In the final episode of Season 3, Michelle sits down with Dr. Mary Anne Franks, a leading First Amendment scholar, to discuss her new book “Fearless Speech: Breaking Free From the First Amendment.” Dr. Franks unpacks the concepts of "fearless speech" and “reckless speech,” and delves into how her book reimagines free speech as a practice rooted in courage, candor and accountability.

Episode Resources:

• Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment by Mary Anne Franks
• Amicus Podcast from Slate featuring Mary Anne Franks: https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2024/11/trumps-justice-pick-matt-gaetz-is-a-portrait-of-maga-misogyny 

Internationally renowned election law expert, Rick Hasen, joins SpeechMatters to reflect on last week’s election, the role of disinformation in the lead up to it, and the types of challenges our democracy may face under the new administration. 

Episode Resources:

• The Safeguarding Democracy Project: https://law.ucla.edu/academics/centers/safeguarding-democracy-project
• Election Law Blog: https://electionlawblog.org/

Too often the conversation about expression in higher education centers on the social sciences, humanities and the law, which is why this month we are speaking with Dr. Catherine Lucey, executive vice chancellor and provost at University of California San Francisco (UCSF). We discuss the history of advocacy and community engagement at UCSF and how she thinks about current speech challenges.

Episode Resources:

• UCSF Med School Differences Matter: https://medschool.ucsf.edu/differences-matter
• UCSF Office of Diversity and Outreach: https://diversity.ucsf.edu/
• UCSF Institutionalizing Rest in Response to Racial and Sociopolitical Trauma: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38847650/
• NY Times: "In San Francisco, Doctors Feud Over ‘Do No Harm’ When It Comes to War Protests:" https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/24/us/israel-hamas-war-sf-doctors.html

Piya Bose, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at UC San Diego, was part of the UCSD team that weathered an encampment, the cancellation of the school’s annual Sun God Festival, and the occupation of a campus Starbucks last academic year. She joins SpeechMatters to discuss lessons learned, how to apply them in the new year and remind us of the transformative power of a college or university education.

Episode Resources:

• Voter Engagement Resource Page: https://freespeechcenter.universityofcalifornia.edu/programs-and-resources/resource-materials-voter-engagement/ 

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court closed out its blockbuster term with expression-related decisions that affect the national regulatory and higher education landscape. Leading constitutional scholar and UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky joins SpeechMatters to share both his insights on this Supreme Court term and his reflections on the tumultuous past year on campus.

Episode Resources

• NY Times Opinion: "The First Amendment is Out of Control" by Tim Wu
• ACLU: "Why is the ACLU Representing the NRA Before the US Supreme Court" by Anthony D. Romero
• Freedom Forum: First Amendment Supreme Court Cases: 2023-2024 Term

Last season, as generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots dominated the national headlines, we explored the impact of new technologies on teaching, research and learning at colleges and universities. This year, we return to the topic of AI, with a focus on how the technology is affecting our election and information systems. Jonathan Mehta Stein, executive director of California Common Cause, joins us to discuss election protection, including the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy (CITED), Common Cause’s newest effort to fight technology based-threats to democracy.

Episode Resources:

• CITED – California Initiative for Technology and Democracy
• CITED Report: Democracy on Edge in the Digital Age
• CA Common Cause – Three Bills Addressing Dangers of AI to Elections Pass Assembly Floor
• LA Times “Opinion: AI is turbocharging disinformation attacks on voters, especially in communities of color”
• Washington Post “In Arizona, election workers trained with deepfakes to prepare for 2024” 
• Center on Technology Policy at UNC Chapel Hill Report: The new political ad machine: Policy frameworks for political ads in an age of AI

The anti-Gaza war protests and encampments that have taken place at universities across the country have drawn the attention of everyone from the President to the media and members of Congress, provoking comparisons with the student movements of the 1960s. Robert Cohen, the foremost expert on UC Berkeley’s Free Speech Movement (1964) and its famed orator Mario Savio, joins us to discuss what we can learn from the past and the present in order to be prepared for what lies ahead. 

Episode Resources:

• LA Times “Opinion: Today’s protests are tamer than the campus unrest of the 1960s. So why the harsh response?”
• 94.2 KPFA “A History of Student Movements”

Paulette Granberry Russell, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE), discusses the wide and deep impacts that ongoing legislative attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, officers and trainings have on higher education.

Episode Resources:

• Chronicle of Higher Ed DEI Legislation Tracker
• NADOHE Legislation Resources
• NADOHE Communication Guide
• "DEI Isn't Scary; Political Purges Are by Ryan A. Miller

Jim Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association (AHA) joins the podcast to discuss how “divisive concepts” legislation creates challenges for the teaching and learning of history that compromise democratic values and institutions. Throughout the conversation, Grossman points to the vital role that facts, critical thinking and source credibility play in maintaining an informed and engaged public. 

Episode Resources:

• https://time.com/6917632/history-wars-teacher-survey/   
• https://www.historians.org/divisive-concepts-statement  
• https://www.historians.org/news-and-advocacy/teaching-history-with-integrity/freedom-to-learn
• https://www.chronicle.com/article/here-are-the-states-where-lawmakers-are-seeking-to-ban-colleges-dei-efforts
• https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/march-2023/the-integrity-of-history-education-bills-censoring-k%E2%80%9312-classrooms-censor-higher-education-as-well
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdcoBQy41zI 
• https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/02/opinion/the-new-history-wars.html

What is the state of youth voting among college students as we barrel toward the November presidential election? Today’s guests, Jennifer Domagal-Goldman from ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, and UC Berkeley undergraduate student, Alex Edgar, discuss successful strategies to increase youth participation in local, state and federal elections in 2024. Listen in for tangible tips on actions you can take now to engage the young people in your life and on your campus.

Episode Resources:

Every single person in a college community can help support nonpartisan democratic engagement on their campus by:

• Visiting www.allintovote.org and check or update your registration and then take our Pledge to Vote - and then ask three friends or family members to do the same. 
• Asking your president or chancellor to join more than 625 of their peers in signing our Presidents’ Commitment to Full Student Voter Participation. It sends a strong signal to the campus that nonpartisan voter engagement matters.
• Working with your athletic department to encourage all athletic administrators and coaches to sign the 2024 Coaches Pledge.
• Recognizing a student who’s doing extraordinary work on your campus with the ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll. 
• Submitting a nonpartisan campus democratic engagement action plan by May 31, 2024.
• Learn more about the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition: https://slsvcoalition.org/  
• Check out the latest U.S. Department of Education Toolkit for the Promotion of Voter Participation for Students: https://allin.vote/USEd-Toolkit