Hate Speech in the U.S.: Protected or Punishable? episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 17, 2025 · 14 MIN

Hate Speech in the U.S.: Protected or Punishable?

from The Smerconish Podcast · host Michael Smerconish

Michael digs into today’s Smerconish.com poll question, sparked by a fiery legal debate after comments made by Attorney General Pam Pondi on going after people who were spreading 'hate speech'' in the wake of the death of Charlie Kirk: “Agree or Disagree: ‘Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech… gross speech… evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the 1st Amendment.’” Putting this current controversy in context with landmark Supreme Court rulings and his own legal knowledge, Michael unpacks where the law really stands—and why it matters now more than ever. Listen here, then vote! And thank you for leaving a rating and review of this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael digs into today’s Smerconish.com poll question, sparked by a fiery legal debate after comments made by Attorney General Pam Pondi on going after people who were spreading 'hate speech'' in the wake of the death of Charlie Kirk: “Agree or Disagree: ‘Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech… gross speech… evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the 1st Amendment.’” Putting this current controversy in context with landmark Supreme Court rulings and his own legal knowledge, Michael unpacks where the law really stands—and why it matters now more than ever. Listen here, then vote! And thank you for leaving a rating and review of this podcast.

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Hate Speech in the U.S.: Protected or Punishable?

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This episode was published on September 17, 2025.

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Michael digs into today’s Smerconish.com poll question, sparked by a fiery legal debate after comments made by Attorney General Pam Pondi on going after people who were spreading 'hate speech'' in the wake of the death of Charlie Kirk: “Agree or...

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