Tag Archives: Free Speech

Scholars’ Circle – Threat to Freedom of expression in US ; Author interview on case for universal Child Care for working American – September 7, 2025

September 7, 2025 host

As part of an ongoing attack on free expression, Donald Trump is trying to criminalize flag burning. Is this proposed ban constitutional? [ dur: 29mins. ]

Dennis Baron is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a frequent commentator on language issues in the national media and has written a number of popular books, including What’s Your Pronoun? (2020).

Picture of a Child's closet for a book titled Raising A Nation - 10 reasons every American has a stake in Child care for all. by Elliot Haspel.

Then, why is child care in America so expensive? This vital service that is so crucial for child and community development is among American families’ largest expenses. And why is child care so underfunded by the government? We speak with Elliot Haspel, author of Raising a Nation, 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All. [ dur: 29mins. ]

Elliot Haspel is a nationally recognized child care policy expert, a senior fellow at the think tank Capita. He’s the author of Crawling Behind America’s Child Care Crisis and How to Fix It, but today we’re going to talk about his new book. The new book is entitled, Raising a Nation, 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All. Elliott Hospital is currently pursuing his PhD in early childhood policy at the University of Colorado, Denver.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Trump’s assualt on academic freedom; Book author interview – We the Men – March 23, 2025

March 23, 2025 host

The Trump Administration has launched full frontal political assaults on academic freedoms on college campuses. Both professors and students are being targeted for their political positions. Schools fear the loss of funding based on protests on campus and faculty political advocacy. And departments are being targeted not just for classes but also existentially, such as gender studies and Middle East studies. What does this mean for academic freedom, academic excellence, free speech and advocacy on college campuses? How does the attack on colleges and universities signal this countrys drive to authoritarianism. [ dur: 32mins. ]

Mark LeVine is Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History in the Department of History at UC Irvine. He is the author of Why They Don’t Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil and Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance and the Soul of Islam. He is also the co-editor of One Land, Two States: Israel and Palestine as Parallel States and Religion and Social Practices and Contested Hegemonies: Reconstructing the Public Sphere in Muslim Majority Societies.
David S. Meyer is Professor of Sociology, Political Science, and Planning, Policy, and Design at UC Irvine. He is the author of The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America and co-editor of The Resistance: The Dawn of the Anti-Trump Opposition Movement. His blog is Politics Outdoors.

American Flag background with silloette of Women protesting for the book cover We the Men , how forgetting Women's Struggles for Equality Prepetuates Inequality.

Have women’s stories been made invisible in the retelling of history and law? If so, what are the consequences of that? American history is too often told without the experiences of American women. And American Constitutional Law far too often reflects this invisibility by perpetuating inequality. Today’s guest has a new book on this historical invisibility and its consequences. Jill Hasday is the author of We the Men: How Forgetting Women’s Struggles for Equality Perpetuates Inequality. [ dur: 26mins. ]

Jill Hasday is the distinguished McKnight University professor and Centennial professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School. She’s the author of Family Law Re-imagined, Intimate Lies in the Law, and her new book We the Men, how forgetting women’s Struggles for equality perpetuates inequality. She is editor-in-chief of Constitutional Commentary.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Book Author interviews: Presidential Vetoes an historical view; Paradox of Free Speech – June 23, 2024

June 29, 2024 host

We discuss with John Vile his book Encyclopedia of Presidential Vetoes from Washington through to Biden – History, Subjects, and Procedures. [ dur: 29mins. ]

Book cover : Encyclopedia of Presidential Vetoes

John R. Vile is Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of, The Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution: Practical Virtue in Action, Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2015, and ReFramers: 170 Eccentric, Visionary, and Patriotic Proposals to Rewrite the U.S. Constitution.

Book Cover of Civil War by Other Means has an red X on the title of the book

What are its legal, social, and political limitations of free speech? How does the advent of social media and concerns over misinformation have an impact on the exercise of free speech? And how do the new developments of free speech and its limits have an impact on the First Amendment protections? We discuss a new book You Can’t Always Say What You Want: The Paradox of Free Speech with its author Dennis Baron. [ dur: 29mins. ]

Dennis Baron is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a frequent commentator on language issues in the national media and has written a number of popular books, including What’s Your Pronoun? (2020).

