Rights This Way

Over more than a decade, the NYPD has collected the genetic material of 34,000 people – generally without their consent – in its rogue, illegal DNA database. The people ensnared in this database are often innocent, never charged with or convicted of a crime. And as technology advances, there’s no telling what law enforcement will be able to know about people whose DNA is swept up in these kinds of databases. How does the NYPD get away with this? What are the dangers of DNA databases, and what can we do to reign them in?

On this episode we spe...

There is burgeoning and justified nationwide outrage over automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs. These ubiquitous and invasive devices are singlehandedly destroying any notion we may have of personal privacy. ALPRs capture the movements of millions of innocent New Yorkers every day. They build detailed location records, revealing where we go to work, whom we meet, which health care providers we visit, which places of worship we frequent, and which protests we attend.

On this episode, we talk to two experts about how license plate readers work, what makes them so dangerous, and about state and...

With Donald Trump waging war on free speech and ICE officers killing people in broad daylight, our right to protest is more important than ever. But too often when New Yorkers take to the streets to speak out, they are met with NYPD violence. Often, the officers leading the anti-protest charge are part of the NYPD's notoriously brutal Strategic Response Group, or "the SRG."

The SRG's training specifically names anti-Trump demonstrators, the Black Lives Matter movement, and Occupy Wall Street as examples of "violent" protesters. The unit's members have demonstrated a clear pattern of targeting people...

The impact of a person’s incarceration reaches far beyond the confines of their cell. Children lose parents. Families lose a breadwinner and struggle to meet their needs. Businesses lose workers. Humane treatment that respects the rights and dignity of incarcerated people and prepares them to re-enter society, benefits both incarcerated people and their communities.

On this episode, we speak to a New Yorker with personal experience visiting a family member who was incarcerated. He explains why in-person visits are so important and why a bill recently passed by the state legislature would help families like hi...

AI is everywhere, including in our schools. But what does the rapid deployment of AI mean for the 900,000 students in New York City’s public schools? What are the guardrails in place for its use? What are the dangers of AI? What are the everyday changes taking place because of its implementation?

Earlier this year the New York City Department of Education (DOE) rolled out guidance for the use of AI. The backlash from students, parents and pretty much everyone was so severe that in June, the DOE postponed their planned rollout of an AI "Playbook," wh...

The World Cup is supposed to be a time when billions of people across the planet join together to celebrate their love for the global game of soccer. It’s a moment for people of different ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, and nationalities to celebrate what brings them closer, and to enjoy the world’s most popular sport.

But President Trump has other ideas. He used the World Cup to bully, divide, spread fear in immigrant communities, and even demand special treatment from the tournament’s governing body. On this episode, we speak with Paola Mendoz...

After months of backroom dealing, Gov. Hochul touted what she called her “buffer zone legislation” which threatens to chill protest and other forms of free speech near houses of worship. While the bill that finally passed isn’t as bad as the Governor’s initial proposal, it is still needless, dangerous, and an affront to our democracy.

On this episode, we discuss this so-called buffer zone legislation and what it does, what it doesn’t do, and how it could impact New Yorkers’ ability to speak out. We also talk about an ongoing NYCLU lawsuit against Long Island’...

Today’s soaring cost of living and staggering wealth inequality cast a spotlight on the longstanding need for universal child care. Too many families find themselves in an impossible bind: They can’t afford to lose the wages they need to make ends meet, but they also can’t afford to pay for the child care that allows them to go to work.

On this episode, we speak with Emmy Liss, Mayor Mamdani’s head of the Office of Child Care. She is at the forefront of the city’s efforts to make the dream of universal ch...

Lead is in the walls and water of an untold number of places New Yorkers live, go to school, work, and visit. Its life-altering impacts pose a potential danger to everyone in our state, but lead poisoning disproportionately affects Black and Brown New Yorkers. Thousands of people’s lives are impacted by lead poisoning, but our state and local governments aren’t doing nearly enough to combat it.

On this episode, we speak with Shannon Burkett, an award-winning actor, writer, producer, and nurse who created the podcast “Lead: How This Story Ends is Up to Us,” which te...

Perhaps no dynamic defines politics in New York State and New York City in 2026 more than the relationship between Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The Mayor needs the Governor’s help to accomplish many of the key pillars of his agenda, and the two have already signaled clear areas of agreement and key points of friction.

On this episode, we discuss the promise and potential pitfalls of this relationship with Christina Greer, who understands New York politics as well as anyone. She is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University and the co...

President Trump is waging war on free speech and academic freedom. And too often, colleges and universities have waved the white flag. Over and over, places of higher education have given in to the Trump administration’s outrageous demands and allowed the federal government to have an unprecedented say in what gets taught and what people can say on college campuses. New York City’s Columbia University is at the center of Trump’s attempts to destroy America’s colleges.

Few have had a better seat to watch this assault on our cherished freedoms than Professor Katherin...

A legion of far-right activists is determined to purge school libraries of books they don't like. A huge percentage of the books they want to get rid of are about race or racism, feature people of color, or include LGBTQ characters. This is a nationwide movement, and New York is not immune. Several New York school districts are facing calls to ban books.

On this episode, we talk to New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron. One of Kalynn’s books, “Cinderella is Dead”, has been targeted by several book ban campaigns. She talks with us about...

In its recent decision in the case, United States v. Skrmetti, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming medical care does not violate the Constitution and can remain in effect. The decision is a devastating loss for trans rights and risks emboldening other states to advance similar bans.

The decision comes as the Trump administration and its allies in hostile state governments have made clear they aim to exclude transgender people from public life and eliminate access to abortion across the country.

On this episode, we talk with Ch...

On this episode, we hear from Mahmoud Khalil. Mahmoud is a lawful permanent resident who was kidnapped by the Trump administration and held in detention because of his advocacy for Palestinian Rights.

After more than 100 days in detention, Mahmoud is finally where he belongs: at home with his family in New York City. In this episode – which is a collaboration between Rights This Way and the ACLU’s podcast, At Liberty – At Liberty host W. Kamau Bell speaks with Mahmoud about his newly reacquired freedom, fatherhood, his wife Noor and what he wants everyone to remember from h...

We might not realize it, but we are swimming in a sea of what this episode’s guest calls Copaganda. The way media outlets decide what stories to cover, which experts to quote, and even what supposedly objective words to use in news stories, profoundly impact how we view the world we live in.

In his book, Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News, our guest Alec Karakatsanis breaks down what Copaganda is, why media outlets and powerful figures deploy it, and how it shapes our understanding of crime rates, what types of crimes ma...

Some of us might think that the fight for trans people’s right to play sports is new. But a recent book, “The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports” delves into the history of this debate that has lasted the better part of a century at least.

Now the Trump administration is threatening states with funding cuts and other sanctions if they allow trans people to play sports on teams that align with their gender identity. It’s just one element of Trump’s full-scale war on trans people’s existence. But as we’ll hea...

The Trump administration has made clear that if you dare to disagree with the president, you will be punished.

That was the message when ICE agents illegally arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident and recent graduate student at Columbia University, in retaliation for his advocacy for Palestinian human rights. He was separated from his wife, an American citizen, who is nine months pregnant, and shipped from New York to New Jersey and then to Louisiana.

Mr. Khalil has never been accused, charged, or convicted of any crime. He wa...

It happens like clockwork. A person suffering from serious mental health problems is accused of a heinous and tragic crime committed against a stranger. Then the calls come from law enforcement, politicians, and right-wing tabloids to lock more people up. Rinse and repeat. This all happens despite the fact that people living with mental health challenges are 11 times more likely to be the victims of crime and violence than to commit an act of violence.

It is undeniably true that the status quo for how we address issues like homelessness and serious mental health challenges is u...

The Trump Administration has stoked widespread fear in immigrant communities across New York and around the country. Through immigration raids, and a non-stop barrage of anti-immigrant policies, Trump’s plans to tear families apart and launch the largest mass deportations in U.S. history are well underway.

There’s no sugarcoating how bad the current situation is. But we should also understand that there’s a lot New York lawmakers can do to protect our immigrant neighbors. On this episode, we discuss what policies need to be put in place at the state level to help safegu...

It seems like ancient history, but it actually wasn’t that long ago when – during the first Trump administration – large protests featured signs that read “no kids in cages” and “no body is illegal.” It is hard to remember that less than a decade ago, Democrats running in their party’s presidential primary were competing over who was more pro-immigrant.

Times have changed. President Trump has begun his effort to carry out the largest mass deportation of immigrants in U.S. history. Families and whole communities are stricken with fear.

