Anthony Lewis & Ronald Collins: The First Amendment [video 58min]

Anthony Lewis, author of Freedom for the Thought We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment, is interviewed by Ronald Collins, a scholar at the First Amendment Center. Lewis recounts the different interpretations of the First Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1791 and first enforced by the Supreme Court in 1931. He profiles the people and controversies that have shaped today's understanding of the First Amendment and the current arguments that surround freedom of expression. Lewis was formerly a reporter and op-ed columnist for the New York Times for over fifty years, where he was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes for his reportage. He is the author of three prior books, including Gideon's Trumpet and Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment. Ronald Collins is a scholar at the First Amendment Center and was formerly a Judicial Fellow under Chief Justice Warren Burger at the U.S. Supreme Court. Collins is the co-author of The Trials of Lenny Bruce, with David Skover, with whom in 2003 he successfully petitioned the governor of New York to posthumously pardon Lenny Bruce.