So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

FIRE•www.sotospeakpodcast.com

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast takes an uncensored look at the world of free expression through the law, philosophy, and stories that define your right to free speech. Hosted by FIRE's Nico Perrino. New episodes post every other Thursday.

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Episodes

Ep. 6 The Summer Interns Take Over

Nationwide polls on support for free speech are full of contradictions. Research conducted by Gallup, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Newseum Institute earlier this year found widespread support from college students for free speech in the abstract. However, the same poll also found tepid support when students were asked about specifics. According to the poll, a majority of respondents believed colleges should be able to restrict intentionally offensive speech and costumes th...

Jul 14, 2016•21 min

Ep. 5 Aryeh Neier on “Defending My Enemy”

He has a glittering civil liberties résumé: co-founder of Human Rights Watch, president of the Open Society Foundations for nearly 20 years, professor of civil rights law. But before all of that, Aryeh Neier was the executive director of the ACLU during one of its most turbulent moments: when it came to the defense of neo-Nazis trying to exercise their right to free speech and assembly in Skokie, Illinois in 1977. In this week’s episode, we speak with Neier about that time and about his seminal ...

Jun 30, 2016•58 min

Ep. 4 2015–16 Campus Free Speech Year in Review

The 2015–16 school year was a headline-grabbing year for free speech on campus. Even President Barack Obama felt compelled to weigh in on the conversation. Multiple times. In this episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we chat with FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff and FIRE Director of Policy Research Samantha Harris—two of FIRE’s longest-serving employees—about what made this past year so unique. What were the biggest campus free speech stories? What did we see coming? What took u...

Jun 16, 2016•53 min

Ep. 3 David Baugh on ‘Defending My Enemy’

Why did a black defense attorney, who fought against segregation in high school and battled racism in the courtroom, volunteer to defend the First Amendment rights of an Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan? David Baugh is a Richmond, Virginia-based attorney, who, while serving on the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, volunteered to defend the Klansman Barry Elton Black’s right to burn a cross at a Klan rally. The case would eventually make its way up to the Su...

Jun 02, 2016•38 min

Ep. 2 Glenn Greenwald On “Defending My Enemy”

In discussions about free speech issues, you’ll often hear people say something to the effect of, “I disapprove of what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” The quote is typically misattributed to the French Enlightenment thinker Voltaire. But proper crediting aside, the sentiment it expresses accurately reflects how many free speech advocates go about their work—including Glenn Greenwald. Greenwald is best known as one of the journalists who coordinated the 2013 National...

May 19, 2016•36 min

Ep. 1 Jonathan Rauch’s “Kindly Inquisitors”

In 1993, a young Jonathan Rauch published “Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought.” It was his response to what he saw as the West’s lackluster and apologetic defense of the novelist Salman Rushdie’s free speech rights. Since its publication, “Kindly Inquisitors” has never gone out of print and has been described by Foundation for Individual Rights in Education President & CEO Greg Lukianoff as the best modern defense of free speech and by “The Washington Post” columnist George ...

May 05, 2016•48 min

Welcome!

"So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast" takes an uncensored look at the world of free expression through personal stories and candid conversations. Tune in on May 5 for the first episode of "So to Speak," featuring Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Jonathan Rauch and Foundation for Individual Rights in Education President & CEO Greg Lukianoff.

Apr 19, 2016•1 min

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