Meanwhile, the calls to “close the bo...

Watch the video version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwHV7aTjToU&t=923s

SUFFS is a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical set in the early 1900s that chronicles the suffragists’ fight to secure women’s right to vote. More than a century later, the production’s Broadway run is happening at a moment when abortion rights, and women’s rights more broadly, are under attack across the country. 

On this episode, we sit down with SUFFS’ writer, composer, and star Shaina Taub, and ensemble cast member Jenna Bainbridge to talk about...

Across the country, politicians are restricting people’s rights and freedoms, including the right to abortion and the right for all of us to be who we are.

Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, twenty-one states have either banned or restricted abortion care. There’s also a full-blown assault on LGBTQ rights, with hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced — and many passed — in state legislatures across the country just this year.

Some might think we’re safe from these attacks here in New York, but the truth is there are dangerou...

This February in Long Island, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman issued an executive order banning transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s sports at county-run facilities. The NYCLU sued to block this policy, arguing that it violates New York’s Human Rights Law and Civil Rights Law, which explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Justice prevailed and, in May, the Nassau County Supreme Court ruled in the NYCLU and Roller Rebels’ favor, striking down the executive order.

Then, shortly after we recorded this podcast, the Nassau County Legislature introduced legislation designed to resur...

The NYCLU recently filed a lawsuit challenging the misleadingly-named Sexual Assault Reform Act, or SARA. SARA is a New York law that prevents certain people required to register on the state’s sex offender registry from knowingly being within 1,000 feet of a school at any time and for any reason. It’s also been interpreted to prevent people subject to SARA restrictions from living within this 1,000-foot radius.

SARA is billed as a way to protect New Yorkers from people who could harm children. But research shows these types of geographical restrictions don’t increase public safety...

Fifty years ago, New York first opened its doors to people from across the U.S. who needed abortion care. Now, following the Supreme Court's decision to gut Roe, numerous states have banned or severely restricted abortion care. In the face of this attack on basic reproductive rights, New York must once again be a leader in expanding care for its residents and anyone who needs it.

Even though abortion is legal in New York, people still face steep barriers trying to access abortion across the state. We talk about how to close those gaps and...

Universities should be havens for robust debate, discussion, and learning – not sites of censorship where administrators, donors, and politicians squash political discourse they don't approve of. But Columbia University recently violated New York law to single out and suspend two student groups for participating in a peaceful student demonstration and temporary art installation in support of Palestinian rights.

That's why the NYCLU and Palestine Legal sued Columbia.

These student groups – Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace – were peacefully speaking out on a critical global conflict, only to have Columbia ignore...

About 180,000 migrants have come to New York City since April of 2022, and about 65,000 are currently in the city's care. Nearly every day there is a news story or a quote from a New York politician about how this recent arrival of migrants is a drain on New York’s finances. But a recent report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander complicates that narrative. He joins us to explain why migrants are an economic boon to our city, and what he thinks we should do to get them the resources they need to thrive.

This is a...

The 2024 elections will be some of the most critical in our lifetimes and, as election season approaches, a wave of efforts to diminish the political power of communities of color is surging. This isn't just happening in red states, it's taking place right here in New York.

That’s why the NYCLU and our partners sued the Nassau County Legislature in Long Island for its redistricting plan, which violates the landmark New York Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength and political influence of Black, Latinx, and Asian residents. Though residents of color make up ov...

New York has a proud legacy of offering refuge to newcomers hoping to make life better for themselves and their families. That hope is something we all share, and the promise of refuge has made our state what it is. 

Rental prices soared to record levels in New York City in 2023. Right now, a family would have to earn at least $140,000 a year just to be able to afford the city’s median rent of $3,500. And this story goes well beyond New York City. Across the state, New Yorkers are struggling to keep a roof over...

New York has a proud legacy of offering refuge to newcomers hoping to make life better for themselves and their families. That hope is something we all share, and the promise of refuge has made our state what it is. 

New York is also known for being a place where big things get done. That’s why it’s so disappointing when our leaders scapegoat and engage in fearmongering over the many migrants arriving in New York over the last year-plus, mostly in New York City. 

This political finger-pointing and the doomsday...

