So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 265: Anthropic, age verification laws, and press freedom Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

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 sotospeak@thefire.org.

Ep. 264: Anonymity from the founding to the digital age Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

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.

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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 sotospeak@thefire.org.

Ep. 263: Free speech in Trump 2.0 Feb 02, 2026

Show notes

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 sotospeak@thefire.org.

Ep. 262: Escaping Iran Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

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.

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 sotospeak@thefire.org.

Ep. 261: Thomas Paine's rise and fall Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

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 sotospeak@thefire.org.

Ep. 260: Remembering 'free-thinking' writer Nat Hentoff Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

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 sotospeak@thefire.org.

Ep. 259: FIRE answers your questions Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

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

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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 sotospeak@thefire.org.

Ep. 258: Donor disclosure and campaign finance at SCOTUS Nov 25, 2025

Show notes

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 sotospeak@thefire.org.

Ep. 257: Conversion therapy at the Supreme Court Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

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 sotospeak@thefire.org.

Ep. 256: Ten arguments against free speech Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

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