Subjects Discussed: * What tort law is, compared with criminal, contract, and property law * Intentional versus accidental torts * Crimes and torts * The negligence standard versus strict liability in torts * Standards for torts in American history * Good Samaritan laws and torts: affirmative duties * Special cases of duties to rescue * Free speech and torts: defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress * Proposals for tort reform * Torts and legal precedents in property law * Law and philosophy.

Question: Should an employer have to explain and justify his firing of an employee? Should an employer be able to fire an employee for some alleged misconduct, even though the employer never bothered to verify the misconduct, nor asked the employee for his side of the story? For example, suppose that when the employee shows up for work he is simply told that he's been fired because someone made a complaint about him. The employee could easily prove the complaint to be false but the employer isn't concerned with proof or lack thereof. The employee's reputation in the eyes of possible future employers is damaged, even if the employer never discusses the firing with anyone else. In such a case, should the employee be able to sue for having been fired without proper cause?