University of Chicago Law School
Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor, and former dean, at the University of Chicago Law School and author of Speaking Out!: Reflections on Law, Liberty and Justice; former law clerk for the late Justice William Brennan
Princeton, Woodrow Wilson, and the Legacy of Forebears Some elite colleges and universities go back to the days of segregation and even slavery. Now students are demanding they at least acknowledge the racist past. President Woodrow Wilson Photo: Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress "Segregation is not humiliating, but a benefit, and ought to be so regarded by you." Those are the words of President Woodrow Wilson, now posted by the Black Justice League at Princeton University. Wilson is central to Princeton’s identity, but the League wants it to erase his name from the prestigious Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a residential complex called Wilson College. Geoffrey Stone, professor at the University of Chicago Law School and a former University Provost, says that universities are put in a difficult position.
Secrecy, Diplomacy and Edward Snowden Edward Snowden says he went to work for a defense contractor so he could inform the American public about the government's secret surveillance of telephone and Internet conversations. Having fled from Hong Kong, he's still thought to be in the Moscow airport. Over the weekend, London's Guardian newspaper and Der Spiegel in Germany published new revelations that the US has spied on allies as well as enemies. Angry leaders in Europe say that could scuttle a trade deal between the US and the European Union — the biggest ever negotiated. Does the US keep more secrets than it needs to for national security? Should whistle-blowers be prosecuted or protected?
Healthcare: The Law and the Politics The US Supreme Court has upheld President Obama's Affordable Care Act , a short-term victory with long-term consequences for health care, the powers of Congress and the presidential campaign.
Healthcare: The Law and the Politics The US Supreme Court has found the Affordable Care Act constitutional , a major victory for President Obama . The decision was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who sided with four liberal colleagues against conservatives, splitting the court five to four. The "mandate" requiring all Americans to buy health insurance was upheld — but the majority called it a "tax" — and that gave Mitt Romney an opening. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said today he'll introduce a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act when Congress returns to Washington. We hear about today's opinion, and what it could mean for the availability of healthcare, the presidential campaign and the powers of Congress.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.