David Smokler on School Teachers and Free Speech

Our guest is Timothy Sandefur. He is the vice president for legal affairs at the Goldwater Institute’s Center for Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.What I wanted to talk with Tim about was something he wrote about free speech and employers’ rights. More the point, does your employer have a right to free speech, and if so, how far does it reach?Links:* Defending the Free Speech Rights of Employers Against the Administrative State, Goldwater Institute Blog* NLRB Limits Employer Speech, SHRM* NLRB Restrains Employer Speech, Finds Captive-Audience Meetings Unlawful – Publications, Morgan Lewis This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Our guest today is Patrick Breyer. He is a self-described freedom fighter and a former member of the European Parliament. He served on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.I wanted to talk with Patrick about a newly proposed EU internet regulation, commonly known as chat control. Under this proposed legislation, users of apps would have to agree to allow the government to scan all their private and public messages as a matter of course.Links:* Patrick Breyer Website* Chat Control: The EU’s CSAM Scanner Proposal (website)* Patrick Breyer, EU Website This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Our guest is Bunni Pounds. She is the Founder and President of Christians Engaged as well as the Senior Vice President for Family Policy Alliance and Family Policy Alliance Foundation – both founded by Dr. James Dobson.She is the author of the book Jesus and Politics: One Woman’s Walk with God in a Mudslinging Profession. She was a political consultant for 16 years. And in 2018 she ran for Congress herself in 2018 but did not get elected.What I wanted to talk with Bunni about was a new development that will affect every church in America. In July, the IRS decided that religious clergy can endorse political candidates from the pulpit or through their official church communications. This is a big deal, and our guest today has some thoughts.Links:* How Conservative Christians Cracked a 70-Year-Old Law, New York Times.* Did the IRS Just Change Its Own Rule to Set Pastors Free?, The Stream This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Our guest is Ingrid Jacques. She is a columnist at USA Today.She wrote a column recently about those late-night comedy shows. She argues that the reason Stephen Colbert got fired had everything to do with ratings and business issues. All of this points to larger problems with the whole genre of late-night comedy and those who produce the shows.Links:* Leno's right: Colbert got canned because Americans are tired of left's lectures, USA Today Opinion* Late Night Ratings Revealed, TV Insider This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Our guest is Jennifer Huddleston. She is a senior fellow in technology policy at the Cato Institute.In her work, she focuses on the law in relation to emerging technology. What caught my attention was something she wrote about the relationship between AI and the First Amendment. What happens when AI repurposes your words and images, your opinions and thoughts? That’s one question we’re going to talk to Jennifer about today. AI and the First Amendment. Freedom of speech and artificial intelligence.Links:* Is AI a Horse or a Zebra When It Comes to the First Amendment?, CATO Blog, By Jennifer Huddleston* Is AI a Horse or a Zebra: Do AI Free Speech Concerns Require New Legal Tools?, Liberty University Paper* CATO (website) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Our guest is Carole Lieberman. She is an accomplished psychiatrist and a forensic expert witness. Board certified in both psychiatry and neurology. She’s been a leading voice on the psychology of terrorism and its impact on people.Today, we’ll be talking to Carole about psychological warfare, and how she thinks it may be used to divide Americans. Also, we’ll talk with Carole about what she describes as the emotional collapse of American leadership.Links:* Carole Lieberman (website)* Coping with Terrorism, By Carole Lieberman, Ph.D. (Amazon) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Our guest is Ari Paparo. He is the CEO of a company called Marketecture Media, which is a network of podcasts, newsletters and events covering the digital media sector. He is a writer, a podcaster and an expert on all forms of advertising. He worked in the ad business for 20 years. This included time spent at DoubleClick and Google. He is also the author of a new book called, “Yield. How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance.”If you ever see an ad when you’re online, there’s a good chance one company – Google – is making some money off of that. And that doesn’t include the money they make from selling your data. That’s one thing we’re going to talk about today.Links:* Marketecture Media (website)* This Deal Helped Turn Google Into an Ad Powerhouse. Is That a Problem? - The New York Times* Google Ads* DoubleClick * Yield. How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance., by Ari Paparo (Amazon) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Our guest is Aaron Bandler. He’s an investigative journalist who is based in the Bay Area. He’s written for several leading national news organizations.In today’s interview, we’ll talk with Aaron about something he’s investigated and reported on after noticing a disturbing pattern at the ubiquitous website, Wikipedia.Links:* Taking Sides: Wikipedia Advances Anti-Israel Narratives | RealClearInvestigations* Jewish News Syndicate (website) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Our guest is David Smokler. He’s the executive director of the K-12 Fairness Center, which is a division of an organization called StandWithUs. StandWithUs is a 24 year-old international nonpartisan education organization that fights antisemitism.I wanted to talk to David about fee speech in the classroom. Just how much does the First Amendment protect what teachers say, or want to say in the classroom? And what happens if a teacher or student exercises their perceived right to free speech and it puts students or others at risk? These are just a couple of questions we’re going to cover.Links:* Teachers' unions are blurring personal activism and professionalism | The Jerusalem Post, By David Smokler* StandWithUs Supporting Israel And Fighting Antisemitism (website) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Our guest is Mark Joseph. He is Litigation Director at a group in Canada called The Democracy Fund. It’s widely considered the leading voice in the battle for free speech in Canada.I wanted to talk to Mark about a specific bill under consideration in Canada that would enable the spread of censorship and threaten free speech in that country. It’s called the Online Harms Bill.Links:* The Democracy Fund Website * Online Harms Act (official site) * Canada Eyes Revival of Online Censorship Bill (Reclaim The Net) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com