# Steve Silverman — Writing & Media

> Selected writing, films, and press coverage from 25 years of explaining complicated things in plain language and getting people to care — from op-eds in The Washington Post to a live segment on C-SPAN to a YouTube video that got a law repealed.

- Canonical URL: https://silvermanatee.com/media/
- Last updated: 2026-04-28

## Overview

From op-eds in The Washington Post to a live segment on C-SPAN to a YouTube video that got a law repealed, I've spent 25 years explaining complicated things in plain language and getting people to care.

## Signature Know-Your-Rights Films

I created these films at Flex Your Rights, the nonprofit I founded. They anchored a YouTube channel with over 48 million views. We cut the full-length videos into dozens of targeted clips, each answering specific questions people were already searching for.

- **10 Rules for Dealing with Police** — Narrated by Billy Murphy Jr. (The Wire), Freddie Gray's family attorney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4nQ_mFJV4I
- **BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters** — Narrated by Ira Glasser, former ACLU Executive Director. The film that started it all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA

## In the Press

### Featured In

- **Reason** — "This Bicycle Registration Law Gives Police Yet Another Excuse to Punish Insufficiently Meek Citizens" (2019)
- **Bethesda Magazine** — "Is Your Bike Registered in Montgomery County? It's Required." (2019)
- **The New Yorker** — "When Cops Choose Empathy" by Jamil Zaki (2015)
- **The Guardian** — "Sandra Bland dashcam video raises doubts about officer's basis for arrest" by Jamiles Lartey (2015)
- **Newsweek** — "Federal Government's Response to South Carolina Spring Valley High School Incident Is Unprecedented" by Max Kutner (2015)
- **The Washington Post** — "You Have the Right to Remain Calm, Cool and Collected" by DeNeen L. Brown (2010)

### Published Work

- **Reason** — "7 Rules for Recording Police" (2012)
- **Gizmodo** — "7 Rules for Recording Police," republished from Reason (2012)
- **HuffPost** — "A Cop's Advice on Dealing with Cops," ghostwritten for Maj. Neill Franklin (2010)
- **The Washington Post** — Op-ed on Metro bag searches and civil liberties (2008)
- **The Washington Post** — "Savage Sentences," ghostwritten during FAMM internship (1999)

## Media Appearances

- **5 Rules for Recording Police** — Presentation at the Cato Institute. 904K views. (2014) https://youtu.be/BHpQtvIxBJ4
- **Exposed: Montgomery County's Bike Registration Law** — The video that sparked a law repeal. 301K views. (2019) https://youtu.be/28w6xvRj9EM
- **Fox News Freedom Watch** — Know-your-rights segment with Judge Napolitano. (2010) https://youtu.be/Wn_SnB5H4tY
- **Fox 5 DC** — Local segment on the Montgomery County bicycle law. (2019)
- **C-SPAN Washington Journal** — Steve Silverman on know-your-rights education. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBkxscI2DDM

## Content That Ranks & Converts

- **$58K/mo in organic traffic value** — Camp Lejeune Lawsuit article ranked Top 5 right before the president signed a law letting victims sue.
- **371-page Police Transparency Directory** — Searchable directory rating 371 police departments on civilian complaint accessibility. https://depts.sivilco.com/
- **#1 ranking for "Mass Tort Marketing"** — B2B guide for attorneys. https://www.camginc.com/legal-marketing-updates/mass-tort-marketing-guide/

## Related

- [Homepage](https://silvermanatee.com/index.md) — Markdown version of the homepage
- [Site overview](https://silvermanatee.com/llms.txt) — short site map for AI agents
- [Full site content](https://silvermanatee.com/llms-full.txt) — single-file Markdown bundle

## Contact

- Email: steve@silvermanatee.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/silvermanatee
- Calendly: https://calendly.com/silvermanatee/free-session
- Location: Silver Spring, MD (open to remote and DC-area roles)