Steve and Katie welcome back Professor Amy Adler to discuss the First Amendment’s free speech protections as they apply to artistic expression in the context of several recent incidents. Specifically, they discuss the police seizure of certain Sally Mann photographs from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in the context of obscenity and child pornography laws, the removal of the For Freedoms billboard depicting the march on Selma in Montgomery, Alabama, and the lawsuit about the Nirvana “Nevermind” album cover depicting a naked baby.
Resources:
https://its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=profile.overview&personid=19731
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sally-mann-photos-seized-fort-worth-museum-2595888
https://www.thefire.org/news/fire-demands-fort-worth-police-return-artwork-confiscated-museum
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-59993244
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/arts/nea-artists-letter-trump-restrictions.html
Katie and Steve discuss topics based on news and magazine articles and court filings and not based on original research unless specifically noted.
Episode Transcription Coming Soon
Music by Chris Thompson. Produced by Jackie Santos.