What would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? That is the question at the center of "Girls State," a new Apple TV+ documentary and the nationwide civic leadership program that it's named after. As participants, high school students are competitively selected into an immersive experiment in which they must build a mock government from the ground up, complete with municipal roles, branches, a governor, and a Supreme Court.

The film takes us inside Missouri Girls State 2022, where hundreds of girls from across the state gather at Lindenwood University to reimagine what it means to govern and devise a better democracy. As citizens of Girls State, these young women take on fierce elections and the toughest political questions of today, on top of the trials of teenage-hood. Amid political polarization and set on the heels of the leaked Dobbs draft decision, the girls of "Girls State" challenge themselves and each other as they build pathways to the future that they want and make plans for how they're going to run it.

Joining us today to talk about their Girls State experience and their plans to change the world are some of the girls from the film, Cecilia Bartin, Nisha Murali, and Tochi Ihekona.

On this episode, "At Liberty" producer Vanessa Handy speaks with young adult and middle-grade literature author, Jason Reynolds. Though he writes for young audiences, Jason doesn't shy away from serious themes or challenges, with many of his books dealing with death, mourning, racism, police brutality, and gun violence. Jason writes the stuff of real life, and this has made him a superstar among young readers and adults alike.

He has penned numerous bestselling and award-winning books like “Look Both Ways: A Tale Told In Ten Blocks,” “Ghost,” “As Brave as You,” “Long Way Down,” and “All American Boys” with Brendan Kiely. He also used his gifts to promote literacy as the national ambassador for young people's literature from 2020 to 2022. Today, he joins us to discuss carrying on the tradition of Black storytelling and how we can all inspire young people to love literature.

May is Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Month and we’re celebrating with a guest that is sure to make you laugh hard. You might even recognize her infectious laugh from her viral videos on TikTok.

Drew Afualo is one of today’s most popular feminist content creators. Her no-BS approach to roasting misogynistic men on the internet has been met with folks flocking to her social pages to feel seen, heard and to rally around squelching hate, bigotry and misogyny. Her mission to stand up for the most marginalized among us is why she’s one of Time Magazine’s Next Generation Leaders, and that’s not all. This March, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment honored Drew with the Tastemaker Award. She’s a content creator, women’s rights advocate, podcast host, and author of the forthcoming book “LOUD: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve.”

Drew joins us today to discuss her journey to TikTok, Samoan identity, and the way comedy and culture have built a meaningful community online primed not just for likes, but also for action. Simply put: Drew is using her voice and in the process, helping all of us find our own.

On April 17, students at Columbia University set up an encampment to show support for Palestinians and demand the university divest from its business related to or within Israel as a means of anti-war protest. In the weeks since its inception, the protest movement has spread, with encampments set up on over 100 college and university campuses worldwide.

But as these protests continue, we’ve watched university leadership and campus and local law enforcement meet these demonstrations with a disturbing response. In the last several weeks, over 2,000 people have been arrested or detained on campuses across the country. Students and faculty have faced arrest, criminal charges, suspensions, and excessive use of force from police. This comes alongside the ongoing threats to and in some cases, the complete suspension of chapters of pro-Palestinian organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace on campuses nationwide.

Universities have long been a site of protest, particularly anti-war protest, and a safe space for students, faculty, and staff to freely express themselves in the exchange of ideas. As these protests continue, our ACLU affiliates are keeping a pulse on campus demonstrations, advocating for students’ rights, and keeping universities accountable when they act with disproportionate and inequitable discipline. So on this episode of At Liberty, we’re bringing you dispatches from affiliate staff: Veronica Salama, staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union, Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, and Ramis Wadood, staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan. You’ll also hear from Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, Deputy Project Director on Policing in the Criminal Law Reform Project at ACLU National. They’ll share what they’re seeing on the ground and the legal concern and action being taken at this time. Together, we can pave a way forward that protects activism at our nation’s academic institutions and beyond.

To learn more about the ACLU's response to the rise in anti-war student protests and the increased police presence on college campuses nationwide, check out these resources:

https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-urges-college-and-university-leaders-to-protect-free-speech-and-academic-freedom

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/students-rights

https://www.nyclu.org/resources/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-students-higher-education-first-amendment#resources

Are you concerned that your civil rights have been violated at a protest? Visit the website of your ACLU affiliate to access forms to file a complaint: https://www.aclu.org/affiliates

With the rise of anti-war protests and encampments taking place on college campuses across the country, we are sharing an episode from a couple of years ago that addresses some questions related to free speech in an education setting. In this episode, our resident free speech expert Ben Wizner answers listener questions. You’ll hear us talk about the different first amendment protections at K-12 schools and universities, which vary between public and privately funded institutions.

We are monitoring the student-led protests in support of Palestine and the subsequent use of force ordered by local authorities across the country and will bring you an episode next week with dispatches from our affiliates who have taken legal action or who have demonstrated legal concern. Until then, we hope this episode gives you some sense of student speech rights and why we are so committed to protecting these rights at the ACLU.

