About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges to free speech and academic freedom in the U.S., including the detention of foreign students and the defunding of universities.

Today’s podcast is titled “Free Speech: Campus Arrests and Deportations.” Recorded in 2025, host Jim Falk is joined by Paul Butler, a First Amendment attorney and partner at Jackson Walker, and Jeremy Suri, presidential historian and Mack Brown Distinguished Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Together, they examine the growing pressure on free speech and academic freedom in the United States, from the detention of foreign students to the defunding of universities that resist government demands. Their conversation explores what the First Amendment does — and doesn’t — protect, and what’s at stake when those rights go undefended. …

People in this episode

Host: Jim Falk

Guests: Paul Butler, Jeremy Suri

Topics covered

• free speech
• academic freedom
• First Amendment
• campus arrests
• deportations
• government demands

Keywords

• free speech
• First Amendment
• academic freedom
• campus arrests
• deportations
• government pressure
• foreign students

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Jackson Walker, University of Texas at Austin

Places: United States

More episodes of Free To Choose Media Podcast

• Episode 270 – The State of Civics Education Today (Podcast) · July 16, 2026
• Episode 269 – Western Tradition and The American Founding (Podcast) · July 2, 2026

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