Seventeen. That’s the number of states suing the US government to end federal protections for disabled individuals. 880 billion. That’s the amount of money that Congress is primed to cut from Medicaid funding. One in four. That’s the number of adults in the US who report having a disability. The math, well—it isn’t adding up.

This week, W. Kamau Bell is joined by advocates Zoe Brennan-Krohn and Nicole Jorwic to discuss the current state of disability rights in the US, how we got here, and what a just, equitable system could look like—both for individuals needing care and their caregivers.

Zoe Brennan-Krohn is Director of the ACLU’s Disability Rights Program and Nicole Jorwic is a disability rights activist and the Chief of Advocacy and Campaigns at Caring Across.

At Liberty is a production of the ACLU, and hosted by W. Kamau Bell.

This episode was executive produced by Jessica Herman Weitz and Gwen Schroeder for the ACLU, and W. Kamau Bell, Kelly Rafferty, PhD, and Melissa Hudson Bell, PhD for Who Knows Best Productions. It was recorded at Skyline Studios in Oakland, CA.

At Liberty is edited and produced by Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett for Good Get.

Restaurants. Churches. Street corners. These are meant to be community spaces—not sites where immigrants and their loved ones live in fear of ICE raids. This week, the ACLU’s Maribel Hernández Rivera and Lee Gelernt join W. Kamau Bell to share the latest on immigrants’ rights in the US, from both an advocacy and legal perspective.

Listen in as they discuss what’s changed since Trump took office, how listeners can protect themselves and their neighbors, and why we’re all in this together—regardless of our immigration status.

Maribel Hernández Rivera is the ACLU’s National Director of Immigrant Community Strategies. And Lee Gelernt is Deputy Director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. You can read more about their work here and here, respectively.

At Liberty is a production of the ACLU, and hosted by W. Kamau Bell.

This episode was executive produced by Jessica Herman Weitz and Gwen Schroeder for the ACLU, and W. Kamau Bell, Kelly Rafferty, PhD, and Melissa Hudson Bell, PhD for Who Knows Best Productions. It was recorded at Skyline Studios in Oakland, CA.

At Liberty is edited and produced by Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett for Good Get.

This week, the ACLU’s Chase Strangio joins W. Kamau Bell to discuss the current state of LGBTQIA+ rights across the country.

Listen in as they explore how Trump’s executive orders have already affected folks’ access to gender-affirming care, passports, and beyond; what the ACLU is doing to contest these measures; and why protecting LGBTQIA+ rights is critical to ensuring everyone’s rights.

Chase Strangio is Co-Director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project as well as a nationally recognized expert on transgender rights. You can read more about his work here.

At Liberty is a production of the ACLU, and hosted by W. Kamau Bell.

This episode was executive produced by Jessica Herman Weitz and Gwen Schroeder for the ACLU, and W. Kamau Bell, Kelly Rafferty, PhD, and Melissa Hudson Bell, PhD for Who Knows Best Productions. It was recorded at Skyline Studios in Oakland, CA.

At Liberty is edited and produced by Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett for Good Get.

In this episode of At Liberty, W. Kamau Bell makes his debut as the official host, marking an exciting new chapter for the ACLU podcast. Joined by ACLU National Legal Director Cecillia Wang, the first podcast of 2025 dives deep into the pressing challenges facing civil liberties in America today.

In this episode, Cecillia and Kamau discuss the new administration's first days in office, examining the wave of executive orders that threaten fundamental rights - from birthright citizenship to asylum seekers' protections, transgender rights, voting access, and criminal justice reform. Cecillia Wang, who oversees the ACLU's extensive legal operations, provides expert insight into these developments and the organization's strategic response.

In this fourth annual year-end holiday edition of our series, the kids of ACLU staff take over the mic to share their big ideas for a better world. From what they’d do as president to how their parents are making a difference every day, these young voices offer fresh perspectives on the work of the ACLU and inspire us all to imagine a brighter future.

You may recognize W. Kamau Bell from his multi-Emmy award-winning docuseries United Shades of America, or from his Substack Who’s With Me, or from his commercials for the ACLU. If you're a long-time ACLU supporter, you'll know Bell has worked with us for more than a decade as our artist ambassador for racial justice. We're excited to have him as our interim host for our At Liberty podcast, where he will host conversations with leaders, legal experts, artists, and storytellers dedicated to the fight for civil rights and civil liberties.

In this episode, Kamau delves into fundamental flaws with the death penalty, with Herman Lindsey, an exoneree who spent three years on death row for a crime he didn't commit, and Cassy Stubbs, director of the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project. Through Lindsey's powerful first-hand account of being wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death, and Cassy's expertise representing people on death rows across the country, they unpack why the death penalty is broken from start to finish, doesn't keep us safe, and magnifies racial discrimination. With President Biden's term coming to a close and President-elect Trump threatening to accelerate federal executions and expand the death penalty, Cassy and Kamau discuss Biden's critical chance to commute the sentences of all 40 people currently on federal death row and walk us through what we can do to help make it happen.

