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.
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February 15, 2024
3 States, 3 Plaintiffs, and the Fight for Fair District Maps
Since 1965, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) has been integral to protecting people of color at the polls. But in recent decades, the strength of the VRA has been diminished by decisions like Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, and the subsequent influx of voter restrictions imposed by states. Despite...
3 States, 3 Plaintiffs, and the Fight for Fair District Maps![Khadidah Stone stands on the dividing line between her old Alabama congressional District 7, to her right with River City Church, and her new district, District 2, to her left, in downtown Montgomery, Ala., Sept. 20, 2022. The Supreme Court’s decision last June siding with Black voters on a redistricting case in Alabama gave Democrats and voting rights activists a surprise opportunity ahead of the 2024 elections to have congressional maps redrawn in a handful of states. Fast forward three months and maps in Alabama and other states that could produce more districts represented by Black lawmakers still don’t exist.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/02/khadidah-stone-s-600x600.jpg)
February 15, 2024
3 States, 3 Plaintiffs, and the Fight for Fair District Maps
3 States, 3 Plaintiffs, and the Fight for Fair District MapsSince 1965, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) has been integral to protecting people of color at the polls. But in recent decades, the strength of the VRA has been diminished by decisions like Shelby County...
February 8, 2024
How to Dismantle the Anti-DEI Machine
Free speech on campus, book bans, education gag orders, the overturn of affirmative action, the resignation of former Harvard president Claudine Gay. All of these issues center on one hot-button topic: DEI. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has become a staple in national vocabulary after the so-called “racial reckoning” of...
How to Dismantle the Anti-DEI Machine![](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/02/anti-dei-s-600x600.jpg)
Free speech on campus, book bans, education gag orders, the overturn of affirmative action, the resignation of former Harvard president Claudine Gay. All of these issues center on one hot-button topic: DEI. Diversity, Equity, and...
February 1, 2024
Rap Is Art Not Evidence
As the gang conspiracy trial of rapper Young Thug and his famed rap collective, YSL, extends past 20 days in Atlanta, we’re bringing you a conversation about the use of rap lyrics in court. Despite a groundswell of activism and legal opposition against the legal admissibility of Young Thug’s lyrics,...
Rap Is Art Not Evidence![oung Thug performs during the second annual Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on November 9, 2019 in Houston, Texas.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/01/young-thug-s-600x600.jpg)
As the gang conspiracy trial of rapper Young Thug and his famed rap collective, YSL, extends past 20 days in Atlanta, we’re bringing you a conversation about the use of rap lyrics in court. Despite...
January 25, 2024
Live From Sundance: Telling Better Queer and Trans Stories
This week, At Liberty is coming to you live from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, hosting a discussion with queer and transgender storytellers. The conversation delves into the challenges they face while navigating an onslaught of bills targeting trans people nationwide and censoring their narratives. This...
Live From Sundance: Telling Better Queer and Trans Stories![](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/01/sundance-pod-panel-s-600x600.jpg)
January 25, 2024
Live From Sundance: Telling Better Queer and Trans Stories
Live From Sundance: Telling Better Queer and Trans StoriesThis week, At Liberty is coming to you live from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, hosting a discussion with queer and transgender storytellers. The conversation delves into the challenges they face...
January 18, 2024
Busy Philipps Is Fed up With Abortion Bans
This year marks the 51st anniversary since the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, protecting the constitutional right to abortion in 1973. Unfortunately, this anniversary is marred by the overturn of Roe by the Supreme Court in 2022, resulting in the continued denial of the power...
Busy Philipps Is Fed up With Abortion Bans![Busy Philipps stands smiling.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/01/Busy-Repro-Ambassador-s-600x600.jpg)
January 18, 2024
Busy Philipps Is Fed up With Abortion Bans
Busy Philipps Is Fed up With Abortion BansThis year marks the 51st anniversary since the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, protecting the constitutional right to abortion in 1973. Unfortunately, this anniversary is marred by the overturn of...
