Aryeh Neier's guest appearances

Aryeh Neier

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Responsible Leadership

Elon Musk

Tyler Cowen

Annie Duke

Steven Pinker

Eugene Volokh

Bret Weinstein

Alfred Hitchcock

Greg Lukianoff

David Cole

Matt Taibbi

Geoffrey Miller

Edward Snowden

Daryl Davis

John McWhorter

Lenny Bruce

OwlTail

He has a glittering civil liberties résumé: co-founder of Human Rights Watch, president of the Open Society Foundations for nearly 20 years, professor of civil rights law. But before all of that, Aryeh Neier was the executive director of the ACLU during one of its most turbulent moments: when it came to the defense of neo-Nazis trying to exercise their right to free speech and assembly in Skokie, Illinois in 1977. In this week’s episode, we speak with Neier about that time and about his seminal 1979 book, ‘Defending My Enemy: American Nazis, the Skokie Case, and the Risks of Freedom.’ In addition to Skokie, the conversation touches on why the defense of civil liberties shouldn’t be placed on the political spectrum, Neier’s formative years fighting speaker bans on college campuses, and why free speech can’t be blamed for the violence in Weimar Germany, Rwanda, and Bosnia in the 20th century. The conversation also veers toward what Neier sees as one of the greatest threats to free speech today: political correctness. This episode caps off our series on the topic of “defending my enemy,” which explores why people who vehemently oppose certain ideas nonetheless staunchly defend the right of others to express them. The series was inspired by Neier’s book. www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org Call in a question: 215-315-0100

He has a glittering civil liberties résumé: co-founder of Human Rights Watch, president of the Open Society Foundations for nearly 20 years, professor of civil rights law. But before all of that, Aryeh Neier was the executive director of the ACLU during one of its most turbulent moments: when it came to the defense of neo-Nazis trying to exercise their right to free speech and assembly in Skokie, Illinois in 1977. In this week’s episode, we speak with Neier about that time and about his seminal 1979 book, ‘Defending My Enemy: American Nazis, the Skokie Case, and the Risks of Freedom.’ In addition to Skokie, the conversation touches on why the defense of civil liberties shouldn’t be placed on the political spectrum, Neier’s formative years fighting speaker bans on college campuses, and why free speech can’t be blamed for the violence in Weimar Germany, Rwanda, and Bosnia in the 20th century. The conversation also veers toward what Neier sees as one of the greatest threats to free speech today: political correctness. This episode caps off our series on the topic of “defending my enemy,” which explores why people who vehemently oppose certain ideas nonetheless staunchly defend the right of others to express them. The series was inspired by Neier’s book. <a href="http://www.sotospeakpodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.sotospeakpodcast.com</a> Follow us on Twitter: <a href="https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">twitter.com/freespeechtalk</a> Like us on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast</a> Email us: <a href="mailto:sotospeak@thefire.org">sotospeak@thefire.org</a> Call in a question: 215-315-0100

Ep. 5 Aryeh Neier on “Defending My Enemy”

In his lecture Aryeh Neier will give an overview of the history of surveillance in the United States and discuss challenges posed to the right to privacy by a state claiming to need vast quantities of data to protect public safety. In light of recent NSA revelations, Neier asks if the surveillance programs disclosed by Edward Snowden have been successful in mitigating the threat of terrorism and examines whether or not those programs intrude excessively on individual privacy. How was the programs’ effectiveness compromised by public revelations? Could they have been disclosed in another way? Was Edward Snowden justified in unveiling them unilaterally? Neier considers these questions and describes the credibility issue the US now faces when promoting rights elsewhere.Moderator: Dr. Sylke Tempel, editor-in-chief, IP – Die Zeitschrift; German Council on Foreign Relations

In his lecture Aryeh Neier will give an overview of the history of surveillance in the United States and discuss challenges posed to the right to privacy by a state claiming to need vast quantities of data to protect public safety. In light of recent NSA revelations, Neier asks if the surveillance programs disclosed by Edward Snowden have been successful in mitigating the threat of terrorism and examines whether or not those programs intrude excessively on individual privacy. How was the programs’ effectiveness compromised by public revelations? Could they have been disclosed in another way? Was Edward Snowden justified in unveiling them unilaterally? Neier considers these questions and describes the credibility issue the US now faces when promoting rights elsewhere. Moderator: Dr. Sylke Tempel, editor-in-chief, IP – Die Zeitschrift; German Council on Foreign Relations

Aryeh Neier: Surveillance, secrecy, and disclosure: The case of Edward Snowden