You may recognize W. Kamau Bell from his three-time Emmy Award-winning docuseries United Shades of America, or from his Substack Who’s With Me, or from his commercials for the ACLU. If you're a long-time ACLU supporter, you'll know Bell has worked with us for more than a decade as our Artist Ambassador for Racial Justice. We're excited to have him as our interim host for our At Liberty podcast, where he will host conversations with leaders, legal experts, artists, and storytellers dedicated to the fight for civil rights and civil liberties.

In this episode, Kamau discusses how gender-affirming health care can save lives with activist and Emmy-nominated actress Nava Mau and Dr. Susan Lacy, a board-certified gynecologist who has provided the care at her Memphis clinic for decades. They get into how the transgender community accesses this health care, why it’s vital to them, the misconceptions around it, and why — on the heels of a Supreme Court case that could threaten access — we all need to get involved. The case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, centers on when, where, and how the government can discriminate against transgender people and the health care they receive. Mau and Dr. Lacy, a plaintiff in the case representing herself and her patients, address what’s at stake and what practical next steps we can take to help protect transgender rights from an avalanche of legal and legislative battles.

You may recognize W. Kamau Bell from his multi-Emmy award-winning docuseries United Shades of America, or from his Substack Who’s With Me, or from his commercials for the ACLU. If you're a long-time ACLU supporter, you'll know Bell has worked with us for more than a decade as our artist ambassador for racial justice. We're excited to have him as our interim host for our At Liberty podcast, where he will host conversations with leaders, legal experts, artists, and storytellers dedicated to the fight for civil rights and civil liberties.

In this episode, the ACLU’s newly-appointed National Legal Director Cecillia Wang joins Bell in a special post-election episode. Cecillia oversees more than 200 lawyers and staff in the ACLU National legal department, supports legal staff at 54 affiliates, and directs the ACLU’s work at the Supreme Court. Before her current role, Cecillia was the deputy legal director for the ACLU, where she helped fight the 2017 Muslim Ban, the border wall, the family separation policy, and the 2020 Census citizenship question. Together, they talk about what was learned from the first Trump administration, and how the ACLU will be ready to respond on day one.

https://www.aclu.org/our-47th-president-donald-trump

You may recognize W. Kamau Bell from his multi-Emmy award-winning docuseries United Shades of America, or from his Substack Who’s With Me, or from his commercials for the ACLU. If you're a long-time ACLU supporter, you'll know Bell has worked with us for more than a decade as our Artist Ambassador for Racial Justice. We're excited to have him as our interim host for our At Liberty podcast, where he will host conversations with leaders, legal experts, artists, and storytellers dedicated to the fight for civil rights and civil liberties.

In this episode, Emmy-nominated producer, television host, food expert, New York Times best-selling author and ACLU Artist Ambassador for Immigrants’ Rights and Women’s Rights PADMA LAKSHMI joins us with her good friend, comedian and former Saturday Night Live castmember PUNKIE JOHNSON, to discuss the intersection of identity, comedy...and voting. Known for her critically-acclaimed and Emmy-nominated Hulu series “Taste the Nation”, and as host and executive producer for 19 seasons of Bravo’s two-time Emmy-winning series “Top Chef,” Padma tells us how she is exploring stand-up comedy as a storyteller, her meet-cute with Punkie over tacos at Questlove’s house, and why reproductive freedom and immigrants’ rights can also be fought for on the comedy stage.

For her part, Punkie talks about what it was like to be on SNL, why she needed to leave, and her text thread with friends asking all the questions about politics she didn’t understand. Through it all, they also talk about joy, which we are looking to bring you on this day before the election.

You may recognize W. Kamau Bell from his multi-Emmy award-winning docuseries United Shades of America, or from his Substack Who’s With Me, or from his commercials for the ACLU. If you're a long-time ACLU supporter, you'll know Bell has worked with us for more than a decade as our Artist Ambassador for Racial Justice. We're excited to have him as our interim host for our At Liberty podcast, where he will host conversations with leaders, legal experts, artists, and storytellers dedicated to the fight for civil rights and civil liberties.

In this episode, Grammy-winning musician and activist Tom Morello joins us to discuss the intersection of music and social justice. Known for his work with the rock band Rage Against the Machine, Morello is also an ACLU Artist Ambassador. On the podcast, he shares his journey from Harvard student to social justice activism, including how he’s advocated for criminal justice reform and labor rights. He also explores the role of artists in social movements and explains why he believes music is a powerful tool for change.