Episode 528: Public Executions: Be Careful

Ant and James go a little further than most in discussing the death penalty as we brace ourselves for the first public execution in the US since 1936.00:00 Introduction and Episode Preview01:13 MIT’s Certificate in Piracy03:59 Political Arguments, Social Media, and the Electoral College07:30 Chuck Grassley, Aging Politicians, and Age Limits12:28 Foolishness of the Week: Arrested Over a Shrek Meme14:06 Political Speech and the First Amendment16:56 Free Speech, Government Censorship, and Public Figures19:51 The Death Penalty and the Right to Life22:04 Can the Government Be Trusted With Capital Punishment?25:02 Nidal Hasan and the Case for Public Execution28:06 Should Executions Ever Be a Public Spectacle?32:38 The Morality of Taking a Human Life35:43 Public Executions, War, and the Slippery Slope38:20 Are These Signs of a Dying Political Regime?41:25 Principles, Revenge, and the Death Penalty44:19 Closing Thoughts and Words & Numbers Backstage