Ep. 235: Cancel culture, legal education, and the Supreme Court with Ilya Shapiro

from So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

by FIRE

Published: Thu Feb 06 2025

Show Notes

Over the years, elite institutions shifted from fostering open debate to enforcing ideological conformity. But as guest Ilya Shapiro puts it, "the pendulum is swinging back." He shares his firsthand experience with cancel culture and how the American Bar Association's policies influence legal education. Shapiro also opines on major free speech cases before the Supreme Court, including the TikTok ownership battle and Texas' age verification law for adult content.

Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute. He previously (and briefly) served as executive director and senior lecturer at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution and as a vice president at the Cato Institute. His latest book, "Lawless:The Miseducation of America's Elites," is out now.

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Read the transcript.

Timestamps:

Intro

Shapiro's Georgetown controversy

Free speech on campus

Law schools' decline

Legal profession challenges

The "vibe shift" away from cancel culture

TikTok and age verification at the Supreme Court

Anti-Semitism on campus

Outro

Show notes: