Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer tackle one of the strangest First Amendment controversies imaginable: whether sending a sexually explicit image of Shrek to a politician can constitute criminal harassment. Using an Ohio case involving a blogger and a state senator as their starting point, they explore the constitutional boundaries between protected offensive speech and criminally punishable harassment, the rights of unwilling listeners, the special status of public officials under the First Amendment, and how courts have struggled to adapt decades-old free speech principles to an era of texts, emails, and smartphones.

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Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer unpack the complicated and often uncomfortable relationship between free speech and privacy, exploring everything from anonymous political pamphlets and government surveillance to revenge porn, hidden cameras, autobiographies, celebrity likeness rights, wiretap laws, and the constitutional limits of “the right to be left alone.” Along the way, they dive into landmark Supreme Court cases, the origins of American privacy law, Hulk Hogan’s takedown of Gawker, the legality of recording police, and why seemingly simple questions like “Who owns your life story?” turn into some of the thorniest conflicts in First Amendment law.

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Can you be sued for repeating a rumor—even if you don’t believe it? Is calling someone a “racist” protected speech? In this episode, Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer unpack the hidden rules of defamation law, from libel and slander to viral tweets and billion-dollar verdicts. It’s a deep dive into what you can say, what you can’t, and why the biggest legal battles often turn on the smallest details.

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Jane Bambauer and Eugene Volokh analyze the US Supreme Court’s new Chiles v. Salazar decision, which struck down (by an 8-1 vote) a law banning sexual orientation/gender identity conversion therapy, including therapy that consists entirely of speech.

The Court held that the First Amendment protects professional-client speech, including counselors’ use of conversion therapy with minor patients when that therapy consists solely of speech. In the process, the 8-justice majority rejected the state’s argument that such speech can be regulated as “speech integrally related to unlawful conduct” – and in the process, cited Volokh’s discussion of the speech integral to unlawful conduct exception in a friend-of-the-court brief that he filed.

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Is the FCC about to revive a broad reading of the Equal Time Rule—and should broadcast TV still get “special” First Amendment treatment in 2026?

Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer are joined by Duke Law professor Stuart Benjamin to discuss the constitutional backstory behind the federal broadcasting Equal Time Rule and why broadcast media has long been treated differently from newspapers, cable, and the internet. From Red Lion to the collapse of the Fairness Doctrine and beyond, the panel explains how we ended up with a broadcast-only regulatory regime—and why that consensus may now be unraveling.

They also dig into the latest controversy involving political candidates appearing on shows like The View and late-night television, the FCC’s renewed scrutiny, and what it all could mean for the future of media regulation. Would today’s Supreme Court uphold broadcast exceptionalism? Or is this doctrine headed the way of the eight-track tape?

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When can a public university punish a student for speech that includes violent references, and that frightens some people, but is not a clear threat? Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer unpack two recent court cases, one that upholds such punishment and another that says it violates the First Amendment: Damsky v. University of Florida and Christensen v. Ohio State University. Volokh and Bambauer explore how courts are applying the “substantial disruption” standard from Tinker v. Des Moines, and why speech by public university students that alludes in an ambiguous way to violence creates hard First Amendment questions.

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Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer are joined by press freedom advocate Seth Stern to dissect the federal prosecution of journalist Don Lemon. At issue is whether covering—and allegedly accompanying—a disruptive protest inside a church can make a journalist liable for criminal conspiracy under federal laws that ban disruption of worship services. The conversation probes the uneasy boundary between reporting and participation, the limits of First Amendment protection for journalists, and the use of conspiracy claims by prosecutors. Is this a necessary enforcement of neutral criminal law—or a chilling signal that simply documenting controversial events can land reporters in the dock? How this case is resolved may shape the future of press freedom, and of law enforcement, far beyond Don Lemon himself.

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What kind of year was 2025 for free speech? In this special year-in-review episode of Free Speech Unmuted, hosts Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer break down the biggest legal and political fights shaping speech in America right now. From the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision upholding the TikTok divestment law to a pending case that could redefine how much protection professional “talk therapy” gets under the First Amendment, the hosts explain what has happened—and why it matters.

The conversation also covers the Court’s ruling allowing age-verification requirements for online pornography, which dealt with tough questions about protecting kids, adult privacy, and free expression on the internet. Beyond the courts, Volokh and Bambauer examine Trump-administration actions involving law firms, universities, and the media, including federal funding threats, alleged retaliation against certain viewpoints, and the FCC’s response to controversial late-night TV commentary. The episode wraps up with a look at when controversial political speech can get employees fired—and when the Constitution or state law steps in to protect them.

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