The NYPD's Strategic Response Group (SRG) is a notoriously violent rapid response unit. Despite promises from the department that the unit would not be deployed at protests, the SRG has consistently threatened, attacked, and arrested protesters. Time and time again, when the SRG arrives on the scene, officers escalate situations and injure New Yorkers who are exercising their First Amendment rights.

Since we recorded this episode, the NYCLU, the Legal Aid Society and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a sweeping settlement agreement that could help transform the way the NYPD polices protests. The settlement – wh...

For more than seven years, 10,000 public school students — almost entirely children of color — in the East Ramapo Central School District just 40 miles north of New York City have had lead in their school water fountains. Students speak of going thirsty after gym glass, of mold collecting in the water coolers provided to replace drinking fountains, and of washing their hands next to hazard signs.

But the story is bigger. School district leaders haven’t simply failed to fix the water problem. They’ve failed every part of the school system and hollowed out the educations of tens of...

It’s a scenario that many parents across New York State, particularly in low-income areas, have come to fear: A knock on the door from a Child Protective Services caseworker.

On this episode of Rights This Way, we delve into why the “child welfare system” is actually better understood as a family regulation or a family policing system. We’ll explore how a system ostensibly set up to “protect children” is actually one in which poor families of color are routinely harassed, surveilled, and punished. And we’ll look at ways we can build a system that truly sup...

Could one of the answers to fighting anti-Asian violence come in the classroom? That’s one of the ideas behind a new bill in the New York State legislature that would require public schools to teach Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander history. After a resurgence in attacks against Asian Americans in the wake of the pandemic, what students learn in the classroom could help extinguish the hate. And there would be other benefits as well.

Studies show that inclusive curriculum and culturally responsive teaching builds self-esteem, resilience, and academic engagement among students who finally ge...

In 2019, New York state lawmakers passed a raft of progressive legislation that strengthened reproductive and voting rights, made our criminal legal system fairer and much more. Since then there have been additional victories for civil rights and civil liberties, but the momentum for positive change has slowed significantly. In some instances, wins have actually been rolled back. What are the roadblocks causing this lack of progress? How can we get back to the 2019-levels of change? And what wins and losses did we see in this year’s state legislative session?

We discuss all these questions wi...

What if many of the things you think about illegal drugs and drug use are wrong? What if many of the problems associated with drugs are actually caused by the fact that they’re criminalized as part of the decades-long, failed war on drugs? For years, Dr. Carl Hart has worked to destroy myths about drugs and to change drug policies in the United States. He joins us to speak about all of this and more.

Plus, we talk about state legislation that could move us away from criminalization and towards a more sensible approach to dr...

A View Inside Rikers from People Who Know it Best

New York City’s Rikers Island houses one of the most violent, dysfunctional, and hellish jails in the country. Every day, thousands of people – most of whom are legally innocent and the vast majority of whom are Black and Brown – are subjected to incredibly harsh conditions. Some never make it out alive.

We speak with two people who have covered the problems that plague Rikers for years. Graham Rayman is a journalist with the New York Daily News where he mainly focuses on crimin...

The title of this episode is the major question at the heart of a new book, “The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption, and Cover-Up in Oakland.” The book focuses on the Oakland Police Department, in Oakland, California. But the story it tells – of corruption, brutality, and stymied efforts at reform – is one that can be told about many police departments across New York, including the NYPD.

We get into this rich and deeply frustrating history with the authors of the book, Ali Winston and Darwin BondGraham. We also hear more about police reform generally, and with...

In April, New York state lawmakers rolled back reforms to the state’s bail laws. If that sounds familiar, it’s because bail reform has now been rolled back three times as a continuous drumbeat of “tough on crime” rhetoric from the media and politicians has paved the way for more and more backsliding. Why does this keep happening? What role do narratives around bail and public safety play in creating an environment where these bad legislative outcomes seem inevitable? How can we stop this dynamic from repeating and what exactly did lawmakers do this time around?

We cov...

New York’s legislative session kicked off last month and already there are political fireworks. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democrats in the state senate clashed over the Governor’s pick to lead the state’s highest court. Judge Hector Lasalle was voted down by the Senate Judiciary Committee, making Hochul the first governor to lose her bid to appoint the state's top judge.

This battle sets the stage for what is sure to be an especially contentious legislative session. How will this early skirmish impact the legislative priorities we care about most? What are the prospe...