Lawfare Daily: McCarthyism and Its Echoes in Modern Politics with Clay Risen

The Lawfare Podcast

The Lawfare Institute

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4.7 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 June 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Lawfare Contributing Editor Renée DiResta sits down with Clay Risen to talk about his book “Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America,” exploring the historical context of McCarthyism and its relevance to contemporary issues. They discuss the dynamics of accusation versus evidence during the Red Scare, the impact of vigilantism, the erosion of civil liberties, and the lessons that can be drawn from this period in American history. Risen highlights lesser-known figures who resisted the Red Scare and examines the political opportunism that characterized the era, drawing parallels to current political challenges.

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1:36.0	What is the line between national security and individual rights in a context when you know that people are going to abuse them?
1:45.1	And it's going to be taking advantage of in a very dangerous way. So, you know, and I think the Red Scare is an
1:51.4	example of where we really failed to do that as a country. It's the Lawfare podcast. I'm Renee
1:57.5	DeResta, contributing editor at Lawfare and Associate Research Professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy.
2:03.8	I am here with Clay Risen, author of the book, Red Scare.
2:07.6	The bigger impact, I think, is just on civil liberties generally and the freedom of speech.
2:12.4	So many people just decided that it wasn't a good idea to take certain positions.
2:17.6	And that meant a lot if you were a teacher or someone in a position of influence on the rest of the public.
	...

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