Can revealing a plot twist get you sued? Inspired by the controversy surrounding HBO’s Lanterns, Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer explore the tension between copyright protection and free speech. From Gerald Ford’s memoirs to 2 Live Crew’s “Pretty Woman” parody, they examine how courts distinguish protected expression from facts and ideas—and when fair use permits borrowing from someone else’s work. Along the way, they consider why describing an ending differs from posting a clip, how unpublished leaks complicate the analysis, and when a spoiler might cross the line from bad manners to legal liability.
Recorded on August 25, 2026.
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This final line in a long-ago movie about a fictional California race seems to fit our real, post-election Sacramento. The capital mood is stranger than fiction, with its outgoing governor who won’t cede the spotlight and a governor-elect who’s short on specifics.
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Jonah Goldberg discusses the aftermath of this week’s midterm election in the US – a shocking repudiation of the Trump presidency and arguably the harshest setback for Republican candidates nationwide since 1974’s Watergate backlash.
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Donald Trump remains in the White House, but the midterms have made him a lame duck.
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