Can the ACLU Serve Progressives, Libertarians, and Conservatives?

Today's guest is Ben Wizner, deputy legal director at the ACLU. He says that Donald Trump’s second term has brought an all-out assault on free speech—targeting comedians, immigrants, universities, and even law firms that take the “wrong” cases.

Nick Gillespie and Wizner put Trump’s actions in the context of past presidents and and discuss whether the ACLU has strayed from the days of defending the free speech rights of American Nazis in Skokie, Unite the Right protesters in Charlottesville, and the National Rifle Association in New York State.

They also discuss the legacy of Edward Snowden, whom Wizner worked with, and whether government spying on citizens has gotten better since the whistleblower revealed illegal mass surveillance of Americans during the Obama administration.

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0:00–Introduction
1:04–Free speech under President Trump
5:33–Comparing Trump to Biden on free speech
9:42–Have Americans become more comfortable with censorship?
16:21–The FCC and Jimmy Kimmel
25:43–What are President Trump’s standards for protected speech?
28:46–ACLU cases protecting the speech of immigrants
40:12–Why the ACLU defended the NRA
45:02–Has the mission remain committed to its mission?
53:52–Protecting the rights of students on college campuses
55:46–Edward Snowden and the state or mass surveillance

Producer: Paul Alexander
Audio Mixer: Ian Keyser
Illustration: Eddie Marshall