E-Mail This Article to a Friend CIVIL RIGHTS Liberating your radio BY DAVID S. BERNSTEIN

As national broadcasters move to sweep offensive programs off the radio airwaves, two local civil libertarians are trying get on the air by condemning censorship. Veteran social critic and attorney Wendy Kaminer and frequent Phoenix contributor and civil-liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate tried out their new act last week in a pilot episode of sorts, hoping to turn it into a regular syndicated program called On Liberty.

Recording live in front of a full hall of about 80 people in the First Parish in Cambridge, Kaminer and Silverglate railed against censorship on both the political left and right — particularly what Silverglate called "viewpoint censorship" on campuses. "The form that censorship has taken in the last 20 years, is that you have the right to not be offended," he said.

Illustrating the point were the show’s guests, Jeremy McKeen and Dan Tapia. McKeen, a teacher in Lynn, was prevented by his principal from showing the Michael Moore film Bowling for Columbine to his class of high-school seniors. Tapia, a Harvard University undergraduate and president of Harvard Right to Life, feels that Harvard’s dean shrugged off complaints alleging that pro-choice advocates were tearing down his group’s posters on campus.

McKeen, with his beard and small glasses, and Tapia, with his short hair and suit, were a perfect liberal/conservative pairing sitting between Kaminer and Silverglate. Guests like these, who fill out the human side of civil-libertarian issues, figure to be the spark the show needs to find an audience. For instance, early on Kaminer made an astute but abstract observation that "the therapeutic culture has helped erase the distinction between words and actions." Later, Tapia illustrated Kaminer’s point by discussing a rape victim who complained that she was "victimized all over again" upon seeing a poster of a rape victim’s anti-abortion testimony.

Silverglate and Kaminer intend to host guests like these on every show, and to look broadly at a variety of issues under the umbrella of civil liberties. "Unfortunately, there are never a dearth of cases to talk about," Kaminer says. "Especially in these times."

The one-hour show (edited from 90 taped minutes) can soon be heard on WGBH Forum webcast (http://www.wgbh.org/forum) and on radio stations that carry the Cambridge Forum series, which sponsored the event. Local carriers include WRCA Cambridge, WCAI Cape Cod, WNAN Nantucket, WPLM Plymouth, and WOMR Provincetown — check schedules at http://www.cambridgeforum.org/cfweb/cfnewradio.html. Silverglate hopes to work out a deal soon with several National Public Radio stations for an ongoing series. He and Kaminer are also hoping to move the show to public television. Keep your eyes and ears open.