PODCAST · news
Thinking Freely
by ACLU of Maryland
Thinking Freely is a political podcast, from the ACLU of Maryland, informing people about what's happening politically in Maryland from the courts to the streets, and everywhere in between. You'll hear from ACLU staff, our clients, and community leaders about the issues facing our civil liberties and how you can get involved.Produced by Nehemiah BesterLearn more at: aclu-md.org
Episodes
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Leer libremente: Entre dos mundos
Escucha un cuento sincero del amor, la familia y el impacto de la inmigración. Este último episodio de “Leer libremente” sigue una historia que va de Baltimore a El Salvador y de regreso.. Sintoniza mientras Lorena Magdalena Diaz, miembro del personal de la ACLU de Maryland, nos lleva en un viaje…
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Reading Freely: Between Two Worlds
In a heartfelt telling of love, family and the impact of immigration, this latest episode of Reading Freely follows a story from Baltimore to El Salvador, and back again. Tune in as ACLU of Maryland staffer, Lorena Magdalena Diaz, takes us on journey through time between her two homes, and how...
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Reading Freely: Waving My Disability Pride Flag All Around
If you are disabled and are reading this: We see you. We affirm you. We love you. The world would be boring as heck without people like you in it. This episode of Reading Freely is all about Disability Pride Month and celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) anniversary, signed into...
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Leer libremente: Reflexionemos sobre el mes del orgullo LGBTQ+
En junio, miembros del personal de la ACLU de Maryland asistieron a eventos del Orgullo en todo el estado, desde el condado de Charles, Annapolis y Baltimore. El Orgullo, sin importar dónde esté, sigue creciendo cada año. Los miembros de nuestro personal salieron de estos eventos con diferentes...
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Reading Freely: Let's Reflect on LGBTQ+ Pride
In June, ACLU of Maryland staff members attended Pride events throughout the state – from Charles County, Annapolis and Baltimore. Pride, no matter where it is, continues to grow each year. Our staff members came out of these events with different reflections about LGBTQ+ Pride. In this episode,...
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Meet Our New Board President, Corey Stottlemyer
As a father, advocate, economist, and strategist, Corey Stottlemyer uses his skills and experience of more than 20 years to advocate for racial justice and equity at the federal, state, and local levels. As the new Board President of the ACLU of Marylanders Board of Directors, Corey feels that...
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Reading Freely: A Riot vs. A Rebellion - A Telling of The Riot Report Documentary
Can we ever learn from history or are we forever doomed to repeat it? On this episode, listen to producer, Nehemiah Bester, as he shares his experience working on the documentary film, The Riot Report on PBS, while comparing and contrasting his personal accounts of rebellion, most notably during...
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Leer libremente: Un Día de Lobby Memorable
Este año, el Día de los Presidentes, celebramos un Día de Acción centrado en los derechos de los niños en Annapolis para aprobar algunas buenas decisiones para que nuestros funcionarios electos rindan cuentas de sus palabras. Alrededor de 200 activistas, estudiantes y líderes comunitarios…
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Reading Freely: A Lobby Day To Remember
This year on President’s Day, we held a children’s rights focused Day of Action in Annapolis to pass some good bills and hold our elected officials accountable to their words. Around 200 activists, students, and community leaders marched into the General Assembly to make their voices heard during...
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"No One Was Protecting Us" Ransom Watkins Of The Exonerated Harlem Park 3
Life in prison was the verdict for teenagers Ransom Watkins, Andrew Stewart and Alfred Chestnut in 1983 when they were wrongfully intimidated and interrogated by police and sentenced for a crime they did not commit. The three were eventually exonerated, but were effectively robbed of 36 years of...
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ACLU Presenta Una Queja Federal Contra El Alguacil Del Condado De Frederick
El acuerdo 287(g) con ICE en el condado de Frederick debe finalizar. En julio, la ACLU de Maryland se unió a la ACLU nacional para presentar una queja administrativa federal pidiendo al Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los EE. UU. que investigue al alguacil del condado de Frederick, Charles...
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Reading Freely: 5 Years Of Making Good Trouble
Half a decade ago, Dana Vickers Shelley walked into the ACLU of Maryland as the new executive director ready to make "good trouble" in the name of working to guarantee the promise of Maryland’s constitution for all Marylanders. 5 years have gone by, but the mission remains the same. Listen as…
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Know Your Rights: LGBTQ+ Students Have The Right To Be Themselves In School
This June, the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people for the first time in the organization’s 40-year history. And unfortunately, students are not immune to the dangerous anti-queer assaults, legislatively or physically. Because of the seriousness of these attacks,...
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Can Marijuana & Racial Justice Coexist?
