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  • In 2010, two landmark decisions transformed American campaign finance law. The first was Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The second was SpeechNow.org v. FEC.

    Together, these cases cleared the way for corporations and so-called Super PACs to raise and spend unlimited sums of money in elections.

    What followed was a new era in American politics where individuals, corporations, and industries increasingly spent more and more money to influence campaigns and public opinion.

    To debate the constitutional, political, and historical questions surrounding money in politics, we are joined by Larry Lessig and Paul Sherman. Lessig is a Harvard Law professor and the founder of Equal Citizens, one of the country's leading advocates for campaign finance reform. Sherman is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice who served as co-counsel in SpeechNow.org.

    Read Larry's paper "If Roe, then Buckley" here.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    02:43 How Larry and Paul became interested in political speech and campaign finance

    05:33 Citizens United, political speech, and quid pro quo corruption

    18:34 What was the SpeechNow case?

    32:31 Elon Musk and billionaire influence in the 2024 election

    49:06 History of campaign finance regulation

    51:26 First Amendment originalism, Federalist 52, and Federalist 57

    01:07:07 Does money actually influence election outcomes?

    01:14:20 Outro

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  • Shouting down speakers, UCLA free speech, heckling, AI, doxxing, cancel culture, and more!

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    02:40 Get your tickets to Soapbox now!

    06:30 Congratulations to Will on 20 years at FIRE

    07:31 How is FIRE responding to shouting down speakers?

    11:33 Will FIRE include viewpoint diversity in our College Free Speech Rankings?

    13:48 What is FIRE's response to UCLA Law students protesting a DHS speaker?

    17:07 NYU's commencement speaker Jonathan Haidt

    21:20 Is walking out on a controversial speaker protected free speech?

    23:28 Is FIRE involved in Texas State University professor Tom Alter's case?

    25:50 What is the scholar to attorney ratio at FIRE?

    27:47 Has cancel culture on college campuses changed since Trump 2.0?

    32:00 What is FIRE's stance on doxxing?

    37:02 FIRE volunteer opportunities

    37:33 Can the government regulate AI?

    42:01 Is talk therapy speech or medical treatment? (Chiles v. Salazar)

    46:02 What are the most pressing threats to online expression?

    51:30 Special thanks to the Middlebury College Democrats and Republicans

    53:45 What are the most challenging aspects of FIRE's work with technology and free speech?

    57:10 Does accepting government money protect or restrict speech?

    01:00:25 Is FIRE a reactive organization and what solutions do we offer?

    01:01:41 Outro

    Joining us:

    Nico Perrino, executive vice president

    Alisha Glennon, chief operating officer

    Greg Lukianoff, president & chief executive officer

    Will Creeley, legal director

    Become a paid subscriber today to receive invitations to future live webinars.

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  • Editorial note: This conversation was recorded on Friday, April 24, the day before the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Both Nico and Clayton attended the event, where a gunman breached security and opened fire before being apprehended.

    No one was seriously injured, but the incident serves as a reminder of the threats reporters can face in the course of their work. Since we recorded the conversation before the shooting, Nico and Clayton do not address it, but the incident underscores the stakes of their discussion.

    In 2020, Reporters Without Borders launched the Uncensored Library, a virtual archive housed inside Minecraft, the world's most popular computer game.

    It preserves the work of journalists who have faced censorship, imprisonment, exile, or even death. In countries where their reporting is banned, Minecraft itself is not, making the library a digital sanctuary for suppressed journalism that millions can still access.

    In March 2026, the project added a United States wing, reminding Americans that subtler, less direct threats to a free press happen everywhere – even at home.

    With today's release of the 2026 World Press Freedom Index and World Press Freedom Day approaching on May 3, we're unpacking the state of press freedom with Clayton Weimers, the executive director of Reporters Without Borders USA.

    Download The Uncensored Library here.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    04:41 The state of press freedom in the United States

    10:51 Trump administration's threats to press freedom

    14:16 Patel v. The Atlantic and actual malice

    22:55 Who is to blame for distrust in media?

    27:58 Viewpoint diversity in the newsroom

    32:15 The modern media ecosystem

    40:27 What is RSF?

