logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2024
1h 21m

Defending Pornography, Hate Speech and t...

Meghan Daum
About this episode

This week, Meghan talks with legal scholar, former law professor, and legendary free speech advocate Nadine Strossen.

Nadine was president of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1991 to 2008 and she’s the author of many books, including Defending Pornography, which has just been reissued nearly 30 years after its original publication. In this wide-ranging conversation, Nadine talks about pornography, campus speech codes, generational divides when it comes to ideas about words causing harm, and changes in institutions like the ACLU.

This week, almost the entire conversation is available to everyone, but paying Substack subscribers get a fascinating and very funny tangent at the end about a subject (mostly) unrelated to free speech: the subject of choosing not to have children. Nadine always knew she never wanted kids and she talks candidly about what was behind that impulse and how she feels about it now that she’s in her 70s.

GUEST BIO

Nadine Strossen, New York Law School Professor Emerita and Senior Fellow at FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), was national President of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1991 to 2008. An internationally acclaimed free speech scholar and advocate, who regularly addresses diverse audiences and provides media commentary around the world, Strossen also serves on the Advisory Boards of several organizations that promote free speech and academic freedom.

Want to hear the whole conversation? Upgrade your subscription here.

HOUSEKEEPING

✈️ Unspeakeasy Retreats: See where we'll be in 2024!

🥂 Join The Unspeakeasy, my community for freethinking women.

🔥 Follow my other podcast, A Special Place in Hell.

Up next
Yesterday
How To Quit Drinking Without Quitting Drinking
Katie Herzog, co-host of the Blocked and Reported podcast (BarPod), is best known as an anthropologist of, as she puts it, “internet bullshit.” But she’s swerved far out of her lane for her latest project. In her brand new book, Drink Your Way Sober, Katie combines personal histo ... Show More
1h 14m
Oct 1
Street Protesters: Who Are They, Really? with Jeremy Lee Quinn
Photojournalist Jeremy Lee Quinn has spent years documenting protests, rallies, and moments of public unrest that often look very different on the ground than they do on the evening news. In this conversation, he talks with Meghan about what really happens when a “mostly peaceful ... Show More
1h 23m
Sep 25
Can Democrats Admit They Were Wrong On Gender? with Lisa Selin Davis
After years of institutional groupthink and policy whiplash, what have we actually learned—and what are we still not allowed to ask? Lisa Selin Davis returns to discuss the evidence (and non-evidence) around youth gender medicine, talk about the ongoing taboo and confusion around ... Show More
1h 13m
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
Think Again: Is Free Speech Under Threat? with Suzanne Nossel and Charlotte Lydia Riley
Many liberals believe that in recent years we have seen an erosion of the right to air unpopular opinions without the risk of being cancelled. We are in an ever-intensifying shutting down of conversation, they maintain, with constituencies on both the left and the right demanding ... Show More
1h 30m
Dec 2024
The 12 Books of Christmas | Think Again: Is Free Speech Under Threat? with Suzanne Nossel and Charlotte Lydia Riley
Many liberals believe that in recent years we have seen an erosion of the right to air unpopular opinions without the risk of being cancelled. We are in an ever-intensifying shutting down of conversation, they maintain, with constituencies on both the left and the right demanding ... Show More
1 h
Nov 2019
Mary Anne Franks, “The Cult of the Constitution” (Stanford UP, 2019)
We Americans are defined by our Constitution and we cherish especially the First and Second Amendments. But like all texts, the Constitution can be read to empower and protect our individual rights, but it can also be used selectively, self-servingly, and in bad faith. And the Co ... Show More
58m 16s
Aug 28
Ep. 250: Civil rights, hate speech, and the First Amendment
We know the First Amendment protects hate speech. But has it always done so? And how have civil rights groups responded when their members are the target of hate speech? University of Iowa Law Professor Samantha Barbas is the author of a new law review article, “How American Civi ... Show More
57m 4s
Sep 2021
Introducing: Getting Even with Anita Hill
Anita Hill has a lot on her mind. The lawyer, author and educator learned first-hand about our country’s shortcomings, and despite it all, still believes that society’s biggest problems can be solved. On her new podcast, Getting Even, Anita Hill speaks with the greatest thinkers, ... Show More
2m 5s
Mar 2020
Ladies, Know Your First Amendment Rights.
The threat to our First Amendment right of free speech is growing. College campuses continue to embrace progressive policies that restrict student's ability to voice their opinions and beliefs. Lawyer and First Amendment Expert Harmeet Dhillon joins Problematic Women to discuss f ... Show More
16m 47s
May 2024
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: The Growing Threat of Radical Islam
APPLY to Ralston College’s Summer Latin Program at http://ralston.ac/latin-program Worldwide applications close on 31 May. Watch the Munk Debate: Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitism? Live June 17th. Join today to live stream. Click here: https://bit.ly/munk_debate Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a S ... Show More
1h 4m
Sep 5
"Flaming HYPOCRITE!" Linehan Arrest For Anti-Trans Posts & Free Speech Feat. Riley Gaines
The state of free speech in the UK is sparking global debate - especially in the United States. Joe Rogan’s guests have raised alarms over arrests for social media posts, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance has warned Britain is “heading down a dark path.” That debate exploded this ... Show More
58m 27s
Jul 2024
Libs of TikTok: Exposing Trans Ideology & Grooming in Schools
Chaya Raichik is the woman behind the ‘Libs of TikTok’ account on X (formerly Twitter.) With more than 3.2 million followers, the account amplifies content uploaded by radical leftists and activists. Her work has been instrumental in the exposure and removal of inappropriate mate ... Show More
49m 29s
Jun 2025
A world without values | Janne Teller, Dale Turner, Robin van den Akker, Isabel Hilton
Once values such as justice and equality were agreed upon by all. Now they are identified by some as vehicles to entrench or overturn power. On the left, 'justice' as a means to sustain and impose privilege, 'truth' as an attempt to claim enduring authority. On the right, 'divers ... Show More
44m 37s