Today, on April 24, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that will determine the future of emergency abortion care. At issue in the case of Idaho v. United States is whether or not doctors in states where abortion is banned have to continue to deny abortion care—even in emergency settings—despite the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires all hospitals to provide life saving and medically stabilizing health care to anyone who shows up at their emergency room.

Currently, medical providers in Idaho can only perform an abortion in the event that the pregnant person will imminently die without one. Even if a pregnant person will incur permanent disability or undue harm to their life without an abortion, the procedure is still banned. As you can imagine, these two laws have put doctors in a precarious position in Idaho. The circumstances are even more dire for pregnant patients in the state, particularly those with disabilities. Disabled pregnant people are far more likely to necessitate this kind of care than their non-disabled peers, as most disabled pregnant folks already have high risk pregnancies.

Disabled people know all too well the risks of not accessing care when it's needed, and the hardship, pain, and suffering that can escape the claw of “imminent death.” So, today we're talking about the intersection of disability and abortion rights, in regard to this case and more broadly.

Joining me to discuss this is Dr. Robyn Powell, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, specializing in disability and family law. She's also a co-investigator at the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities.

On April 22, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Johnson v. Grants Pass, the most significant court case about the rights of people experiencing homelessness in decades. At its core, Grants Pass will decide whether cities are allowed to punish people for things like sleeping outside with a pillow or blanket—even when there are no safe shelter options—posing potentially great risk to the 250,000 Americans who sleep outside on any given night.

This case comes at a time when the affordable housing market is strapped with a deficit of 6.8 million affordable housing units needed nationwide for extremely low-income families. Moreover, according to a recent Harvard study, one in four renters, or 11.2 million households, are “severely burdened by rents that took up over half their incomes.” These millions of renters living paycheck to paycheck are at significant risk of losing their home at the turn of a rainy day, with Americans of color, disabled Americans and queer and trans Americans at even greater risk. With so many folks on a razor thin edge of experiencing housing instability these days, all eyes are on Grants Pass.

Joining us to talk more about the case and the broader systemic issue of housing instability, homelessness, and what it would take to make a meaningful dent in both, is Jennifer Friedenbach, the Executive Director of the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco.

From the ACLU, this is At Liberty. I'm Kendall Ciesemier, your host.

A month ago, we visited one of our favorite spots, the library. You know, at the ACLU, we love a good library. So much so that we even spent a recent Saturday night at the Brooklyn Public Library, along with some 5,000 others, for their annual enrichment event, Night in the Library.

The theme for this year's event was Out of Darkness, and it included an all-night lineup of performances and conversations focused on what it means to face hardship head-on, and what we gain from confronting life's challenges with honesty, curiosity, and compassion, and understanding. When we were invited to host a conversation during the event, we knew immediately who we wanted to share with our neighbors in Brooklyn: Ian Manuel.

You might remember Ian from our episode back in January when he joined us to talk about juvenile life without parole, solitary confinement, and restorative justice. Ian is an author, poet, activist, and absolute visionary, working to change our criminal legal system after facing 18 years in solitary confinement himself and 26 years in prison, beginning when he was only 14 years old.

He knows firsthand what it's like to face darkness in life and move through it and he credits his practice of magical thinking for helping him. 

This is the idea that we used as the basis for our Night in the Library conversation. And with it being both National Library Week and National Poetry Month, right now, I can't think of a better time to share it.

So I invite you to cozy up with us between the bookshelves and enjoy the highlights from The Light of Magical Thinking, live from the Brooklyn Public Library.

Last December, Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 4, one of the most extreme pieces of anti-immigrant legislation to emerge from any state legislature. Under S.B. 4, local and state law enforcement can arrest people they suspect to have entered Texas without federal authorization. It also permits Texas judges, who are not trained in immigration law, to order the deportation of migrants to ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border, regardless of which country they are from.

Additionally, individuals may face charges under a new state crime of “illegal entry,” or “illegal re-entry,” as well as refusal to comply with deportation orders, with some charges carrying penalties of up to 20 years in prison. Since S.B. 4 passed, a whirlwind of court orders have stopped it from being enforced or allowed it for a very short time, which has caused widespread confusion. States do not have the constitutional authority to deport people, and an unconstitutional law like S.B. 4 only imposes added threat to migrants’ livelihoods and path to asylum. 

Here to give us the latest news on S.B. 4 and our fight against it is David Donatti, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas working on immigration.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will determine if nationwide restrictions are imposed on access to mifepristone, a safe medication used in more than half of all U.S. abortions, and for miscarriage treatment. What the court decides later this year will have significant implications on our ability to access abortion, no matter where you live, even in states with legal protections for abortion.

The decision could also impact how other medications are protected from interference -- that is, the court could decide that anyone who doesn’t like a certain medication can levy a lawsuit to block access to the drug.

To unpack what we heard, we have Julia Kaye, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project who is on site in Washington, D.C. and is joining us just hours after hearing the arguments live.