook. Cary explains how Larry was charged under a school threats statute and held on a shocking $2 million bond, an amount she says is typically associated with extremely serious crimes. After Larry received an $835,000 settlement, the case became a warning sign about political speech, online censorship, excessive bail, and First Amendment rights. Cary also discusses FIRE's broader work defending Americans facing punishment for online speech, including cases that followed the assassination of Charlie Kirk. She encourages listeners to support FIRE, spread awareness about free speech issues, and learn more about FIRE's Free Speech Forum summer program for high school students in Washington, D.C. Cary Davis / FIRE:
X: @TheFIREorg     In the fourth segment, Jon Fleischman, political strategist with Fleischman Consulting Group, publisher of the FlashReport, and former executive director of the Republican Party of California, joins Chuck and Sam to break down California politics, Los Angeles, public employee unions, and the future of the Republican Party in deep-blue states. Jon explains how government spending and public employee unions continue to strengthen Democratic power in California. He also weighs in on the California governor's race, including Steve Hilton's chances of making the runoff and how Donald Trump's endorsement could affect the race. Jon also discusses Spencer Pratt's social media strategy and how affordable AI-generated content may change the way political campaigns communicate with voters. Jon Fleischman:
X: @FlashReport
Website: https://www.sodoesitmatter.com     Finally, the show wraps up with B's Crime Corner, where the hosts dive into the disturbing world of prison groupies, hybristophilia, and the psychology behind people who become attracted to criminals. The segment touches on infamous cases involving Richard Ramirez, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and others, exploring why some women become obsessed with convicted killers and continue supporting them from behind bars. Listen to this episode of Breaking Battlegrounds for political analysis, First Amendment issues, foreign policy, California strategy, true crime, and conversations with Kamden Mulder, Khosro Isfahani, Cary Davis, and Jon Fleischman.     Tune in to Breaking Battlegrounds, the radio show covering the latest news, politics, culture, crime, and the stories shaping America.     Catch Breaking Battlegrounds live on 960 AM in Phoenix every Saturday at 9:00 AM, with full episodes and exclusive podcast-only segments dropping every Friday wherever you get your podcasts or watch on Youtube.     Stay connected with Breaking Battlegrounds: • Substack: https://substack.com/@breakingbattlegrounds   • Website: https://breakingbattlegrounds.vote   •News: https://breakingbattlegrounds.news   • X: https://x.com/breaking_battle   • Instagram: @breakingbattlegrounds   • Facebook: Breaking Battlegrounds

The Declaration famously says that we are “endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights.”... The American Founding was a creationist event, and precisely because it was a creationist event, we have enjoyed a truly solid foundation for the blessings of liberty. For more from Doug, subscribe to Canon+: https://canonplus.com/  

Matt speaks with Nadine Strossen about why free speech is under pressure across the political spectrum, from left-wing campus cancel culture to right-wing government coercion and censorship pressures. Strossen argues that the answer to hateful or harmful ideas is not censorship, but a stronger culture of free expression, viewpoint neutrality, and fighting bad speech with better speech.   References Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know - Nadine Strossen: https://a.co/d/0ialIpUc Hate: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship - Nadine Strossen: https://a.co/d/0isrx1H3 The War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech and Why They Fail - Nadine Strossen and Greg Lukianoff: https://a.co/d/00P1zxhP FIRE: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression https://www.fire.org/ The Future of Free Speech: Jhttps://futurefreespeech.org/ The Communications Decency Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Decency_Act   Thanks to Our Patrons Thanks to our patrons, including Kris Rondolo, Amy Willis, and Christopher McDonald. To support The Curious Task, visit: https://patreon.com/curioustask

