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.
July 11, 2019
Surveillance technology is slowly encroaching on every part of our lives. With regulation at the federal level slow to materialize, local governments are taking action. Two American cities — San Francisco, Calif. and Somerville, Mass. — recently passed local laws to ban the use of facial recognition technology by police...
How to Stop Your City From Spying on YouSurveillance technology is slowly encroaching on every part of our lives. With regulation at the federal level slow to materialize, local governments are taking action. Two American cities — San Francisco, Calif. and Somerville, Mass....
July 4, 2019
Hundreds of thousands of Washington, D.C. residents currently lack full political representation. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents them in the House of Representatives, is currently leading an initiative to make the District of Columbia the 51st state.
The Case for D.C. StatehoodHundreds of thousands of Washington, D.C. residents currently lack full political representation. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents them in the House of Representatives, is currently leading an initiative to make the District of Columbia...
July 2, 2019
It was another dramatic year for the Supreme Court. A new justice was sworn in against the backdrop of scandal. A beloved justice got sick and recovered. And, of course, major precedent-setting decisions were handed down. David Cole, the ACLU’s legal director and a seasoned Supreme Court litigator makes sense...
The ACLU’s Legal Director Reflects on the Supreme Court’s Last TermJuly 2, 2019
It was another dramatic year for the Supreme Court. A new justice was sworn in against the backdrop of scandal. A beloved justice got sick and recovered. And, of course, major precedent-setting decisions were handed...
June 27, 2019
In one of the most highly anticipated decisions of its term, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration cannot add a citizenship question to the U.S. census – at least not for now. Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, who argued the case, explains the decision.
What the Supreme Court's Census Decision MeansJune 27, 2019
In one of the most highly anticipated decisions of its term, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration cannot add a citizenship question to the U.S. census – at least not for now. Dale...
June 20, 2019
This week marks the one-year anniversary of arguably the most important privacy ruling of the digital age. In Carpenter v. the United States, the Supreme Court ruled that police violated the Fourth Amendment when they secured months’ worth of a robbery suspect's location information from his cell phone company without...
The Next Frontier in Data PrivacyThis week marks the one-year anniversary of arguably the most important privacy ruling of the digital age. In Carpenter v. the United States, the Supreme Court ruled that police violated the Fourth Amendment when they...
June 13, 2019
As discussions about racism in America gain traction, so too does the question of reparations. Broadly defined as some form of repayment for the harms inflicted on enslaved peoples and their descendants, reparations have earned increased visibility thanks to advocacy by the National African-American Reparations Commission and other groups. The...
Why It's Time to Talk About ReparationsAs discussions about racism in America gain traction, so too does the question of reparations. Broadly defined as some form of repayment for the harms inflicted on enslaved peoples and their descendants, reparations have earned...
June 6, 2019
On this week’s episode, Georgetown Professor Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor, joins At Liberty to discuss his book, "Chokehold: Policing Black Men"; how the criminal legal system has Black men in its grip; and why it's so hard to change the system from within.
Paul Butler on Policing Black Men and Transforming the SystemJune 6, 2019
On this week’s episode, Georgetown Professor Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor, joins At Liberty to discuss his book, "Chokehold: Policing Black Men"; how the criminal legal system has Black men in its grip; and...
May 30, 2019
In the last few months, six states have passed laws that essentially ban abortion, and several other states have similar bills pending. Restrictions on access to abortion have been building for decades since the Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that abortion is a constitutional right. But these direct assaults on...
The Latest Assault on Abortion RightsIn the last few months, six states have passed laws that essentially ban abortion, and several other states have similar bills pending. Restrictions on access to abortion have been building for decades since the Supreme...
May 23, 2019
Olivia Wilde and Katie Silberman, the director and the writer of the new movie “Booksmart,” joined At Liberty to talk about storytelling, casting without bias, and why "The Big Lebowski" was an inspiration. Wilde is known for her roles on TV shows such as “The O.C.” and “House” and in...
At Liberty Live! Feat. Olivia Wilde and Katie Silberman on “Booksmart”May 23, 2019
Olivia Wilde and Katie Silberman, the director and the writer of the new movie “Booksmart,” joined At Liberty to talk about storytelling, casting without bias, and why "The Big Lebowski" was an inspiration. Wilde is...
May 16, 2019
May 17 marks the 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court case that declared state laws enforcing racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Yet more than six decades later, segregation in some public school systems is worse than ever. Dr. Ansley Erickson, associate professor of...
School Segregation 65 Years After Brown v. BoardMay 16, 2019
May 17 marks the 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court case that declared state laws enforcing racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Yet more than six decades later, segregation...