So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 175 Jawboning, book banning, and LeBron James thinks hate speech isn't free speech (also Elon Musk … again) Nov 22, 2022

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FIRE's new Director of Public Advocacy Aaron Terr and the Cato Institute's Will Duffield join the show to discuss a slew of recent free speech news. California gets it right on rap lyrics but wrong on coronavirus misinformation. One Texas school district repeatedly ventures into book banning. LeBron James spreads "hate speech" misinformation. Is government "jawboning" censorship? And, yes, Elon Musk . . . again.

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Ep. 174 Elon Musk, PayPal, and is New York trying to destroy Twitch? Nov 03, 2022

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FIRE's Will Creeley and Aaron Terr join the show to discuss a slew of recent free speech news: What do we make of Elon Musk buying Twitter? Is PayPal fining its users $2,500 for promoting "misinformation"? Is New York trying to destroy Twitch? And do public employees in Charlottesville, Va., need to shut their mouths to keep their jobs? Also, how's FIRE's off-campus expansion going?

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Transcript
Open letter to Elon Musk from Greg Lukianoff on preserving free expression on social media
"Elon Musk's business ties deserve more scrutiny" by Matt Yglesias
"Welcome to geriatric social media" by Charlie Warzel
"Silicon Values: The future of free speech under surveillance capitalism" by Jillian C. York
"PayPal is no pal to free expression" by Aaron Terr
"Did PayPal reverse course on proposed speech-chilling policies?" by Aaron Terr
"Did PayPal quietly bring back its financial penalty for spreading 'misinformation'?" by Aaron Terr
"The Internet Is Not Facebook: Why Infrastructure Providers Should Stay Out of Content Policing" by Corynne McSherry and Jillian C. York
New York attorney general report on the Buffalo shooting, social media, and livestreaming
"City's new policy wrongly muzzles employees" by Will Creeley

www.sotospeakpodcast.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SotoSpeakTheFreeSpeechPodcast Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/ Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Ep. 173 Does your book need a sensitivity reader? Oct 20, 2022

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Do books need a special editor who reads for offensive content? And who gets to decide what's offensive anyway? This week we are joined by authors Kat Rosenfield and Vesper Stamper to discuss censorial trends in book publishing, including the rise of so-called "sensitivity readers" and the sometimes successful campaigns to get books canceled before they are even published. We also explore adjacent debates: Is it appropriate to write outside of one's identity or lived experience? And can authors write about people who do bad things without endorsing the bad things they do?

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Transcript
"The Toxic Drama on YA Twitter" by Kat Rosenfield
"Berliners" by Vesper Stamper
"No One Will Miss Her: A Novel" by Kat Rosenfield
New York Times: "Sundance Liked Her Documentary on Terrorism, Until Muslim Critics Didn't"
"You Must Remember This: A Novel" by Kat Rosenfield

www.sotospeakpodcast.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SotoSpeakTheFreeSpeechPodcast Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/ Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Ep. 172 What does the First Amendment protect on social media? Oct 05, 2022

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Does the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protect a private social media company's right to moderate content on its platform?A new ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit says it does not, and that a Texas law preventing viewpoint discrimination on social media platforms is constitutional.The issue is likely bound for the Supreme Court, setting up what is arguably the most consequential First Amendment legal case in a half-century. Institute for Free Speech Chairman and Founder Brad Smith and George Mason University law professor Ilya Somin join us to debate the ruling and the future of free speech on the internet.

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Ep. 171 Nature Human Misbehavior Sep 29, 2022

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"Should academic journals appoint themselves social justice gatekeepers?"That is the question journalist and author Jonathan Rauch asks in responding to new ethics guidance from the academic journal Nature Human Behaviour. The journal introduces the guidance by ominously noting that "although academic freedom is fundamental, it is not unbounded." It then goes on to discuss ways it will restrict publishing research that allegedly harms, stigmatizes, or otherwise "undermines the dignity or rights of specific groups" — even inadvertently.Rauch joins the show, along with University of Southern California professor Anna Krylov.

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Transcript
"Science must respect the dignity and rights of all humans" by Nature Human Behaviour (editorial announcing ethics guidelines)
"Nature Human Misbehavior: politicized science is neither science nor progress" by Jonathan Rauch
"The Peril of Politicizing Science" by Anna l. Krylov
"The Doctrine of Academic Freedom" by Sandra Y.L. Korn (article advocating for "academic justice" in lieu of academic freedom)

Ep. 170 Free speech and the American Founding Sep 15, 2022

Show notes

This Saturday, Sept. 17, is Constitution Day. It was on this day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed America's Constitution. And while the First Amendment was not ratified until 1791, discussions over the role of free speech and expression in a democratic society were alive long before then.