White Supremacy and the Right-Wing Lie exposes one of the most successful psychological operations in modern American politics: the claim that racial extremism is an extension of Republicans and Conservatives. In this episode of The P.A.S. Report, Professor Nick Giordano dismantles the media, academic, and bureaucratic myth that white supremacist organizations are "right-wing." By examining the actual ideology of these groups, from National Socialists and accelerationists to revolutionary anti-capitalists, Professor Giordano shows that the real divide in America is not Left vs. Right, but Constitutional Liberty vs. Collectivist Power. What You'll Learn: Ideological Fraud: Why white supremacy rejects individual rights, equality under law, and the American founding in favor of racial collectivism.  Naming the Groups: A deep dive into the beliefs of the National Socialist Movement, Atomwaffen Division, The Base, Patriot Front, and neo-Völkisch movements.  The Soviet Playbook: How political labeling tactics and academic theories were used to pathologize patriotism, religion, and traditional values.  The DEI Connection: Why racial equity frameworks and white supremacy share the same poisonous premise: that the individual is subordinate to the racial group.  The Modern Machine: Why the SPLC, the media, and the bureaucracy need the "Right-Wing Extremism" narrative to justify expanding surveillance and silencing dissent.  The "right-wing" lie survives because it is a weapon. It allows powerful institutions to smear ordinary Americans and treat constitutional dissent as a domestic threat. It is time to stop playing defense. This episode challenges the labels, exposes the fraud, and proves that white supremacy isn't conservatism. It is a rejection of the American Creed.

It's Monday, April 27th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Preacher found dead in Russian prison A blogger and preacher, known to the internet as Vegan Christ-Lover of God, died this month while in Russian custody. Khristolyub Bozhiy ran a blog and YouTube channel where he spoke about religion, veganism, and his advocacy of peace related to Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine, reports International Christian Concern. The 43-year-old blogger described himself as a Christian activist, pacifist, and preacher who spoke against Islam Russian officials began their investigations in November 2023. In February 2025, a regional court sentenced Bozhiy to three years in a colony-settlement for offending Muslims,  In early April, Bozhiy was moved to a pre-trial detention center and was immediately placed in an isolated cell.  Earlier this month, he reported, “I was given five days in solitary as soon as I arrived. Then another 15, for nothing at all.”  On April 17th, Bozhiy's father learned that his son had died, but was not told the cause of his death until he was summoned to collect his son's body on April 20th. That day, when he arrived at the investigator's office, he was told that his son had been found hanging in an isolated cell. Bozhiy's relatives do not believe his death was a suicide. In his final protest, Bozhiy held a sign that read, “Jesus commanded to love enemies, not to kill, for God is love. Murderers do not inherit the Kingdom of God.”  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu treated for prostate cancer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed that he recently underwent treatment for prostate cancer, and kept it quiet for fear that it would be used by Iran for propaganda, reports One America News. He had three core messages to share with the public: “Thank God, I am healthy.” “I am in excellent physical condition.” “I had a minor medical issue with my prostate that was completely treated. Thank God, it's behind me.” 3 John 2:2 says, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 9 in 10 British Evangelicals prepared to share faith with atheists Only 2% of evangelical British Christians have faced ‘sanctions' for talking about their Christian faith at work, while 4% feel they have missed out on the chance of a promotion or other better job opportunities because of their Christian faith, reports Evangelical Focus. A survey commissioned by the Evangelical Alliance United Kingdom shows that most Evangelicals have a positive experience in their workplace. Although one in ten say they have received criticism in the United Kingdom for talking about their Christian faith and just over two in ten are “hesitant to talk about my Christian faith”, 40% of believers say that their Christian faith has “positively helped me in my workplace.” Almost 9 in 10 Evangelicals feel “equipped” to share their faith with atheists (86%) compared to 14% who do not. The response is virtually the same when asked about conversations with agnostics. And two-thirds of Evangelical respondents feel prepared to discuss their faith with Muslims (67%) and 79% with Jews. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Trump's fiscal folly On April 3rd, President Trump released his proposed Fiscal 2027 Budget. Strikingly, Trump proposed to increase defense spending by over 40% and cut non-defense discretionary spending by about 10%, reports Fortune Magazine. Yet, even after slashing everything from environmental protection and scientific research to housing and small-business support, government spending will surge, the deficit will balloon, and the ratio of debt held by the public to the Gross Domestic Product will climb to peacetime highs and remain above 100%. Overall, the Trump administration's proposed budget is an extension of what has become, particularly during the last three administrations, fiscal folly. Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, wrote, “A significant chunk of today's government expenditures are financed by putting future generations in bondage and saddling them with the costs. This is irresponsible, inequitable, and immoral. Fiscal deficits are nothing more than deferred taxes that will be paid by those who aren't even voting today, as well as many who are yet to be born.” Public school allows profane anti-ICE protest, suspends pro-ICE student On February 6, hundreds of students at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, California peacefully staged a mid-school-day walkout to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They held posters that read “ICE is KKK spelled differently” as well as others with profane language. Yet, two weeks later, Torrey Pines High School suspended a student for posting pro-ICE flyers reading, “We love I.C.E. – Real Americans.” The school claimed the flyers, which caused no disruption at the school — and were displayed in a common area where other students have posted political material — nevertheless constituted “harassment” and “intimidation.”  After intervention by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a California school district expunged its suspension of a high school junior for putting up a pro-ICE poster. Senior Attorney Conor Fitzpatrick said, “School administrators can't pick and choose which opinions students are allowed to express. Voicing an opinion which makes others upset is not ‘harassment' or ‘intimidation,' it is American democracy in action.” Which U.S. president had 15 children? And finally, in 1789, George Washington became the first president of the United States. Since then, 44 other men have served as Commander-in-Chief, each leaving a political legacy to be analyzed and judged in the course of time. But their legacies are not only political — they're also familial, reports HistoryFacts. The number of children each president had is often overlooked, but on a personal level, few things could be more important. And in two cases, presidential children — John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush — went on to become presidents themselves, combining the familial with the political.    Five presidents fathered no known biological children. In some cases, this was likely due to infertility caused by medical issues, such as the tuberculosis infection George Washington suffered before he was married. James Buchanan, meanwhile, remains the only U.S. president who never married.  One president stands head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to procreating: John Tyler fathered 15 children across two marriages. Another notable figure is Thomas Jefferson, who had six children with his wife of 10 years, Martha Jefferson, and allegedly fathered six others with his slave named Sally Hemings. The other presidents in the top five include: James A. Garfield, who had 7 children, Rutherford B. Hayes, who had 8 children, and William Henry Harrison, who had 10 children. Psalm 127:3-5 says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Monay, April 27th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