Starting on July 1st, 2023, marijuana will officially become legalized for recreational use in Maryland for adults 21 and up. This also includes a new law that bans police stops and searches based on the alleged smell of marijuana. But is that enough for Maryland to become a model for marijuana…
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Stop The Eviction: A Modern Day Indian Removal
What's being called a modern day Indian Removal, The Wild Turkey Clan of the Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians in Maryland are being forced off their land by the Charles County government - the very land that belongs to the Piscataway Conoy People and that the Band has taken care of for...
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Leer libremente: El camino hacia la legalización de marihuana: El cronograma hasta ahora
Finalmente, el uso legal de la marihuana en Maryland se está convirtiendo en una realidad, pero eso no significa que sea oficialmente legal todavía. Aquí hay una cronología que le dice todo lo que necesita saber sobre esta próxima fase de las leyes sobre la marihuana. Lea la cronología completa...
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Reading Freely: The Road To Marijuana Legalization Timeline So Far
Finally, legal use marijuana in Maryland is becoming a reality - but that doesn't mean that it's officially legal just yet. Here's a timeline breaking down everything you need to know around this next phase of marijuana laws. Read the full timeline here:...
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Reading Freely: Pride Is More Than A Month - It's A Mentality
Pride is more than a place holder on a calendar - it's protest. Over 50 years after the Stonewall Uprising, and six months away from the 50th anniversary of the now overruled Roe v. Wade, we can feel the tides changing, pulling us back into the past. The very first sounds of LGBTQ+ freedom and...
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Reading Freely: Know The Facts About The Racist, Anti-Immigrant 287(G) Program
Know The Facts. Immigrants' rights are more important now than ever. And one pressing issue on the minds of many in Maryland is that the 287(g) program continues to plague us. The program deputizes local and state law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws. A couple years back, the ACLU…
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Reading Freely: Enfranchising Maryland During An Era Of Disenfranchisement
Our vote is a fundamental freedom and our democracy is threatened without real access to everyone. The ACLU of Maryland has long worked to stop voter disenfranchisement in all its forms. In this audio blog, learn how tactics of ballot exclusion have evolved over the years, and how the path to...
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Back to School: A Race Conscious Call to Action
Many Maryland children are heading back to school. After a year and a half of virtual learning, most students will go back into their school buildings. But what experience will they step back into? On this episode we speak with key ACLU experts, Justin Nalley, public policy analyst, Frank...
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The Derek Chauvin Verdict, Anton Black, and Protecting Black Lives
On April 20, 2021, the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial issued a guilty verdict on all three counts for the murder of George Floyd. However, one verdict is not justice – it’s simply accountability. Over 5,000 people were killed by police in the U.S. since 2015, including George Floyd and Anton...
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Life, Liberty, and Humanity: Women in the immigrant community fighting for a better Frederick
Immigrants in Frederick County have been fighting for their rights for years. We’ve seen some great victories this year. Immigrants have won in the courts and in local policy that helps the community, despite the odds. In this episode, we talked to Sara Movahed, ACLU of Maryland board member and...
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Coverup, Police Killing and the Medical Examiner: Anton Black should still be alive today
Police officers on Maryland's Eastern Shore killed Anton Black, a 19-year-old Black teenager, on the afternoon of September 15, 2018. Over two years later, the family and the Coalition for Justice for Anton Black are still fighting for justice for Anton Black. To talk more about this we will…
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Free the Vote: Let people who are incarcerated access the ballot
The right to vote and participate in our democracy is currently denied to over 18,000 citizens who are incarcerated in Maryland. Dating back to the racist Jim Crow era, state felony disfranchisement laws were created to prevent Americans entangled in the legal justice system from voting. After…
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Welcome 2021: Still work to do (Bonus Episode)
After the 2020 election, a national awaking on systemic racism, COVID-19, and a politically divided nation, it is important to reflect on where we have been and where we could go. As 2021 draws near, Maryland and our country have much to do to empower people to exercise their rights so that the…
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Reimaging policing and more in Maryland's 2021 legislative session
Another Maryland Legislative session is upon us, with the General Assembly set to start on January 13, 2021. Due to COVID-19, this will be a virtual session and we will work to make sure people’s voices are heard by legislators as they make decisions during this challenging time. That’s why it is...
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Police Free Schools in Maryland
School Resource Officers, more commonly known as SROs, are really school police. There are thousands of them in schools across Maryland, even though many of these same schools don’t have access to guidance counselors, therapists,or nurses to support students’ growth. The evidence is clear that...
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Constitution Day 2020 - Let People Vote
Listen to a special episode of the Thinking Freely podcast, as we talk with experts on making voting safe, easy, and accessible for voters during the 2020 election this year's constitution day event. Learn more about your voting rights: https://www.aclu-md.org/voting
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Still Rising: How the Latinx community is exercising their power in Frederick
As we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, we must continue to uplift the humanity of Latinx people. We need to protect immigrants from victimization and criminalization. No one should be, but too often, they are profiled for their skin color or denied the respect and dignity that every human being...
