The Bully's Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment
“The Bully’s Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment,” a weekly podcast from the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, follows the Trump administration’s assault on the freedoms of speech and the press and features the people, communities, and institutions that are fighting back. Hosted by legal journalist Cristian Farias and advocates from the Knight Institute, each episode explores a major First Amendment story in the news and features the people most affected.
Episodes
16 episodes
Trump’s Erasure of American History
In the final episode of the season, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones sits down with host Cristian Farias to discuss the First Amendment, the fight to preserve hard-won civil rights, and the danger of “erasing our national m...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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1:04:31
When the President Comes for the Lawyers
Since taking office, President Trump has launched a retaliatory campaign aimed at punishing some of the nation’s most prominent law firms. Knight Institute Senior Counsel Scott Wilkens joins host Cristian Farias to explain how Trump’s executive...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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40:59
How Higher Ed Got Jawboned
The Trump administration’s campaign of extortion against colleges and universities is coming to a head, as settlements with Columbia University and Brown University make headlines this week. Host Cristian Farias invites University of Chicago La...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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45:52
Standing up to ICE’s Courthouse Arrests
In recent weeks, reporters across the country have described chaos unfolding in courthouses as ICE agents have descended on state court and immigration proceedings to arrest and detain noncitizens. Knight Institute Legal Fellow Allie Schiele jo...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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36:50
Troubled Waters at the White House Press Pool
President Trump’s decision to block the Associated Press—and other journalists he dislikes—from the White House press pool is yet another clear attack on press freedom. Knight Institute Deputy Litigation Director Katie Fallow joins host Cristia...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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38:30
Amid Funding Cuts, Scientists Speak Out
Since taking office in January, President Trump has moved to cut federal funding to universities and other institutions carrying out academic research. Knight Institute Research Director Katy Glenn Bass tells host Cristian Farias about how the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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49:01
The Bully’s Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment will be back next week
We’re taking a pause this week for the 4th of July. Everyone at the Knight Institute has been working hard to get ready for a big trial that we previewed during last week’s episode—check it out to learn more. We’ll resume next week with another...
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Season 1
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1:51
Protests, Deportations, and the Climate of Repression on Campus
In March 2025, the Knight Institute filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty who participate in pro-Palestinian activism. As the case heads to trial on ...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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27:35
ICE and LA's Day Laborers
The ICE raids in Los Angeles outside Home Depot stores and other public spaces have targeted day laborers seeking a day’s pay. Host Cristian Farias talks to immigration lawyer Ahilan Arulanantham about how these raids threaten a recognized Firs...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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43:36
Speaking Truth to Trump’s FCC
The Federal Communications Commission, under Trump-appointee Brendan Carr, is acting less like a watchdog and more like an attack dog. Host Cristian Farias talks to Katie Fallow, the Institute’s deputy director of litigation, about the FCC’s ef...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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38:42
Public Broadcasting Digs In
After issuing his own sweeping executive order, President Trump has sent a rescission notice to Congress seeking to eliminate all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which includes NPR and PBS. Host Cristian Farias spea...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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36:49
We Want to Look at Your Phone
The government has long invoked its authority to search traveler’s devices—whether owned by noncitizens or citizens—at the U.S. border. Under the second Trump administration, this practice only seems to be growing more aggressive and targeted. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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38:07
Farmers Fight Data Purge
A mere ten days after President Trump took office in January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began purging climate-focused information from its web pages. Representing organic farmers and environmental activists, the Knight Institute and Ea...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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34:23
The Students Are Winning
In the first episode of “The Bully’s Pulpit,” host and journalist Cristian Farias describes a harrowing bail hearing for Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts University Ph.D. student who was detained by ICE for co-authoring an opinion piece in a student n...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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27:00
Extended Preview: “The Bully’s Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment”
Cristian Farias, host of the new podcast by the Knight Institute, “The Bully’s Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment,” shares his goal for the show: “to chronicle in real time the coordinated, unprecedented assault by the president of the United...
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Season 1
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2:58
A Preview of "The Bully's Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment"
“The Bully’s Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment," a weekly podcast from the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, will follow the Trump administration’s assault on the freedoms of speech and the press and will feature the p...
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Season 1
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0:49