First Amendment attorney Bob Corn-Revere returns to the show for a wide ranging conversation on his work with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the Supreme Court, deepfakes, the state of free speech in America today - and what moving forward looks like, and lots more.

Yascha Mounk and Jacob Mchangama discuss how democracies and dictatorships alike have turned against online speech freedom. Jacob Mchangama is the Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech and a research professor at Vanderbilt University, as well as a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. His latest book, with Jeff Kosseff, is The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential Freedom. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jacob Mchangama discuss why we're experiencing a global free speech recession despite technological advances, how hate speech laws are being weaponized against their original intent, and whether democracies can resist the authoritarian playbook for controlling online discourse. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: leonora.barclay@persuasion.community Podcast production by Mickey Freeland and Leonora Barclay. Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bakhti is joined by Sarah McLaughlin, a senior scholar focused on global expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Sarah and Bakhti discuss the difference in free speech traditions between the United States and Europe, threats to speech on both sides of the Atlantic, and why Americans apply free speech selectively along political lines. Sarah also talks through why Americans should defend the right to free expression even, and especially, when it is painful for them. --- Sarah McLaughlin is the Senior Scholar, Global Expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and author of Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech. She writes regularly about the state of free speech around the world and her work has been featured in outlets including Foreign Policy, The Guardian, and The Los Angeles Times. This podcast is hosted by Bakhti Nishanov and produced by Alanna Novetsky and Carly Breland, inconjunction with the Senate Recording Studio.

