Americans United has a podcast! And a Legal Director!
I’m a voracious podcast listener. As a lawyer and author, I’m particularly interested in legal podcasts that explain complicated and boring legal tangles without the jargon and legalese that makes listeners wish they were at the dentist instead. “We Dissent” is just such a podcast and one of my personal favorites.
“We Dissent” is a monthly podcast hosted by three secular women, who also happen to be powerhouse attorneys at major nonprofits working to keep church and state separate. They break down the complicated cases and issues of the day into terms that any listener can understand and, importantly, can then use to persuade and educate in everyday conversations with friends and family. I listen religiously.
Rebecca Markert is a creator and co-host of “We Dissent” — and she’s also the new vice president and legal director at Americans United. I had the pleasure of working alongside Rebecca for a decade and know her to be not only a top-notch litigator but also a brilliant legal organizer, and that is precisely what our movement needs as we face down this wave of Christian Nationalism. She and I have organized presentations, scholarly symposia, media campaigns and successful cutting-edge litigation.
Rebecca’s co-hosts at “We Dissent” are the brilliant Liz Cavell, deputy legal director at the Freedom From Religion Foundation,* and the talented Alison Gill, vice president of legal and policy at American Atheists.
This month’s episode is about the mifepristone abortion pill case that the Supreme Court will decide any day now. You can listen here. “We Dissent” is available to download and stream on numerous platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Libsyn. To view the full list of streaming platforms, click here. And be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes!
AU is lucky to have Rebecca’s brilliance, expertise, and her podcast. This is an area we’ve been discussing branching out into, but we haven’t had the funds or capacity. So this is an exciting development.
Please subscribe to “We Dissent,” download the latest episode, which dropped on May 15, and maybe go listen to a few episodes in the “We Dissent” back catalog. The most popular episode of all time features none other than AU President and CEO Rachel Laser, who joined the pod as a guest back on Sept. 1, 2022, for Episode 9.
And if you’re an avid podcast listener like me, you may have heard an ad for AU on some of your favorite podcasts lately: Crooked Media’s “Strict Scrutiny” and “Lovett or Leave It,” “Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness”, The New York Times podcast network, Medias Touch Network’s “Legal AF” and “NBC Nightly NewsLIST.” This is all part of our work to make AU a household name.
When you hire good people, good things happen. I’m excited to see what’s next for AU, our latest addition and our new podcast.
*Full disclosure, the author of this blog post is married to one of the other hosts of the “We Dissent” podcast. But he assures readers that that only colors his endorsement of “We Dissent” minimally and you should absolutely still go and subscribe.
Photo: Rebecca Markert