Pepperdine University professor and author Gordon Lloyd joins the show this week to explore how the American conception of free speech came to be, from the colonial era to the ratification of the Bill of Rights. Drawing from over 40 years of research, Lloyd discusses examples of free speech and expression during the founding, ranging from 1641, when the Massachusetts Body of Liberties — the earliest known protection of free speech in the colonies — was published; to 1776, when free speech aided the decision to declare independence from Great Britain; to the late 1780s, when federalist and anti-federalist publications sparked, in Lloyd's words, "the greatest pamphlet war the world has ever seen."

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Transcript
The Bill of Rights Online Exhibit on AmericanFounding.org
"The Essential Bill of Rights: Original Arguments and Fundamental Documents" edited by Gordon Lloyd and Margie Lloyd
The Federalist Papers by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton and edited by George W. Carey and James McClellan
"The Essential Antifederalists" edited by William B. Allen and Gordon Lloyd
"Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787" by James Madison and edited by Gordon Lloyd
"Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media" by Jacob Mchangama

www.sotospeakpodcast.com

Ep. 169 The Art of Insubordination Sep 01, 2022

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What can Charles Darwin teach us about dissent? What do the professional basketball careers of Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry tell us about conventional wisdom?On today's show, George Mason University Professor Todd Kashdan helps us understand the value of principled dissent: what it is, how to do it, and the pitfalls to avoid. He is the author of "The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively."

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Transcript
Todd's "Provoked" newsletter: "Enjoy new psychological angles on conventional practices."
Study: "Sexual Healing: Daily Diary Investigation of the Benefits of Intimate and Pleasurable Sexual Activity in Socially Anxious Adults"
Study: "Is Martin Luther King or Malcolm X the more acceptable face of protest? High-status groups' reactions to low-status groups' collective action"
"Brief, face-to-face canvassing reduces transgender prejudice, study says"

www.sotospeakpodcast.com

Ep. 168 Assassin's veto comes for Rushdie Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

Last week, a would-be assassin attacked Salman Rushdie, author of "The Satanic Verses," in an apparent attempt to carry out the infamous fatwa placed on Rushdie's life. Fortunately, Rushdie survived the attack. Vice News Tonight correspondent and "The Fifth Column" podcast co-host Michael Moynihan joins the show to discuss what happened, what it means for free speech, and the history of "The Satanic Verses" controversy.

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Transcript
Lara Bazelon's keynote address at FIRE's 2022 Student Network Conference
"Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy" by Emily Bazelon
"From Fatwa to Jihad: The Rushdie Affair and Its Aftermath" by Kenan Malik
Kenan Malik BBC Newsnight clip arguing that "The Satanic Verses" "wouldn't even be written today, let alone published."
"The Tyranny of Silence" by Flemming Rose
"Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought" by Jonathan Rauch
"Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media" by Jacob Mchangama
"Private Opinion in America," a national quantitative survey from Populace Insights that reveals Americans' private opinions about sensitive topics
"The Jewel of Medina: A Novel" by Sherry Jones

Ep. 167 That Facebook post about abortion could land you in jail Aug 11, 2022

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When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion in the United States, many people expected states to pass laws restricting access to abortion services. Perhaps less expected was that some lawmakers now seek to pass laws restricting — and criminalizing — speech about abortion services.

FIRE Legal Director Will Creeley and FIRE Senior Fellow and former ACLU President Nadine Strossen join the show to discuss their recent essay, "That Facebook post about abortion could land you in jail — if South Carolina legislators have their way."

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Ep. 166 Substack, a platform for free speech? Jul 21, 2022

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Substack — the popular newsletter and publishing service — has made a name for itself by swimming against the current: As many technology companies devise new ways to censor or moderate content on their platforms, Substack made free speech one of its core values and, in doing so, has attracted bloggers and journalists from across the political spectrum.

"While we have content guidelines that allow us to protect the platform at the extremes, we will always view censorship as a last resort, because we believe open discourse is better for writers and better for society," proclaimed Substack's founders.

Lulu Cheng Meservey is Vice President of Communications for Substack. She went viral earlier this year when she tweeted about why free expression is an important principle for Substack. She joins us this week to discuss Substack, free speech, and the new media ecosystem.

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