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Insights into student protests at university campuses – May 26, 2024

May 26, 2024 host

With massive protests on university campuses over the war in Gaza, universities have chosen to aggressively and violently break up the protests putting student protesters at risk. How does non-violent protest turn to violence at the hands of the police? How have national politics driven the responses to student protests? As university space has become more contested, particularly by political forces on the right, what do violent responses to protests mean for university values of free speech?

We speak with three university professors and one student about their experiences at their respective campuses. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office and his latest book Civil War by Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight For Democracy. He hosts the podcast This is Democracy.
Mark LeVine is Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History in the Department of History at UC Irvine. He is the author of Why They Don’t Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil and Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance and the Soul of Islam. He is also the co-editor of One Land, Two States: Israel and Palestine as Parallel States and Religion and Social Practices and Contested Hegemonies: Reconstructing the Public Sphere in Muslim Majority Societies.
David S. Meyer is Professor of Sociology, Political Science, and Planning, Policy, and Design. He is the author of The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America and co-editor of The Resistance: The Dawn of the Anti-Trump Opposition Movement.
Jack Leff is Post Doc and instructor of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His PhD dissertation is An Alchemy of Smoke and Flame: The Politics of Tear Gas Use Against Social Movements in the United States. He is an active political organizer interested in prison abolition.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Death of Navalny and other autocratic tactics to disrupt democracy – March 3, 2024

March 2, 2024 host

What does the death of Russia’s high profile dissident, Alexi Navalny, mean for the future of the country? Who was Alexi Navalny and what exactly did he stand for? Navalny was not the only political dissident in Russia. Who else is resisting the government and what are their causes?

And what does Alexei Navalny’s death portend for Russian leader, Vladimir Putin? Does it suggest he’s a strongman or that he is, instead, weaker than he appears? [ dur:58mins ]

Steve Swerdlow, esq. is Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners and Uzbekistan’s Ethnic Minorities: Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind. He writes extensively as a human rights monitor for Human Right Watch.
Robert English is Associate Professor of International Relations and Co-Director of the Central European Studies Program at the University of Southern California (USC). He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Politics and laws on Classified Documents ; How free is Free Speech in US? – January 29, 2023

January 28, 2023 host

We explore ongoing political, legal and normative questions about classified documents discovered in the homes of former President Donald Trump, current President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence. What is the process of classifying documents? And does the government over-classify documents? [ dur: 29mins. ]

Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. He holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the co-author of “Problems with President Records are Not Just About Trump” with Kenneth Osgood, the author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office and latest book Civil War by Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight For Democracy. He is host of the podcast This is Democracy.

Dennis Baron is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a frequent commentator on language issues in the national media and has written a number of popular books, including What’s Your Pronoun? (2020).

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Attacks on the Legitimacy and Independence of Courts in United States – January 23, 2022

January 22, 2022 host

The attacks on the legitimacy and independence of courts in the United States is increasing.

What are these attacks? Where are they coming from? And what might be the effect on justice in America? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This webinar was organized by UC Berkeley’s Civil Justice Research Initiative. It is part of the Berkeley Boosts program.

Alicia Bannon is the Managing Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. She is the co-author of the report State Supreme Court Diversity, Legislative Assault on the State Courts – December 21 Update, and The Power of State Courts in Securing Abortion Access: ‘It’s Time to Give Them Center Stage’.
James Brosnahan is Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He is Senior Trial Counsel at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco. He is the author of Defending Clients, Not Movements and a contributor to the book Trial Evidence in the Federal Courts: Problems and Solutions.
Erwin Chemerinsky is the Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. His many publications include, most recently, Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights, and The Religion Clauses: The Case for Separating Church and State (with Howard Gillman).
Denyse F. Clancy is a partner in the Oakland, CA law firm of Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood. She is a nationally recognized appellate and trial lawyer with prominent experience in asbestos and talc litigation and other toxic torts. She is the author of Fraud Claims Under Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933: Should Pleading with Particularity be Required? and The Deductibility of the Costs of Aircraft Maintenance.