January 11, 2024
The Way Forward for Trans Justice
Last year, states passed a record number of bills restricting health care, athletics, public accommodations, expression, and educational materials for trans people — trans kids, more specifically. With the turn of a new year, the situation continues to grow dire. Laws threatening access to gender-affirming care went into effect in...
The Way Forward for Trans Justice![Queer & transgender youth march from Union Station to U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C. on March 31, 2023, calling for autonomy following recent legislation and threats of violence directed towards transgender people.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/01/trans-updates-s-600x600.jpg)
Last year, states passed a record number of bills restricting health care, athletics, public accommodations, expression, and educational materials for trans people — trans kids, more specifically. With the turn of a new year, the...
January 4, 2024
It's Time to End Solitary Confinement: Ian Manuel's Story
“Imagine that you, at age fifteen, have been sentenced to social death, life without parole, in a space nine feet by seven—the size of a freight elevator—where for twenty-two to twenty-four hours a day you are trapped; where in a deadly daily routine you sleep, wake up, shit, piss, eat—food...
It's Time to End Solitary Confinement: Ian Manuel's Story![](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/01/Ian-Manuel-EJI-Blog-600x600.jpg)
January 4, 2024
It's Time to End Solitary Confinement: Ian Manuel's Story
It's Time to End Solitary Confinement: Ian Manuel's Story“Imagine that you, at age fifteen, have been sentenced to social death, life without parole, in a space nine feet by seven—the size of a freight elevator—where for twenty-two to twenty-four hours a day you...
December 21, 2023
ACLU Kids Tell Us How We Can Do Better
For a special year-end holiday episode, we’re bringing you our third edition of “ACLU kids take over At Liberty.” Kids of ACLU staff spoke to their parents about what they do at work and how they fight for civil rights and civil liberties. They also had some hot takes about...
ACLU Kids Tell Us How We Can Do Better![A child dressed in a suit with a hand on top of a book, tips scales of justice.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/12/little-lawyer-blog-600x600.jpg)
For a special year-end holiday episode, we’re bringing you our third edition of “ACLU kids take over At Liberty.” Kids of ACLU staff spoke to their parents about what they do at work and how...
December 14, 2023
2023 in Review: The Latest on the Stories That Made Our Year
2023 is coming to a close, and we have weathered so much this year. At the ACLU, we continue to fight for civil rights and civil liberties across the country. We’re prying open every opportunity for abortion access and reproductive health care following the overturn of Roe, blocking trans health...
2023 in Review: The Latest on the Stories That Made Our Year![With the U.S Capitol in the back ground thousands of demonstrators march on Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/12/abortion-2023-protest-blog-600x600.jpg)
December 14, 2023
2023 in Review: The Latest on the Stories That Made Our Year
2023 in Review: The Latest on the Stories That Made Our Year2023 is coming to a close, and we have weathered so much this year. At the ACLU, we continue to fight for civil rights and civil liberties across the country. We’re prying open every opportunity...
December 7, 2023
The Unconstitutional Silencing of Pro-Palestinian Student Groups
Free speech is one of the hallmarks of a functioning democracy and one of our fundamental constitutional rights. At the ACLU, we know that it's precisely in times of crisis and fear when free speech, open debate, and peaceful dissent are most important. Over the last few months, as the...
The Unconstitutional Silencing of Pro-Palestinian Student Groups![Students gather at the University of Washington's Red Square to show solidarity in response to recent Hamas attacks and the ongoing Middle East tensions. Hundreds of people who support Palestine gathered at the Red Square of the University of Washington on Thursday afternoon. They passionately cheered for a speaker, clapped and played drums together in a show of unity during a protest called "day of resistance protest for Palestine." Jewish students on campus also shared their concerns and fears amidst this display of support.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/12/palestine-protest-blog-600x600.jpg)
December 7, 2023
The Unconstitutional Silencing of Pro-Palestinian Student Groups
The Unconstitutional Silencing of Pro-Palestinian Student GroupsFree speech is one of the hallmarks of a functioning democracy and one of our fundamental constitutional rights. At the ACLU, we know that it's precisely in times of crisis and fear when free speech,...