Let The Record Show

By ACLUHistory

Let The Record Show episodes

October 07 The Case That Gave the Modern Supreme Court Its Power
Did you know that today’s justice system in the United States originated from a hiring dispute? This week, Matt and Shereen are taking us back to the early 1800s to explore the origins of judicial review — and all the gossip, intrigue, and spilled ink that brought us our modern U.S. courts.
Joining us to make sense of it all is Louise Melling, a deputy legal director at the ACLU and the director of the ACLU’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg Center for Liberty.
30 min
September 23 What Happens When the President Defies a Judge?
On March 15, 2025, the Trump administration deported more than 100 people to a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador — in defiance of a federal judge’s orders. They hadn’t been found guilty of being gang members. They never got their day in court. That blatant disregard for due process should concern us all.
This week, on our premiere episode, Shereen and Matt are exploring J.G.G. v. Trump and the related lawsuits that emerged from that fateful day in March. They’re some of the most important cases making their way through the courts today: referenda on the current state of executive overreach, due process, and judicial review. In this episode we’ll be speaking with the ACLU immigration expert Lee Gelernt to investigate what this case means for our civil liberties and how we can fight back.

22 min
September 22 Introducing: Let The Record Show
Marbury v. Madison. Brown v. Board of Education. Obergefell v. Hodges.
These face-offs aren’t just part of legal history, they’re still shaping our lives today. On every episode of “Let The Record Show,” a new podcast from the American Civil Liberties Union, hosts Shereen Marisol Meraji and Matt Beat are taking major U.S. court cases off the shelf to learn about the people and stories behind them — and the precedents they’ve set.

We’ll meet plaintiffs like Wong Kim Ark, who we can thank for birthright citizenship. Lawyers like Pauli Murray, who made it the nation’s business to take both racial and gender equality seriously. And other brave individuals who spoke up for their rights and the rights of their neighbors.