Glenn Wiggle, Mike Lomas, and Mike Sperrazza kick off the week reacting to the "No Kings" protests, breaking down the clips that had them talking before the show even started, from the woman "protesting on behalf of" Black Americans who she says are too unsafe to show up themselves, to the man in orange face paint who can't explain what king-like behavior Trump has actually exhibited. Glenn calls out Bernie Sanders flying first class to the rallies, and the Kamala Harris nomination comes up as a case study in who's actually bypassing democracy. The conversation covers Canada's assisted suicide program, which Glenn says has become the leading cause of death there, Sweden's new legislation deporting non-citizens who aren't earning an honest living, New York politicians pushing for a $45,000 raise while Apollo Group quietly joins JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs in leaving the state, and whether a balanced budget amendment is the only real fix for runaway government spending. Glenn and Mike also dig into the Charlie Kirk shooting, raising questions about the bullet that reportedly didn't match the gun and the surveillance footage that went missing from the scene. Both agree DOGE was working until Congress shut it down a full year early.(00:03:48) Rejecting Monarchy: Advocating for Democracy(00:08:00) Debating Kamala Harris and Authoritarian Power(00:12:20) Managing Migration Impact: Sweden's Policy Shift(00:22:15) National Oil Reserves for Self-Sufficiency(00:29:02) Debate on Economic Systems and Individual Rights(00:29:19) Innovative Growth through Free Market Principles(00:29:26) Equitable Taxation for Wealth Redistribution(00:42:05) Combatting Fraud Through Stricter Enforcement Protocols(00:42:44) Impact of Republican Congress on Government Programs

On Wednesday, a California jury found Meta and YouTube each liable for harming the well-being of a young user who had sued the two companies. The plaintiff argued that the products had negatively impacted her mental health. This verdict follows a similar decision made by a jury in New Mexico earlier this week. Both decisions are part of a massive shift in how Americans are thinking about social media. New polling from Edison Research at SSRS – a major data and research firm – found that 57% of Americans ages 18 and older would support a social media ban for anyone under 16. But civil liberties groups, like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, are crying foul, arguing that curtailing speech and content on social media is curtailing speech, period. Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University's Stern School of Business and author of "The Anxious Generation," joins the show to discuss what stronger regulations on young people could mean for all social media users.And in headlines, a Democrat flips the Florida state legislative seat in the district that contains Mar-a-Lago, new polling shows that a majority of Americans think that the U.S. military has gone too far in attacking Iran, and a report says the White House turned down Elon Musk's offer to pay TSA agents.Show Notes: Check out Jonathan's book – www.anxiousgeneration.com/book Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

About Michael Liebowitz – Host of The Rational EgoistMichael Liebowitz is the host of The Rational Egoist podcast, a philosopher, author, and political activist committed to the principles of reason, individualism, and rational self-interest. Deeply influenced by the philosophy of Ayn Rand, Michael uses his platform to challenge cultural dogma, expose moral contradictions, and defend the values that make human flourishing possible.His journey from a 25-year prison sentence to becoming a respected voice in the libertarian and Objectivist communities is a testament to the transformative power of philosophy. Today, Michael speaks, writes, and debates passionately in defence of individual rights and intellectual clarity.He is the co-author of two compelling books that examine the failures of the correctional system and the redemptive power of moral conviction:Down the Rabbit Hole: How the Culture of Corrections Encourages Crimehttps://www.amazon.com.au/Down-Rabbit...View from a Cage: From Convict to Crusader for Libertyhttps://books2read.com/u/4jN6xjAbout Xenia Ioannou – Producer of The Rational EgoistXenia Ioannou is the producer of The Rational Egoist, responsible for overseeing the publishing, presentation, and promotion of each episode to ensure a consistent standard of clarity, professionalism, and intellectual rigour.She is the CEO of Alexa Real Estate, a property manager and entrepreneur, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Ayn Rand Centre Australia, where she contributes to the organisation's strategic direction and public engagement with ideas centred on reason, individual rights, and human freedom.Xenia also leads Capitalism and Coffee – An Objectivist Meetup in Adelaide, creating a forum for thoughtful discussion on Ayn Rand's philosophy and its application to everyday life, culture, and current issues.Join Capitalism and Coffee here:https://www.meetup.com/adelaide-ayn-r...(Capitalism and Coffee – An Objectivist Meetup)Follow Xenia's essays on reason, independence, and purposeful living at her Substack:https://substack.com/@xeniaioannou?ut...Because freedom is worth thinking about — and talking about.https://substack.com/@radcap#rights#freedom#capitalism#government#society