We would like to thank the University of California, Berkeley’s Civil Justice Research Initiative and Berkeley Law Executive Education for making this recording available.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin.

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Scholars’ Circle – The implications of Kamala Harris’ selection as vice president -/- Social media’s influence on political campaigns and communication. – Aug 16, 2020

August 16, 2020 host

What’s so important about the vice presidency and what are the implications of Kamala Harris, the first woman of color on a major party ticket? hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 24mins.]

Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at University of Texas, Austin. He holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office and Foreign Policy Breakthroughs: Cases in Successful Diplomacy
Arthur Auerbach is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Southern California . He is the author of the research publication The Dividing Line on Capital Punishment.

How does social media influence political campaigns and communication in contemporary America? hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 32mins. ]

Glenn W. Richardson Jr. is Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He is the editor of Social Media and Politics: A New Way to Participate in the Political Process and the author of Pulp Politics: How Political Advertising Tells the Stories of American Politics.
Jennifer Petersen is Associate Professor and Director of the Graduate Certificate Program in Science & Technology Studies at Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Murder, the Media, and the Politics of Public Feelings: Remembering Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr.

This program is produced by the following team members: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Civil Rights to US Corporation -/- Is Privatization a US Constitutional Coup – August 4, 2019

August 3, 2019 host

First, how did corporations get civil rights? The two-hundred-year battle to give corporations personhood and constitutional protections. [ dur: 34 mins. ]
For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Adam Winkler is Professor of Law at UCLA Law School. He is the author of Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms and We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights.

Then, how does privatization amount to what our guest calls a Constitutional Coup.[ dur: 23 mins. ]

Jon Michaels is a Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. He is the author of Constitutional Coup: Privatization’s Threat to the American Republic.

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Survey of Media Freedom in the World -/- Ways to affect climate change – July 28, 2019

July 27, 2019 host

First we looks at History of World Media Freedom. Jenifer Whitten-Woodring and Douglas A. Van Belle are the co-authors of the book Historical Guide to World Media Freedom – A Country-by-Country Analysis [ dur: 28mins. ]

Jenifer Whitten-Woodring is an Assistant Professor of Political Science Department at University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Douglas A. Van Belle is a senior lecturer in Media Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.

Then we talk with one Stanford University scientist maps out the way to slow down climate change and even reverse some of the damage. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Marc Jacobson is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford University. He’s also the Co-Founder of The Solutions Project, 100.org, and the 100% Clean, Renewable Energy Movement. He is the author of A path to sustainable energy by 2030 (Scientific American, 2009); 100% clean and renewable wind, water, sunlight (WWS) all-sector energy roadmaps for the 50 United States (Energy & Environmental Sciences, 2015; 100% clean and renewable wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) all-sector energy roadmaps for 139 countries of the world (Joule, 2017); and 100% clean, and renewable wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) all-sector energy roadmaps for 53 towns and cities in North America (Sustainable Cities and Society, 2018)

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Tag Archives: Free Speech

Scholars’ Circle – Threat to Freedom of expression in US ; Author interview on case for universal Child Care for working American – September 7, 2025

Scholars’ Circle – Trump’s assualt on academic freedom; Book author interview – We the Men – March 23, 2025

Scholars’ Circle – Book Author interviews: Presidential Vetoes an historical view; Paradox of Free Speech – June 23, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Insights into student protests at university campuses – May 26, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Death of Navalny and other autocratic tactics to disrupt democracy – March 3, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Politics and laws on Classified Documents ; How free is Free Speech in US? – January 29, 2023

Scholars’ Circle – Attacks on the Legitimacy and Independence of Courts in United States – January 23, 2022

Scholars’ Circle – The implications of Kamala Harris’ selection as vice president -/- Social media’s influence on political campaigns and communication. – Aug 16, 2020

Scholars’ Circle – Civil Rights to US Corporation -/- Is Privatization a US Constitutional Coup – August 4, 2019

Scholars’ Circle – Survey of Media Freedom in the World -/- Ways to affect climate change – July 28, 2019

By Maria Armoudian