    47:00 Freelance and independent journalism

    49:11 Clayton's background and more on Reporters Without Borders

    51:25 Inside the Uncensored Library

    01:01:59 Outro

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  • We break down the legal case against James Comey over an alleged "true threat" and how far the government can go in prosecuting speech. Plus, we examine renewed FCC pressure on ABC and Jimmy Kimmel.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    00:57 Does the DOJ have a viable case against James Comey?

    04:51 "True threats" and Comey's case

    06:36 Threats against U.S. presidents and Watts v. United States

    09:55 Was it a mistake for Comey to take down the "8647" seashell image?

    11:18 Can the case be dismissed before it goes to trial?

    12:38 Can Comey's case be considered a selective prosecution?

    13:23 Is the process itself a punishment?

    15:29 Could prosecutors face consequences for bringing this case?

    18:07 Examples of true threats

    20:35 "True threat" versus "incitement to imminent lawless action"

    22:53 Is it still a "true threat" if charges come a year later?

    24:32 Can Comey recover his legal fees?

    25:34 Do threats become more real in the wake of other active threats?

    26:32 Does the First Amendment differ for speech about the president?

    30:06 What's going on with the FCC and ABC?

    34:20 What do NRA v. Vullo and the FCC's calls to fire Jimmy Kimmel have in common?

    35:17 Why does broadcast licensing exist in the internet age?

    36:51 Have past presidents historically influenced broadcast licensing?

    38:33 Is the Fairness Doctrine still in effect?

    40:30 What can ABC do if the FCC takes away their licenses?

    42:40 Will ABC fight back?

    46:01 Has broadcast media regulation always been a frustration for 1A advocates?

    49:20 Humphrey's Executor & content-based regulation

    50:58 Is the FCC independent from the executive branch?

    51:45 The past 18 months of FCC action

    52:15 Outro

    Joining us:

    Conor Fitzpatrick, supervising senior attorney

    Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy

    Bob Corn-Revere, chief counsel

  • The early internet opened unprecedented avenues for speech, creativity, and connection without traditional gatekeepers.

    But it also raised civil liberties questions: Do our offline freedoms exist online? And if so, how far do they extend?

    Today, those questions are more urgent than ever. Advances in AI have given governments powerful new tools to track, monitor, and analyze our behavior, raising fundamental concerns about the future of free expression in the digital age.

    Today we are joined by Cindy Cohn, the executive director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She has spent thirty years as a civil liberties attorney specializing in digital rights, which she documents in her newly published memoir Privacy's Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    05:17 Why write this book now?

    09:11 Does privacy make free speech possible?

    14:52 Code as speech: Bernstein v. United States

    33:34 The Patriot Act and government spying

    51:09 National security letters and Section 702

    57:57 Who is Tony Coppolino?

    01:06:06 Why EFF left X

    01:11:05 What's next for Cindy

    01:13:56 Outro

    Read the transcript here.

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  • Free speech has long been a cornerstone of democratic society. But today, its principles face increasing pressure.

    Around the world, governments are expanding speech restrictions in the name of combating misinformation, hate speech, and extremism, while new technologies make it easier to monitor and control public discourse.

    Many free speech advocates warn that these efforts risk eroding democracy itself.

    Joining the show to discuss this "global free speech recession" is Jacob Mchangama, a senior fellow at FIRE and the founder and executive director of The Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University, and Jeff Kosseff, a senior fellow at The Future of Free Speech. Their new book is "The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential Freedom."

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    02:07 Why write this book?

    04:40 Where free speech stands in America today

    05:53 What is a "global free speech recession"?

    11:22 Free speech's high point and what changed

    18:56 Election misinformation, disinformation, and the role of AI

    34:40 The EU's Digital Services Act and the UK's Online Safety Act

    40:00 Are democracies starting to adopt more restrictive speech laws?

    43:52 Solutions to reversing the free speech recession

    52:25 Outro

    Read the transcript here.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • In 18th century America, news traveled slowly across the Atlantic. Newspapers reprinted secondhand reports, private letters, and unverified stories from abroad, leaving readers with multiple versions of reality.

    In a world educated by an unverifiable news cycle, how did misinformation shape early American life?