What if the skill that makes you a stronger leader is the same skill that protects free speech? In this episode, I'm joined by Greg Lukianoff, First Amendment attorney, to talk about emotional reasoning, why discomfort isn't the same as danger, and what happens when we start treating speech as violence. Greg shares how his own battle with depression and suicidal thoughts led him to CBT and how learning to question his thoughts transformed both his mental health and his leadership. Get ready to rethink what makes us mentally strong and why protecting speech may also mean protecting our resilience. Check out our sponsors: Northwest Registered Agent - Protect your privacy, build your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes! Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/achieverfree Shopify - Sign up for a $1 per month trial, just go to http://shopify.com/anxiousachiever Talkiatry - Head to http://talkiaitry.com/achiever and complete the short assessment to get matched with an in network psychiatrist in just a few minutes. Working Genius - Take the working genius assessment today and get 20% off with code ACHIEVER at working http://genius.com Brevo - Meet brevo, the all in one marketing and CRM platform built to help you connect with customers, boost engagement and grow your business smarter. Go to brevo.com/achiever and use code ACHIEVER50 for 50% off.  In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 How cognitive distortions shape modern mental health. 07:30 Why Gen X values free speech differently. 13:15 Why words can hurt and still must be protected. 17:45 When does harmful speech cross the line? 21:00 What we lose when speech is treated as violence. 27:00 What does the First Amendment actually protect? 32:00 The emotional cost of defending unpopular speech. 37:00 How depression reshaped Greg's life and leadership. 41:30 Why CBT works for anxious achievers. 44:30 What is the connection between CBT and the mental health crisis among young people? 48:30 The 3 “great untruths” shaping modern anxiety. 51:45 Why great leaders stay intellectually humble. 55:00 Why meaningful work can stabilize mental health. 59:00 How to protect yourself from social media manipulation. 01:01:30 A CBT technique to challenge negative thoughts. Resources + Links Learn more about the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) HERE Get your copy of The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever Watch the podcast on YouTube  Find more resources on our website morraam.com Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele + Instagram @morraam Follow Greg: on LinkedIn @greglukianoff + Instagram @glukianoff

The Trump admin publicly bragged about demanding that Apple and Facebook remove ICE watch apps and Facebook groups documenting ICE activity, and Big Tech is complying.Support my independent journalism:

Is the Electoral College under threat? The growing push for the National Popular Vote could fundamentally reshape American federalism and state power. In this episode of The P.A.S. Report Podcast, Professor Nicholas Giordano sits down with Trent England to break down the historical purpose of the Electoral College, the Founding Fathers' constitutional design, and the serious implications of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. This conversation explores why federalism matters, how democracy can conflict with individual rights, and what happens when civic education fails to explain the structure of the Constitution. What You'll Learn: Why the Electoral College was a deliberate constitutional compromise, not an accident How the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could weaken state sovereignty The difference between pure democracy and constitutional republicanism Why federalism protects minority rights and prevents centralized power How civic education shapes the future of constitutional self-government The debate over the Electoral College is not just political. It is a question about the survival of federalism, the limits of democracy, and whether Americans still understand the Constitution that governs them.

The topic this week is government policy towards online social media and children. Henry's guests are Ari Cohn, lead counsel for tech policy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and Clare Morell, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and […]

Alex Gladstein and Justin Moon break down the fundamentals of large language models and explore the rise of OpenClaw as a self-sovereign AI assistant. Justin explains context engineering, local inference, and vibe coding, while Alex dives into the AI for Individual Rights program and its mission to empower activists. IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:04:12 - What Large Language Models (LLMs) are and how they differ from traditional programs 00:05:15 - Why AI feels like magic—and what's really happening under the hood 00:06:01 - The key differences between open and closed AI models 00:06:50 - Why capital structures influence AI model openness 00:09:09 - How persistent memory enhances AI agent performance 00:12:18 - What inference means and why context is a scarce resource 00:19:32 - How AI agents combine traditional software with LLM reasoning 00:21:10 - The evolution from MCP-style systems to skills-based context engineering 00:25:41 - What “vibe coding” is and how it lowers the barrier to building apps 00:44:07 - How the AI for Individual Rights program supports activist-driven innovation Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Oslo Freedom Forum: Website. Justin:  Nostr account. Related episode:  Is AGI Here? Clawdbot, Local AI Agent Swarms w/ Pablo Fernandez & Trey Sellers. Related ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠books⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ mentioned in the podcast. Ad-free episodes on our⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Premium Feed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. NEW TO THE SHOW? Join the exclusive ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Mastermind Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Follow our official social media accounts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bitcoin Fundamentals Starter Packs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Finance Tool⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Enjoy exclusive perks from our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠favorite Apps and Services⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Intrinsic Value Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠best business podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our ⁠⁠⁠⁠sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠: HardBlock Human Rights Foundation Simple Mining Netsuite Masterworks Shopify Vanta Fundrise References to any third-party products, services, or advertisers do not constitute endorsements, and The Investor's Podcast Network is not responsible for any claims made by them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

