At Liberty is a weekly podcast that explores the most pressing civil rights and civil liberties questions of our time. Catch new episodes on Thursday at 9am ET.
June 15, 2020
It’s been over 50 years since Black and Brown trans women led the revolutionary Stonewall Riots, fighting back against police brutality and discrimination and launching a movement for equality. Today, we celebrate another incredible landmark in the fight for LGBTQ rights. In a 6 to 3 decision, the Supreme Court...
A Landmark Supreme Court Decision Affirms LGBTQ RightsJune 15, 2020
It’s been over 50 years since Black and Brown trans women led the revolutionary Stonewall Riots, fighting back against police brutality and discrimination and launching a movement for equality. Today, we celebrate another incredible landmark...
June 11, 2020
Journalists covering protests against police brutality across the country are facing an influx of violence, suppression efforts, and arrests by police. According to The U.S. Press Freedom tracker, there have been over 300 claims of violations to press freedoms since the protests began. These violations include being assaulted with pepper...
Policing the Press: A Journalist on the FrontlinesJune 11, 2020
Journalists covering protests against police brutality across the country are facing an influx of violence, suppression efforts, and arrests by police. According to The U.S. Press Freedom tracker, there have been over 300 claims of...
June 4, 2020
Police are supposed to “protect and serve” the community, but that’s a far cry from what modern-day policing often looks like in our country. The recent murders of Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, George Floyd, and others highlight the need for drastic systemic change, yet again. ACLU Policing Policy Advisor Paige...
Why is it so hard to hold police accountable?June 4, 2020
Police are supposed to “protect and serve” the community, but that’s a far cry from what modern-day policing often looks like in our country. The recent murders of Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, George Floyd, and...
May 27, 2020
Anthony Romero has been the Executive Director of the ACLU for nearly 20 years. He’s seen the organization through periods of massive growth and numerous national crises. Romero started the job just seven days before September 11, 2001. The subsequent so-called War on Terror presented new and widespread restrictions to...
Anthony Romero on Leading in Times of CrisisMay 27, 2020
Anthony Romero has been the Executive Director of the ACLU for nearly 20 years. He’s seen the organization through periods of massive growth and numerous national crises. Romero started the job just seven days before...
May 20, 2020
Over the last two years, we've talked with civil rights leaders, organizers, journalists, artists, ACLU lawyers and people whose lives have been affected by the civil rights and liberties issues of our day. We've covered family separation at the border, talked to founders of the Me Too and Black Lives...
100 episodes, Two Years, and One Pandemic LaterMay 20, 2020
Over the last two years, we've talked with civil rights leaders, organizers, journalists, artists, ACLU lawyers and people whose lives have been affected by the civil rights and liberties issues of our day. We've covered...
May 14, 2020
Over the last few weeks, various protests have erupted across the country in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are related to the virus: protestors in Ohio and Michigan took to the state capitols to call for an end to their governors' stay-at-home orders. Others are calling out an...
DeRay McKesson on the Threat to Protesters' RightsMay 14, 2020
Over the last few weeks, various protests have erupted across the country in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are related to the virus: protestors in Ohio and Michigan took to the state capitols...
May 7, 2020
Our guest today is Reginald Dwayne Betts, a poet, memoirist, and legal scholar. Loyal listeners will remember our conversation from March of 2019. The episode was called “A Poet Gives a 360 Degree View of The Criminal Legal System,” and we talked about Dwayne’s journey from a teenage defendant sentenced...
Poetry, Prison, and the PandemicOur guest today is Reginald Dwayne Betts, a poet, memoirist, and legal scholar. Loyal listeners will remember our conversation from March of 2019. The episode was called “A Poet Gives a 360 Degree View of...
April 29, 2020
Over the next month, states will start to loosen their COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions. Some of us will return to work, gather in small groups, and maybe even dine at a neighborhood restaurant. But what will it take to keep us safe and prevent new spikes in infections? Many experts say...
A COVID-19 Balancing Act: Public Health and PrivacyApril 29, 2020
Over the next month, states will start to loosen their COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions. Some of us will return to work, gather in small groups, and maybe even dine at a neighborhood restaurant. But what will...
April 22, 2020
Public opinion on marijuana legalization has shifted in recent years—roughly two-thirds of all Americans are now in favor of national legalization, according to a recent Pew Research Study. However, a new ACLU report called "A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform,” shows that...
Centering Racial Equity in the Fight to Legalize MarijuanaApril 22, 2020
Public opinion on marijuana legalization has shifted in recent years—roughly two-thirds of all Americans are now in favor of national legalization, according to a recent Pew Research Study. However, a new ACLU report called "A...
April 15, 2020
The Coronavirus has spread quickly through communities around the world, prompting physical distancing measures to keep people safe and “flatten the curve.” But people in custody are especially at risk because they are often held in close quarters and lack decent medical care.
What it's like in ICE Detention During a PandemicApril 15, 2020
The Coronavirus has spread quickly through communities around the world, prompting physical distancing measures to keep people safe and “flatten the curve.” But people in custody are especially at risk because they are often held...