    To explore how news, rumor, and misrepresentation influenced the course of the American Revolution and the nation that followed, we are joined by Jordan Taylor, a historian of American history and the author of Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    02:05 How colonists got their news

    08:28 Why foreign news dominated early newspapers

    17:33 How colonial newspapers verified information

    22:32 Did miscommunication help spark the Revolution?

    29:57 The XYZ Affair and the Sedition Act

    39:21 The First Amendment's original meaning

    44:34 Current day parallels

    55:41 Outro

    Read the transcript here.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].



  • In March, juries in California and New Mexico delivered seminal verdicts holding Meta and YouTube liable for failing to protect young users from harm.

    Both verdicts found that the companies were negligent in the design or operation of their platforms and that each company knew their platforms could be dangerous when used by a minor.

    The courts found that the design elements of the platforms could be separated from the content hosted on the platforms, thus removing the need to consider the First Amendment or Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

    Joining us to break down the rulings and their possible free speech implications is Mike Masnick, CEO & founder of Techdirt & the Copia Institute.

    Masnick is the author of "Everyone Cheering The Social Media Addiction Verdicts Against Meta Should Understand What They're Actually Cheering For."

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    02:29 Why these verdicts scare the hell out of Mike

    10:34 Are social media algorithms "addictive"?

    21:45 Did Meta fail to protect kids?

    30:37 The First Amendment and Section 230

    43:13 Is social media the new Big Tobacco?

    55:15 The role of parents in social media use

    59:04: Outro

    Read the transcript here.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • Governments around the world have increasingly sought to regulate online speech well beyond their borders.

    If global platforms are forced to comply with the world's most restrictive laws, whose speech standards win? And what happens to a free and open internet when governments apply their censorship rules across borders?

    Today we are joined by Preston Byrne, an attorney and expert in international law and emerging technologies. He has spent nearly two decades working at the intersection of law, tech, and policy, and he now serves as counsel to a coalition of internet publishing platforms suing the United Kingdom's internet regulator. Follow him on X and Substack.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    02:15Preston's background

    16:46 What do foreign censorship laws actually target?

    22:35 The UK's Online Safety Act

    29:39 Free speech cultures: US vs. UK

    40:48 The GRANITE Act and protecting Americans from foreign censorship

    1:01:15 Outro

    Don't miss the free speech event of the year! Get your tickets and learn more about the Soapbox Conference here.

    Read the transcript here.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • Several stories have put government power over speech and technology back in the spotlight.

    In this episode, we break down the Pentagon's targeting of the AI company Anthropic, the push for government-mandated age verification technologies, and the Department of Justice's raid on a Washington Post reporter's home.

    We are joined by:

    Jennifer Huddleston, senior fellow in technology policy at the Cato Institute

    Mike Godwin, AI and privacy expert, first staff counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, first full-time general counsel at Wikimedia, and author of two books on internet law and policy

    Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of FIRE

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    03:19 The Pentagon vs. Anthropic?

    22:40 The FTC, Congress, and age verification laws

    48:15 Is it unusual for the DOJ to seize a reporter's computer?

    59:46 Outro

    Don't miss the free speech event of the year! Get your tickets and learn more about the Soapbox Conference here.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • In the years leading up to the American Revolution, newspapers and pamphlets overflowed with essays signed "Publius," "Brutus," and "A Farmer." Those arguments helped shape a nation, but the authors' real names were nowhere to be found.

    Americans have long relied on anonymous speech to challenge the powerful, protect dissenters, and keep the focus on ideas rather than identities. That tradition has endured into America's digital age, even as anonymous speech has become more controversial.

    To explore America's history with anonymity, we are joined by Jeff Kosseff, a nonresident senior legal fellow at The Future of Free Speech and author of The United States of Anonymous. Preorder his forthcoming book, The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential Freedom.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    02:01 What is anonymity?

    04:38 Anonymous speech in Colonial America

    15:58 Does the First Amendment protect anonymity?

    20:35 Anonymous speech in the Civil Rights Era

    31:17 The internet and anonymity

    35:44 Modern anonymity debates: DHS subpoenas, age verification, social media regulation, and VPN bans

    51:53 Outro

    Read the transcript here.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • One year into Trump 2.0, we examine the administration's record on free speech and how it compares to the president's campaign pledge to "bring back free speech to America."

    We also discuss recent ICE protests, including the right to carry a gun and to film law enforcement, and what these encounters reveal about protest rights today.