On the final show of the year, Dr. Drew shares his predictions for 2026 and his favorites from 2025. He's joined by Alex Marlow (Breitbart Editor In Chief), Gabe Walters (FIRE free speech attorney), Stuart Reges (professor), and Nicolas Hulscher (epidemiologist at McCullough Foundation). Dr. Drew learned about gold, silver & retirement with Augusta – now it's your turn: https://drdrew.com/gold Alex Marlow is the editor in chief of Breitbart News Network and host of The Alex Marlow Show. He was Andrew Breitbart's first employee and has appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek. Alex is the author of “Breaking the Law: Exposing the Weaponization of America's Legal System Against Donald Trump” available now at https://amzn.to/4qcmjSQ . Follow at https://x.com/alexmarlow⠀Gabe Walters is an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. He has litigated major free speech and freedom of information cases nationwide and has been published in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Follow at https://x.com/TheFIREorg⠀Stuart Reges is a University of Washington professor who prevailed in a federal court case defending his right to criticize land acknowledgment policies. Learn more at https://stuartreges.com⠀Nicolas Hulscher is an epidemiologist and administrator at the McCullough Foundation. He has authored or coauthored 16 scientific manuscripts focused on COVID-19 vaccine injury syndromes and infectious disease origins. Follow at https://thefocalpoints.com 「 SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 」 • AUGUSTA PRECIOUS METALS – Thousands of Americans are moving portions of their retirement into physical gold & silver. Learn more in this 3-minute report from our friends at Augusta Precious Metals: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://drdrew.com/gold⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or text DREW to 35052 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• FATTY15 – The future of essential fatty acids is here! Strengthen your cells against age-related breakdown with Fatty15. Get 15% off a 90-day Starter Kit Subscription at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://drdrew.com/fatty15⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • PALEOVALLEY - "Paleovalley has a wide variety of extraordinary products that are both healthful and delicious,” says Dr. Drew. "I am a huge fan of this brand and know you'll love it too!” Get 15% off your first order at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://drdrew.com/paleovalley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • VSHREDMD – Formulated by Dr. Drew: The Science of Cellular Health + World-Class Training Programs, Premium Content, and 1-1 Training with Certified V Shred Coaches! More at https://drdrew.com/vshredmd • THE WELLNESS COMPANY - Counteract harmful spike proteins with TWC's Signature Series Spike Support Formula containing nattokinase and selenium. Learn more about TWC's supplements at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twc.health/drew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 「 ABOUT THE SHOW 」 Ask Dr. Drew is produced by Kaleb Nation (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://kalebnation.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) and Susan Pinsky (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/firstladyoflov⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠e⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). This show is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Executive Producers • Kaleb Nation - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://kalebnation.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Susan Pinsky - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/firstladyoflove⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Content Producer & Booking • Emily Barsh - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/emilytvproducer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Hosted By • Dr. Drew Pinsky - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/drdrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2: 4:05pm- Sean Stevens—Chief Research Advisor for Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss FIRE's latest report, “2025 sets new record for attempts to silence student speech.” You can find the full report here: https://www.thefire.org/news/2025-sets-new-record-attempts-silence-student-speech-fire-research-finds. 4:30pm- In an announcement from the Oval Office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order “rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses.” Trump emphasized to the press: “I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization [of] marijuana in any way, shape, or form—and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug.” 4:50pm- Most attractive member of Congress: Rosa DeLaura vs AOC?! Plus, Warner Bros. implores shareholders to go with the Netflix offer over Paramount. Does this mean movie theaters will be saved? As part of the deal, Netflix has pledged to release major motion pictures in theaters.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Show (12/18/2025): 3:05pm- In an announcement from the Oval Office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order “rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses.” 3:30pm- Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss artificial intelligence regulations at the state level vs the federal level. Plus, he weighs-in on the investigation in the Brown University shooting and reflects on his first year in office. 4:05pm- Sean Stevens—Chief Research Advisor for Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss FIRE's latest report, “2025 sets new record for attempts to silence student speech.” You can find the full report here: https://www.thefire.org/news/2025-sets-new-record-attempts-silence-student-speech-fire-research-finds. 4:30pm- In an announcement from the Oval Office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order “rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses.” Trump emphasized to the press: “I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization [of] marijuana in any way, shape, or form—and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug.” 4:50pm- Most attractive member of Congress: Rosa DeLaura vs AOC?! Plus, Warner Bros. implores shareholders to go with the Netflix offer over Paramount. Does this mean movie theaters will be saved? As part of the deal, Netflix has pledged to release major motion pictures in theaters. 5:00pm- In a Thursday press conference, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced new rules restricting gender-affirming care for minors. Sec. Kennedy explained: "So-called 'gender-affirming care' has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people. This is not medicine. It is malpractice." 5:15pm- Sally's Apizza—the New Haven, CT pizzeria founded in 1938 and widely regarded as the best pizza in the entire country—is expanding, with new locations opening in New Jersey and Pennsylvania! But will the expansion have an impact on quality control? 5:20pm- Candice Owens continues to baselessly insist the First Lady of France has a penis…WHY?!?! She made the claims (again) during an off the rails interview with Piers Morgan. The defamation lawsuit filed against her could cost Owens more than $5 million. 5:45pm- Inflation is improving—down to 2.7% after sitting at 3% in September. During a segment on CNN, Harvard economics professor Ken Rogoff explained: “It was a better number than anyone was expecting…Positive news. There's no other way to spin it.” 6:05pm- Doug Kelly—CEO of the American Edge Project—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss a new report indicating that nearly 3,000 data centers are either currently under construction or in the process of being planned across the United States. The data centers are essential for the expected artificial intelligence boom. Though, some on the political left are pushing back—citing their massive energy usage. 6:40pm- The Philadelphia Eagles travel to Washington on Saturday to take on the Commanders. Will Philly win and guarantee themselves a playoff spot and the NFC East Division title?

