This episode is a very insightful and relevant conversation with Adam Sieff covering the importance of the First Amendment, the influence of special interests on our governance system and what we can do to mitigate it, and the role of third parties in our political system.

Adam is a media and constitutional litigator with Davis Wright Tremaine where he focuses on emerging issues involving online speech regulation. He also represents internet, media, and technology clients in First Amendment, Section 230, copyright, trademark, antitrust, and related constitutional litigation and appeals, including challenges to state and federal laws.

He is also the Chair of the Hollywood chapter of Govern for California, a nonprofit advocating for the public’s interest in the California State Legislature.

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

01:17 Reasons for staying in California

02:32 How to fix California housing crisis

07:53 Govern for California work

13:24 Reaching compromise and coalition building

19:59 The role of ballot initiatives in our democracy

24:03 Why republicans don’t have any voice in California

26:20 Forbearance and mutual tolerance

29:10 Parliamentary democracy and unwritten political norms

33:53 Culture of civic virtue and mandatory national service

37:35 Obtaining funding for Govern for California and political philanthropy

40:20 Campaign finance rulings and reforms

56:04 First Amendment and online speech

01:04:21 Online safety laws

01:05:55 Role of AI in our governance system

Guest links:

Adam's profile: https://www.dwt.com/people/s/sieff-adam

Adam's Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamssieff?lang=en

Govern for California: https://www.governforcalifornia.org

Think with Lucie links:

https://www.youtube.com/@thinkwithlucie

https://twitter.com/thinkwithlucie

https://www.instagram.com/thinkwithlucie