Free Speech Under Pressure – Nadine Strossen on the First Amendment, Protest, and Power

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: [email protected] ACLU president and First Amendment scholar Nadine Strossen joins Faithful Politics for a wide-ranging conversation on what free speech actually protects—and what it doesn’t—in today’s political climate. Strossen explains why free expression is the foundation for every other civil liberty, why censorship often backfires, and how both the left and the right have grown more comfortable restricting speech they dislike. The conversation moves from campus speech controversies and hate speech laws to protest, ICE enforcement, January 6, and the legal standard for incitement. Throughout, Strossen makes a clear case for viewpoint neutrality and warns that powers used to silence one group rarely stay contained. The episode closes with practical guidance on how Americans should think about the First Amendment in daily life, and why defending speech we oppose is the price of protecting our own.Guest BioNadine Strossen is one of the country’s leading voices on free speech and civil liberties. She served for 17 years as president of the ACLU, becoming the first woman to lead the organization. She is a law professor at New York Law School and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Strossen is the author of several influential books, including Hate: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship, Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know, and The War on Words.Organizations:Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression: https://www.thefire.org/American Civil Liberties Union: https://www.aclu.org/Recommended Readings:Hate: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780190859121The War On Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781949846829The Coddling of the American Mind How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780735224919 Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: [email protected] Wright, Political Host: [email protected] Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast