The Academic Freedom Podcast

David French on the Problem with Banning Conversations

David French is a senior editor of The Dispatch and the author of several books, most recently Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. He was senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, and served as president for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) before stepping down to serve in the Iraq War.

David joins the AFA's Keith Whittington for a wide ranging conversation about his work on campus free speech at FIRE, cancel culture on the right vs. the left, his recent involvement in the critical race theory debate, and the unintended consequences of any effort to ban conversations or ideas. - 8/26/21

A Conversation with Jonathan Rauch of the Brookings Institution

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a contributing editor of The Atlantic, and the author of several books, including The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth. He joins the AFA's Keith Whittington for a conversation on the past and future of free speech, the erosion of trust in institutions, and how to strengthen academic freedom going forward. - 8/6/21

Pragmatism v. Principle in the Liberal Approach to Free Speech

A discussion about modern liberal approaches to free speech on campuses. The conversation is hosted by Amna Khalid, Associate Professor in the Department of History at Carleton College, and features AFA members Randall Kennedy and Jonathan Zimmerman. Kennedy is the Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School and the author of several books, most recently For Discrimination: Race, Affirmative Action, and the Law. Zimmerman is Professor of History of Education and the Judy and Howard Berkowitz Professor in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and is the author of several books, including his most recent, Free Speech: And Why You Should Give a Damn. - 7/7/21

Meriwether v. Shawnee State: Is All Classroom Speech Free Speech?

A discussion on the landmark ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Meriwether v. The Trustees of Shawnee State University, which is redefining the relationship between classroom teaching, academic freedom, and the First Amendment. Featuring Jonathan Adler, Professor of law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law; Jeannie Suk Gersen, Professor of law at Harvard Law School; and Steve Sanders, Professor of law at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. - 6/8/21