Ilya Shapiro is a legal scholar, an essayist, and an author who holds degrees from Princeton, The London School of Economics, and The University of Chicago. During our conversation, Ilya talks about his family's life in the Soviet Union, his journey to North America as a child, and his desire to become an American citizen.Ilya also talks about the foundational liberties of American civilization, freedom of speech, classical liberalism, the role and importance of disagreement in a free society, and his being hired as the Executive Director of The Georgetown Center for the Constitution in early 2022. In January 2022, following a tweet about his views on a Supreme Court vacancy, Ilya was placed on leave and, in public, has been heckled and shouted down.We talk about that tweet in some detail. This conversation is an attempt to provide some nuance to the controversy surrounding Ilya, and to provide a sense of humanity to a man who - whether or not one agrees with his political views - has apologized.------------Support this podcast via VenmoSupport this podcast via PayPalSupport this podcast on Patreon------------Show notesLeave a rating on SpotifyLeave a rating on Apple PodcastsFollow "Keep Talking" on social media and access all episodes------------

Introduction

Life in Soviet Union and his family's move to the West

Jewish background and thoughts on Russian-Ukrainian war

Life under an authoritarian Soviet rule

A desire to become an American

Evolving beliefs and Ilya’s desire to become an American citizen

Classical liberalism

Ilya's historical heroes

What about classical liberalists resonates with Ilya?

American ideals and contributing to American intellectual life

A Russian-Jewish immigrant in Mississippi

The Cato Institute

Transitioning to Executive Director of The Georgetown Center for the Constitution

Questioning President Joe Biden's intentions for the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy

His controversial tweet and an intention to oppose discrimination

Cultivating grace and respecting disagreements

Being shouted down at U.C. Hastings

Allegations made against Ilya by the students of U.C. Hastings

American free speech in 2022