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Legal explainers
The law behind the news, explained in a few minutes by the experts who know it best.
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2:13POLITICALLIESLEGAL?
Can politicians lie about their opponents?
Prof. Barbara McQuade · Michigan Law
Why defamation's "actual malice" standard is the main legal limit on lies in political campaigns
7:243.3K viewsTHELEMONTEST
The Lemon Test Explained
Prof. Sarah Barringer Gordon · Penn Carey Law
What Lemon v. Kurtzman required, why it fell out of favor, and where it stands after Kennedy v. Bremerton.
6:504.2K viewsCAN YOURECORDPOLICE?
Can you record the police?
Prof. Rachel Harmon · UVA Law
The First Amendment right to film police, and when officers can limit it at crime scenes, stops, and arrests.
0:525.7K viewsARRESTEDFOR THEFINGER?
Can you be arrested for giving the finger to police?
Prof. Rachel Harmon · UVA Law
Why the First Amendment protects rude gestures and harsh words aimed at police officers
4:598.2K viewsSPEECHORINCITEMENT?
What counts as “incitement” under the First Amendment?
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
How Brandenburg and Claiborne Hardware set a high bar before speech can be punished as incitement
2:572.7K viewsTHEHECKLER'SVETO
Do You Have a Heckler's Veto Right?
Prof. Nadine Strossen · New York Law School
Why shouting down a speaker you oppose undermines free speech, and how the heckler's veto doctrine began.
3:4631K viewsA RIGHT TOSOCIALMEDIA?
A First Amendment Right to Social Media?
Nadine Strossen · New York Law School
Why there is no constitutional right to stay on Facebook or X, and why platform access still matters
4:042.5K viewsBANNINGHATE SPEECHON CAMPUS?
Can universities ban hate speech on campus?
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
Why public universities cannot ban offensive speech, and where harassment law draws the line on campus.
3:131.5K viewsATHLETESTAKINGA KNEE
Do student athletes have a right to "take a knee?"
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
Can a public school punish a student athlete for kneeling during the anthem? The First Amendment answer.
3:381.9K viewsYOURRIGHT TOPROTEST
What are your rights to protest in public?
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
Streets, sidewalks, and parks: when you need a permit to protest and what counts as unlawful obstruction.
2:212.5K viewsFIREDFOR YOURSPEECH?
Can you be fired for speech outside the office?
Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship
Why the First Amendment does not stop a private employer from firing you for what you say on your own time.
3:4915K viewsRIGHT TORECORDPOLICE?
Is There a Right to Record the Police?
Prof. Jocelyn Simonson · Brooklyn Law School
Most federal appeals courts now protect filming police in public, but buffer laws and immunity still matter.