    Today we are joined by:

    Clark Neily, senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute

    Timothy Zick, professor of government and citizenship at William & Mary Law School and author of the new book Trump 2.0: Executive Power and the First Amendment

    Conor Fitzpatrick, supervising senior attorney at FIRE

    Zick is also the author of Public Protest and Governmental Immunities, Managed Dissent: The Law of Public Protest, and Arming Public Protests.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    01:47 ICE protests: Alex Pretti, filming police, and the right to carry a gun

    13:30 How to hold law enforcement accountable

    19:10 Don Lemon's arrest

    23:27 Trump's retribution politics and the "domestic terrorist" label

    35:05 FCC pressure and attacks on the media

    39:40 Free speech for noncitizens

    53:49 Attacks on higher education

    58:40 Trump 1.0 vs. Trump 2.0

    01:02:25 What reforms are needed?

    1:09:13 Outro

    Read the transcript here.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].



  • Recent protests in Iran have drawn renewed attention to dissent under the country's authoritarian government. The demonstrations have been met with mass arrests, internet restrictions, and even accusations of murder.

    While large-scale demonstrations appear to have subsided for now, reporting from Iran describes a tense calm, a heightened security presence, and widespread "disappointment and disillusionment" among Iranians.

    Today we are joined by Pouya Nikmand, an Iranian-born writer who escaped Iran at 18. He writes about how his experiences have shaped his understanding of expression, freedom, and belonging on his Substack, Outliving Iran.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    02:17 What's happening in Iran now?

    10:47 What does life look like under an authoritarian regime?

    20:33 Growing up in Iran

    24:48 The influence of Western media in Iran

    32:55 Escaping Iran

    37:05 Life after escape

    40:55 Being trafficked to Poland

    54:45 Escaping captivity and coming to America

    01:01:53 An immigrant's perspective on US immigration

    1:07:24 Outro

    Read the transcript here.

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    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • Thomas Paine arrived in America in 1774 with little to his name and a long record of personal failure behind him. Within a year, he wrote Common Sense, one of the most influential political pamphlets in history, helping to ignite the American Revolution and catapulting Paine into the American history hall of fame.

    But by the end of his life, he was widely reviled, politically isolated, and personally abandoned. Once celebrated as the voice of liberty, he died an outcast, mourned by only six people at his funeral.

    How does one man become the voice of the American Revolution and end up forgotten? To explore Paine's complicated legacy, we are joined by Richard Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland and author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    02:41 Thomas Paine's early life

    10:32 Paine's arrival in America

    20:02 What did Paine argue in Common Sense?

    25:11 Why Common Sense was so revolutionary

    36:31 The American Crisis and the Revolutionary War

    41:35 Why Paine returned to London and wrote The Rights of Man

    49:19 Exile from Britain, imprisonment in France, and writing The Age of Reason

    01:01:27 Why America turned its back on Paine

    01:12:09 Paine's final days

    01:18:50 How should we understand Paine's legacy today?

    01:26:58 Outro

    Read the transcript here.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].










  • On January 7, 2017, The Associated Press announced that "Free-thinking author and columnist Nat Hentoff is dead at 91."

    For well over 60 years, Hentoff was a one of America's foremost public intellectuals and a familiar byline to free speech advocates and jazz aficionados.

    The First Amendment was a way of life for Nat Hentoff. He would have been 100 years old this year. To reflect on his life and legacy, we are joined by his son Nick Hentoff and filmmaker David Lewis, whose 2013 documentary, "The Pleasures of Being Out of Step," explored Nat Hentoff's embodiment of free expression as the defining characteristic of the individual.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    00:52 Who was Nat Hentoff

    03:48 Nat's early life & influences

    18:20 Jazz, writing, & finding his voice

    31:24 Free speech as a way of being

    35:15 Being out of step: Controversy, courage, and consequences

    41:56 Rage, compassion, & moral clarity

    51:53 Nat Hentoff's legacy of dissent

    55:20 Outro

    Read the transcript here.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • Changes at the Pentagon, Charlie Kirk and cancel culture, free speech and misinformation, globalized censorship, Indiana University, how to support FIRE, and more!

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Introductions

    02:11 What is the Press Clause, and who does it apply to?

    05:53 FIRE's position on Oklahoma student grading incident

    08:50 What does FIRE need from Members besides financial support?

    15:59 FIRE's College Free Speech Rankings and what they mean

    19:44 What is the latest on the Ann Seltzer cases?

    22:08 What is FIRE's view on the Pentagon press room changes?

    24:50 What is the value of small donations? How can FIRE supporters volunteer?

    29:21 Indiana University is good at football but bad at free speech

    33:46 Are courts trending in a more speech-protective direction?

    37:05 Charlie Kirk and cancel culture

    39:20 Pro- and anti-Zionist speech and "hostile environment" harassment

    43:48 Is "globalize the intifada" incitement?

    45:07 How does FIRE distinguish between free speech and misinformation?

    47:54 Can FIRE help supporters start free speech alumni groups?

    48:55 Free speech, artificial intelligence, and copyright/trademarks

    51:51 The sordid legacy of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

    53:22 Staying hopeful amidst so much hypocrisy

    55:32 Global speech platforms and censorship

    58:14 Differences between FIRE and the ACLU?

    59:34 Does FIRE have a Substack? (The Eternally Radical Idea, So to Speak, Expression)

    1:00:03 Closing remarks.

    Read the transcript here.

    Joining us:

    Alisha Glennon, chief operating officer

    Nico Perrino, executive vice president

    Greg Lukianoff, president and ceo

    Will Creeley, legal director

    Become a paid subscriber today to receive invitations to future live webinars.


    If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • The Institute for Free Speech's Bradley Smith and Brett Nolan join the show to discuss two upcoming Supreme Court arguments involving donor disclosure (First Choice Women's Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin) and political party contributions to candidates (National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC).

    The conversation also explores the broader landscape for political speech and campaign regulation, what legal battles may be next for the Supreme Court, and how both guests found their way into First Amendment advocacy.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    01:32 What is the Institute for Free Speech?

    02:39 Personal paths into free speech work

    05:10 First Choice Women's Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin

    32:08 NRSC v. FEC

    51:50 What's next for campaign finance at SCOTUS?

    54:58 Outro


    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more. If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • FIRE's Ronnie London and Conor Fitzpatrick join the show to discuss the Supreme Court's oral argument in the conversion therapy case, the Pentagon's new press rules, Indiana University's censorship rampage, and where the situation stands with visa and green card holders who say things the feds don't like.

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    01:19 Chiles v. Salazar, the conversion therapy case

    30:03 The Pentagon's new press rules

    48:48 What the hell is going on at Indiana University?

    55:38 Feds boot noncitizens for Charlie Kirk speech

    01:05:02 Outro


    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today (https://www.thefire.org/) and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more. If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • We tackle ten common arguments against free speech.

    FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff and FIRE Senior Fellow and former ACLU President Nadine Strossen are the co-authors of the new book, "War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail."

    Transcript

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    01:18 Book's origins

    04:25 Argument #1: Words are violence

    20:27 Argument #2: Words are dangerous

    25:09 Argument #3: Hate speech isn't free speech

    31:06 Argument #4: About shoutdowns

    37:18 Argument #5: Free speech is outdated

    45:41 Argument #6 Free speech is right-wing

    50:14 Argument #7: About that crowded theater and marketplace of ideas

    59:27 Argument #9: Misinformation and disinformation

    01:03:53 Argument #8: Free speech protects power

    01:09:30 Argument #10: About the Holocaust and Rwandan genocide

    01:13:35 Outro

    Get the Book:
    Purchase War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail.

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today (https://www.thefire.org/) and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more. If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].

  • FIRE Senior Scholar Sarah McLaughlin discusses her new book, "Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech."

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Intro

    01:17 Book origins

    03:38 How China censored speech on American campuses

    18:36 COVID's impact for international students' speech

    22:05 What is sensitivity exploitation?

    25:35 Free speech at international satellite campuses

    31:28 Attempted deportations of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk

    36:52 Sarah's free speech inspirations: literature and people

    About the Guest:
    Learn more about Sarah McLaughlin and her work.

    Get the Book:
    Purchase Authoritarians in the Academy here.

    Read the transcript here: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-transcript-authoritarians-academy

    Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today (https://www.thefire.org/) and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more. If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].