The Academic Freedom Podcast

Feb 14 2025 19 ep. 65 mins 19
The Academic Freedom Podcast artwork

The official podcast of the Academic Freedom Alliance, a nonpartisan and ideologically diverse coalition of faculty members committed to defending free speech in academia. We interview a diverse array of scholars about the latest developments in the academic freedom movement, from breaking news, to precedent-setting court cases, to modern takes on the timeless principles that underlie professorial free speech. Learn more about the AFA at www.AcademicFreedom.org.

  Education
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On the Boundaries of Faculty Free Speech

Feb 14 2025 62 mins  
The AFA's Keith Whittington sits down with Michael Berube and Jennifer Ruth to discuss their recent book, It’s Not Free Speech: Race, Democracy, and the Future of Academic Freedom. Michael is the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Literature at Pennsylvania State University. Jennifer is a professor of film at Portland State University. He is the author of such books as What’s Liber

Timothy Zick on Public Protests and the Law

Jan 09 2025 76 mins  
Keith Whittington sits down with Timothy Zick, the John Marshall Professor of Government and Citizenship at William & Mary Law School and a leading expert on the First Amendment law surrounding protest activities. His first book was Speech Out of Doors: Preserving First Amendment Liberties in Public Places, which was published in 2009. His latest book was published by Cambridge

A Conversation with Professor Cary Nelson

Dec 10 2024 72 mins  
The AFA's Keith Whittington interviews Cary Nelson, the Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts & Sciences Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He served for many years in the leadership of the American Association of University Professors, including terms as its president from 2006 to 2012. He is currently chair of a new organization, the Alliance for Academic

Mitch Daniels on Promoting Campus Free Speech

Sep 13 2022 49 mins  
The AFA's Keith Whittington interviews Mitch Daniels, the outgoing president of Purdue University and former Republican Governor of Indiana. During his time at Purdue, President Daniels has carved out a national reputation as a leader on campus free speech issues. Daniels shares the principles and practices he has followed to dramatically improve Purdue's rating as a defender of ac

A Conversation with Professor Eugene Volokh

Jul 06 2022 65 mins  
The AFA's Keith Whittington interviews Professor Eugene Volokh of the UCLA School of Law, where he teaches on the First Amendment. Volokh is also the founder and coauthor of The Volokh Conspiracy, a leading legal blog. Whittington and Volokh discuss the recent Georgetown Law controversy involving Ilya Shapiro, and whether universities should take public positions on the recent Supr

Protecting Controversial Speech On and Off Campus

Apr 18 2022 87 mins  
The AFA's Keith Whittington interviews Professor David Rabban of the University of Texas Law School, a member of the AFA's Academic Committee and former general counsel for the American Association of University Professors, about the importance of protecting both intramural and extramural speech. Drawing from recent high profile cases in which professors were sanctioned by their em

The Case for Tenure: A Rebuttal to Proposals in Texas

Feb 23 2022 55 mins  
In this special edition of the Academic Freedom Podcast, Keith Whittington interviews Matthew Finkin of the University of Illinois College of Law about the new proposals from Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to end tenure as we know it at state colleges and universities. In addition to ending tenure for new hires, the proposals would revoke tenure for professors who teach crit

Reaching Bipartisan Consensus on Campus Free Expression

Feb 18 2022 86 mins  
The AFA's Keith Whittington interviews Dan Cullen, Professor of Philosophy at Rhodes College. Professor Cullen was a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Academic Freedom Task Force on Campus Free Expression, which recently published its report, Campus Free Expression: A New Roadmap. In this wide ranging discussion, Whittington and Cullen cover key findings of the report, how t

On SUNY Fredonia, Moral Philosophy, and Forbidden Questions

Feb 07 2022 61 mins  
In this special edition of the Academic Freedom Podcast, the AFA's Keith Whittington interviews Jeff McMahan, the Sekyra and White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford, about the current controversy at SUNY Fredonia involving Professor Stephen Kershnar. An applied ethicist and distinguished teaching professor of philosophy, Prof. Kershnar has been placed un

The Fight for Academic Freedom at the University of Florida

Jan 18 2022 58 mins  
In October 2021, three University of Florida (UF) professors were told by the University's Conflict of Interest Office that they would not be allowed to be expert witnesses in a voting-rights lawsuit against the state, sparking an outcry over academic freedom. In this episode of the Academic Freedom Podcast, the AFA's Keith Whittington interviews two UF professors who were at the c