at liberty podcast

At Liberty is a podcast that explores the most pressing civil rights and civil liberties questions of our time. New episodes air biweekly on Fridays.

After 104 days in detention, Mahmoud Khalil is home. And this week, we’re honored to have him join us in studio for his first extended conversation with the ACLU. He and Kamau reflect on Mahmoud’s...

Picture of podcast host W. Kamau Bell interviewing a guest

It’s because of the First Amendment that we have a right to protest abuses of power, advocate for our neighbors, and defend our privacy. But what does the U.S. Constitution actually say about freedom of...

This past weekend, an estimated 5 million folks across the country protested Trump's attack on our rights. And if you asked anyone in the crowd why they showed up—and who they showed up for—they’d likely...

June is a time to honor and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s also a month when the Supreme Court has historically made pivotal decisions for LGBTQIA+ rights. This week, Co-Director of the ACLU's LGBT &...

It may be graduation season, but here on At Liberty, class is still in session—and this week, we’re exploring students’ right to learn. Since the Trump administration took office, schools across the country have faced...

We talk a lot on At Liberty about knowing our rights, but since Donald Trump returned to office, where do those rights stand? This week, the ACLU’s National Legal Director Cecillia Wang joins Kamau to...

Esha Bhandari and Daniel Kahn Gillmor with W. Kamau as host

End-to-end encryption. Burner phones. Biometric authentication. Our technology is more advanced than ever, but what does that mean for our digital footprints—and how our data is tracked, whether we’re crossing a US border or at...

Know Your Right To Transportation Justice with Deborah Archer and Sister Helen Jones

You know that phrase “born on the wrong side of the tracks”? Well, there’s something to it: highways, roads, and sidewalks across America have, for decades, been racial and economic dividers. These thoroughfares don’t just...

Free Mahmoud Khalil

Mahmoud Khalil is a recent Columbia University graduate, activist, soon-to-be father, and U.S. green card holder. On March 8, he was unlawfully detained because of his speech in defense of Palestinian human rights. On this...

Zoe Brennan-Krohn, Nicole Jorwic, and W/ Kamau Bell discuss disability rights

Seventeen. That’s the number of states suing the US government to end federal protections for disabled individuals. 880 billion. That’s the amount of money that Congress is primed to cut from Medicaid funding. One in...