About this episode

This episode explores the evolving standards of free speech and criminal threats in the context of increasing threats against public officials in the United States.

Threats against public officials have become much, much more common. This includes everyone from the president of the United States to members of Congress, to state and local officials, and even civil servants like local librarians. Threats have always been a part of United States history, often manifesting in times of political turmoil or cultural tension. The internet age opened a new chapter in the U.S. making threats easier to make and harder to trace and prosecute. So what exactly is the standard for defining a criminal threat? How has it changed? And how do we balance safety and free speech in a world where the two seem increasingly at odds? On this episode of Throughline, the shifting line between protected speech and true threats. Guests: David L. Hudson, Jr., associate professor of Law at Belmont University Law School and First Amendment fellow for the Freedom Forum Mary Anne Franks, professor at The George Washington Law School, and author of Fearless Speech and The Cult of the Constitution Support shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to…

People in this episode

Guests: David L. Hudson, Jr., Mary Anne Franks

Topics covered

• free speech
• criminal threats
• political turmoil
• cultural tension
• internet age
• First Amendment

Keywords

• free speech
• criminal threat
• public officials
• political turmoil
• cultural tension
• internet threats
• First Amendment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Belmont University Law School, The George Washington Law School, Freedom Forum

Places: United States

More episodes of Throughline

• The uncensored war · June 9, 2026 · 18 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Throughline podcast page.