Warning: This episode contains strong language and mentions of suicide.Over the past year, the federal government has taken a series of actions widely seen as attacks on the First Amendment.Greg Lukianoff, the head of a legal defense group called the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, speaks to Natalie Kitroeff about what free speech really means and why both the left and the right end up betraying it.Guest: Greg Lukianoff, the president and chief executive of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.Background reading: Read Mr. Lukianoff's guest essay for New York Times Opinion from September.Photo: Moriah Ratner for The New York TimesFor more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Most parents know what goes into raising children: the time spent changing diapers in inopportune places; the hours of worrying—about what to feed them, how to educate them, how to protect them and keep them healthy; the countless hours devoted to dance classes, summer camps, pediatricians, and piano lessons—all investments meant to give them the best chance in life. Most of us would do anything to help our kids become the most successful and happiest versions of themselves. But what if we could start earlier? At the molecular level. What if we could ensure our babies were healthier, smarter, and stronger, before they even took their first breath? Right now, several biotech companies are doing just that. They offer embryo screening for couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). These companies don't just score embryos for disease risk, which has become standard practice for anyone undergoing IVF—they go further. Nucleus Genomics promises “optimization” of traits like heart health and cancer resistance, as well as intelligence, longevity, body mass index, baldness, eye color, hair color, etc. It even suggests it may predict a predisposition to become an alcoholic. In the future, we may be able to more than just screen and select. We'll be able to make tweaks to our own embryos in order to “optimize” them. This isn't something out of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. It's the very real, and near, future. Some would argue it's already here. It all creates profound and critical questions. So we hosted a debate: Is it ethical to design our unborn children? And are we morally obligated to do so when the risks of abstaining include serious diseases? Or does designing babies cross a line? Is it wrong to play God and manipulate humanity's genetic heritage? Arguing that designing babies is not only an ethical choice, but indeed a moral imperative, are Jamie Metzl and Dr. Allyson Berent. Jamie is a technology and healthcare futurist, who was a member of the World Health Organization Expert Advisory Committee on Human Genome Editing. He's also written several best-selling books on this subject, including Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity. Allyson is a veterinarian who has become an incredible force for genetic research since her daughter, Quincy, was diagnosed with Angelman syndrome. She serves as chief science officer of the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics and chief development officer at a biotechnology company, where she helps accelerate gene therapy programs for Angelman syndrome. Arguing that designing babies is unethical are O. Carter Snead and Dr. Lydia Dugdale. Carter is a bioethicist and law professor at Notre Dame. He served as general counsel to the President's Council on Bioethics under George W. Bush and as an appointed member of UNESCO's International Bioethics Committee. He is also an appointed member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, which advises the pope on bioethics. Lydia is a physician, medical ethicist, and professor of medicine at Columbia University, where she serves as director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She is also Co-Director of Clinical Ethics at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. It's a critical debate you won't want to miss.  The Free Press is honored to have partnered with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression to present this debate. Head to TheFire.org to learn more about this indispensable organization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few lines in the Constitution have provoked as much passion—or confusion—as this one: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” What did the Founding Fathers mean by “well regulated”? What did they mean by “Militia”? And, do any of those definitions hold in 21st-century America? Guns are one of the most divisive symbols in the country. At the same time, the idea of surrendering weapons and trusting the state feels dangerous, and to many, guns are not symbols of violence, but symbols of freedom. Still, the question remains: freedom at what cost? With mass shootings now a fixture of American life, with countless families being wrecked by gun violence—what exactly are we protecting? This debate is about what the Second Amendment really means, what its limits should be, what the root causes of our gun violence are. And how, if at all, we can address them. We think about this subject a lot: Would America be safer without the Second Amendment? To debate this topic we brought together Dana Loesch and Alan Dershowitz recently in Chicago—a city that has had more than its fair share of gun violence. Alan argued yes, that America would be safer without the Second Amendment. Alan is a lawyer, a law professor for 50 years at Harvard, and the author of too many books to mention. He has litigated and won hundreds of cases in multiple countries, including his pro bono defense of dissidents such as Natan Sharansky, Václav Havel, and Julian Assange. And he is a fierce advocate for tighter gun control in the United States. Dana Loesch argued no, that America would not be safer without the Second Amendment. Dana is one of the country's top nationally syndicated talk radio hosts with The Dana Show, a television commentator, preeminent Second Amendment advocate, and author of several books, including the best-selling Hands Off My Gun: Defeating the Plot to Disarm America. She is also a former spokesperson for the National Rifle Association. It's a critical debate you won't want to miss. The Free Press is honored to have partnered with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression to present this debate. Head to thefire.org to learn more about this indispensable organization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a wave of everyday people have been punished, getting doxxed and even losing their jobs because of statements they made online regarding Kirk and his death. Even the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, encouraged Americans to call the employers of anyone they feel is “celebrating Charlie's murder.” Free speech matters now, more than ever. But what can we say without fear of retribution? To find out what the rules around speech in America really are, and why this is no time to self-censor, we spoke to Ari Cohn. He's lead counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, with a focus on tech policy.And in the news: Oregon sues the Trump administration to stop the deployment of the state's National Guard to protect federal buildings, current New York City Mayor Eric Adams pulls out of the upcoming mayoral race, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changes his story on what happened with those bunker busters in Iran.Show Notes:Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump signs an executive order directing the DOJ to pursue prosecutions for flag burning despite longstanding Supreme Court precedent protecting it as free speech. Senior Counsel at Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Bob Corn-Revere,  weighing in on whether it can survive a legal challenge. The Trump Administration targets soft-on-crime policies with new executive orders to end cashless bail in D.C. and cut federal funds to cities that allow it. Rapper Snoop Dogg sparks backlash after saying he was blindsided by an LGBT subplot in Pixar's Lightyear while watching with his grandson. BAU: Go to https://BAUmovie.com to watch the Artist of war trailer and learn more. Herald Group: Learn more at https://GuardYourCard.com