Our first episode drops Wednesday, September 23, and you can join us every other week for a new featured case.
2 min
December 15, 2025 On The Docket: A 2026 SCOTUS Briefing
‘Tis the season ... to stay ready. A busy Supreme Court term is already underway, with trans rights, redistricting, birthright citizenship, and more on the docket. And this week, Cecillia Wang is back to break it down with Kamau. Join us as we reflect on this year's civil liberties work, celebrate our wins, and prepare for the fight ahead.
1 hr 3 min
December 12, 2025 What's On The Docket: A 2026 SCOTUS Briefing
‘Tis the season... to stay ready. A busy Supreme Court term is already underway, with trans rights, redistricting, birthright citizenship, and more on the docket. And this week, Cecillia Wang is back to break it down with Kamau. Join us as we reflect on this year's civil liberties work, celebrate our wins, and prepare for the fight ahead.
At Liberty is a production of the ACLU. For the ACLU, our senior executive producer is Sam Riddell, our executive producer is Jessica Herman Weitz, and our intern is Madhvi Khianra. W. Kamau Bell and Melissa Hudson Bell, PhD are executive producers for Who Knows Best Productions. At Liberty is produced and edited by Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett for Good Get. This episode was recorded at Skyline Studios in Oakland, CA.
1 hr 3 min
November 28, 2025 Where Everybody Knows Your Rights
This week, we’re showing thanks to everyone who's stepping up for our collective civil liberties, with a People Power potluck! And we’ve got a seat at the table for you. Our guest of honor is Maribel Hernández Rivera, the ACLU’s National Director of Immigrant Community Strategies. And we have three volunteers from the ACLU’s grassroots network People Power stopping by. Kathy joins us just around the 20-minute mark from Minnesota, Sophia around 40 minutes in from Colorado, and Terry at the hour mark from Tennessee. Listen in as they speak with Kamau about why and how they're advocating for immigrants’ rights, and what their hopes are for their communities—and yours—this giving season and beyond.
If you’d like to join Kathy, Sophia, Terry, and other People Power volunteers, now’s the perfect time. You can head to aclu.org/campaigns-initiatives/people-power to learn more.
And make sure to check out the ACLU's Holiday Conversation Guide, at aclu.org/the-aclus-holiday-conversation-guide.
At Liberty is a production of the ACLU. For the ACLU, our senior executive producer is Sam Riddell, our executive producer is Jessica Herman Weitz, and our intern is Madhvi Khianra. W. Kamau Bell and Melissa Hudson Bell, PhD are executive producers for Who Knows Best Productions. At Liberty is produced and edited by Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett for Good Get. This episode was recorded at Skyline Studios in Oakland, CA.
1 hr 29 min
November 14, 2025 From The Joke Files: A Comedy and Censorship Roundtable
We’re living through a moment where late night jokes are next-day news, and each opening monologue feels like a litmus test for our freedom of expression. But is this dynamic anything new? This week, comedian Dean Obeidallah and writer Kliph Nesteroff join Kamau to reflect on the history—and present state—of censorship in comedy, and what makes this moment more than a callback.
This episode was recorded on Monday, November 10, in the lead-up to the New York Arab American Comedy Festival, which Dean co-founded more than two decades ago. Kliph’s insights are drawn from research that he conducted for his book Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars.
45 min
October 31, 2025 Deployments At Our Doorstep
Frog costumes. The Star Wars theme. Whistlemania. These could be the sights and sounds of Halloween—but this year, they've taken on new meaning. As federal agents and military troops arrive in their cities across the country, communities have used pop culture references, humor, and irreverence as an act of resilience. They’ve also banded together to form school escorts and other protective measures for their neighbors. This week, we’re exploring how residents of three cities have met this moment. We have three ACLU experts joining us. First up, we have Chandra S. Bhatnagar and Ed Yohnka of the ACLU of Southern California and Illinois. And around the 46-minute mark, Monica Hopkins of the ACLU of DC joins Kamau to discuss deployments in the nation’s capital.
Want to get involved? Here are two actions you can take right now:
action.aclu.org/send-message/tell-congress-no-troops-our-streets
action.aclu.org/send-message/tell-congress-stop-masked-agents
And if you’re still curious about the deployments, there’s a great explainer on YouTube: “Ask an ACLU Expert: President Trump’s Deployment of Federal Forces to Our Communities” with Hina Shamsi.
https://youtu.be/1wQLAqD-KFM?si=LGsW6vlAM_A-1WKo
At Liberty is a production of the ACLU. For the ACLU, our senior executive producer is Sam Riddell, our executive producer is Jessica Herman Weitz, and our intern is Madhvi Khianra. W. Kamau Bell and Melissa Hudson Bell, PhD are executive producers for Who Knows Best Productions. At Liberty is produced and edited by Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett for Good Get. This episode was recorded at Skyline Studios in Oakland, CA.
1 hr 13 min
October 17, 2025 The Journalist Who Spent More Than 100 Days in ICE Detention
This summer, Emmy Award-winning journalist Mario Guevara was covering a protest near Atlanta when local law enforcement arrested him. Then, ICE detained him. For more than 100 days, the agency refused his release, citing his reporting as dangerous. On October 3, after more than 20 years of living in the United States, he was deported to El Salvador.
This week, the ACLU’s Scarlet Kim, who served on Guevara's legal team, joins Kamau to discuss his case and why it should sound alarm bells for us all. Then, the ACLU’s Jessica Herman Weitz drops in to discuss another Emmy Award winner in the headlines for free speech repression: Jimmy Kimmel.
You can check out the Kimmel letter here:
https://www.aclu.org/defend-free-speech-letter-kimmel
And add your name to an open letter in support of free speech here:
https://action.aclu.org/petition/defend-free-speech-all-condemn-governments-censorship-jimmy-kimmel
At Liberty is a production of the ACLU. For the ACLU, our senior executive producer is Sam Riddell, our executive producer is Jessica Herman Weitz, and our intern is Madhvi Khianra. W. Kamau Bell and Melissa Hudson Bell, PhD are executive producers for Who Knows Best Productions. At Liberty is produced and edited by Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett for Good Get. This episode was recorded at Skyline Studios in Oakland, CA.
57 min
August 22, 2025 Live from SeriesFest: Our Right to Laughter
Can humor help us make sense of unprecedented threats to our civil liberties? Join us this week for a special episode of At Liberty, recorded live at SeriesFest in Denver, where Kamau and moderator Mo Fry Pasic explore Kamau's signature style of sociopolitical comedy, how something can be funny without being true, and why laughter means we’re paying attention.
You can hear Mo in conversation with a different comedian each week on their podcast, Worse Than You with Mo Fry Pasic. And you can keep up with SeriesFest year-round at seriesfest.com.
Our senior executive producer is Sam Riddell. This episode was executive produced by Jessica Herman Weitz for the ACLU, and W. Kamau Bell and Melissa Hudson Bell, PhD for Who Knows Best Productions. At Liberty is edited and produced by Erica Getto and Myrriah Gossett for Good Get.
1 hr 6 min

About Let The Record Show

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Let The Record Show is a U.S. history podcast that looks back on legal precedent to make sense of our ever-evolving future. On every episode we explore the people, places and stories behind major…