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Your Voice, Your Vote: Let’s Make Sure Everyone Can Vote in the 2020 Election
The fight for voting rights remains as critical as ever, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. We talked to leading voting rights experts in Maryland: Joanne Antoine, Executive Director of Common Cause, Reverend Kobi Little, President of the Baltimore Branch of the NAACP, and Dana Vickers...
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Stop Spy Planes Over Baltimore: End Mass Surveillance
With police spy planes, everywhere Baltimore goes, the government will always know. Spy planes carry sophisticated cameras developed for the military, mounted on airplanes, that can see the entire city, and that track the movement of every person or vehicle moving outside. Baltimore has a…
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No More Police Killings – Reimaging Policing Now
Too many people have lost their lives at the hands of police. But perhaps the saddest thing is that many of these deaths were unnecessary and could have been avoided. Today, we will be joined by Tracy Shand, sister to Leonard Shand, and Shamāiah Manriquez, sister to Emanuel Oates, to share their...
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Know Your Rights: What to Do in Police Encounters
Knowing your rights is vital. Especially during police interactions. You cannot assume that officers will behave in a way that protects your safety or that they will respect your rights even after you assert them. That’s why the ACLU of Maryland developed our free Know Your Rights program so that...
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Uplifting our Humanity and Rights During the COVID-19 Crisis
During these difficult times, the ACLU of Maryland is here to defend and protect our civil rights and civil liberties. We are providing guidance to our elected officials, so they can craft a COVID-19 response that is compassionate and protects the populations most vulnerable to harm, including...
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Women Exiting Incarceration Demand Better
For Women’s History Month, we are highlighting the issues facing women exiting the criminal legal system and why we need a dedicated pre-release facility for women. The number of women and girls in the criminal legal system has grown substantially over the past several decades. The...
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Race Discrimination on the Prince George's Police Force
We want officers to speak up against racist police practices and sexual harassment to help change the culture of policing. But when officers of color speak up against these unconstitutional practices they often experience discrimination and retaliation. For this Black History Month, we sat down...
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Maryland 2020 - Power to the People in the General Assembly
Another Maryland Legislative session is upon us, with the General Assembly set to start on January 8, 2020. This session, the ACLU of Maryland will be working on six priority areas: 1) Race and wealth equity for Maryland’s school children, 2) the Trust Act to defend the rights of immigrants in…
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The Time is Now to Center Race & Wealth Equity in Maryland Education
Maryland students have a right to a high-quality public education guaranteed by the state constitution. But for far too many students, that right is undermined by generations of underfunding. This has most deeply impacted students from families with low income and Black and Brown children. Janna...
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Racism, Algorithms and the Fight for Redemption
For years, people sentenced as children to life in prison with the possibility of parole, and their families, have tried to get Maryland to live up to the promise of second chances that a parole-eligible sentence is intended to provide. However, many barriers exist that stop this from happening....
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Taking Back Our Voting Rights from Jim Crow
Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and the fundamental right upon which all our civil liberties rest. But the right to vote and participate in our democracy is currently denied to thousands of people in Maryland, those who who are incarcerated. Dating back to the racist Jim Crow era state...
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Let Baltimore Speak: The Fight Against Gag Orders
The First Amendment was meant to serve as the backbone of our democracy, allowing people who are critical of the government the right to speak. Historically, white supremacists have co-opted the First Amendment to advance hate and incite violence. At the same time, we have seen People of Color’s...
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RISE UP : How Black and Brown immigrants are gaining power in Frederick
Our immigrant communities need to be supported. Instead, their lives and rights have increasingly been attacked, especially under the Trump Administration. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has prioritized building more 287(g) partnerships, where local law enforcement officers are...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Thinking Freely is a political podcast, from the ACLU of Maryland, informing people about what's happening politically in Maryland from the courts to the streets, and everywhere in between. You'll hear from ACLU staff, our clients, and community leaders about the issues facing our civil liberties and how you can get involved.Produced by Nehemiah BesterLearn more at: aclu-md.org
HOSTED BY
ACLU of Maryland
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Thinking Freely currently has 43 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Thinking Freely about?
Thinking Freely is a political podcast, from the ACLU of Maryland, informing people about what's happening politically in Maryland from the courts to the streets, and everywhere in between. You'll hear from ACLU staff, our clients, and community leaders about the issues facing our civil liberties...
How often does Thinking Freely release new episodes?
Thinking Freely has 43 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to Thinking Freely on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Thinking Freely?
Thinking Freely is created and hosted by ACLU of Maryland.
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