In a live taping of the ‘Open to Debate’ podcast, commentator Brandi Kruse and legal scholar Nadine Strossen examine the state of the First Amendment.

From funding cuts at universities to restrictions on the press, critics of Trump 2.0 point to a long list of potential threats to the freedom of speech. But in these polarized times, perception is everything. 

As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, Nick Gillespie, editor-at-large of Reason Magazine and guest moderator of Open to Debate, sat down with political commentator Brandi Kruse and legal scholar and civil liberties advocate Nadine Strossen to dig into the evolving boundaries of free speech in 2025. 

In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Strossen and Kruse take a deep dive into a range of thorny topics, including the Trump administration’s actions against Harvard University; early executive orders banning DEI policies; hypocrisy, bias and objectivity in the media; and how far this or any administration should be allowed to go.  

This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025. 

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Credits

Host: Paris Jackson

Producer: Sara Bernard, Scot Michael

Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd

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