Written during World War II and published in 1945, 'The Open Society and Its Enemies' is a seminal work in political philosophy. Karl Popper critiques the theories of teleological historicism espoused by Plato, Hegel, and Marx, arguing that these theories undermine individual freedom and pave the way for authoritarian regimes. The book defends the open society and liberal democracy, emphasizing the importance of critical rationalism, individual freedom, and the ethos of scientific inquiry in politics. It also discusses the challenges facing open societies, including totalitarianism, dogmatism, and relativism, and advocates for a piecemeal approach to social reform.
We explore how censorship is impacting institutions — from universities to law firms to the Maine House of Representatives.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:40 Federal government cuts Columbia’s funding
16:57 Updates on the Mahmoud Khalil case
27:01 Ed Martin’s Georgetown letter
34:59 Trump targeting law firms
55:01 Maine House censure of Rep. Laurel Libby
01:03:37 Outro
Read the transcript.
Guests:
- Will Creeley, FIRE’s legal director
- Conor Fitzpatrick, FIRE’s supervising senior attorney
- Lindsie Rank, FIRE’s director of campus rights advocacy
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Show notes:
- “DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA announce initial cancelation of grants and contracts to Columbia University worth $400 million” U.S. Department of Justice (2025)
- HHS, ED, and GSA follow up letter to Columbia. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Government Services Administration (2025)
- “Columbia yields to Trump in battle over federal funding” The Wall Street Journal (2025)
- “Advancing our work to combat discrimination, harassment, and antisemitism at Columbia” Columbia University (2025)
- “Columbia caves to feds — and sets a dangerous precedent” FIRE (2025)
- “ED, HHS, and GSA Respond to Columbia University’s Actions to Comply with Joint Task Force Pre-Conditions” U.S. Department of Education (2025)
- “FIRE demands answers from Trump admin officials on arrest of Mahmoud Khalil” FIRE (2025)
- “Brief of Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner's Motion for Preliminary Injunction - Khalil v. Joyce” FIRE (2025)
- “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio via X (2025)
- “‘ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a radical foreign Pro-Hamas student on the campus of @Columbia University. This is the first arrest of many to come.’ President Donald J. Trump” The White House via X (2025)
- “WATCH: White House downplays stock market declines as ‘a snapshot’” PBS NewsHour (2025)
- “Secretary Rubio's remarks to the press” U.S. Department of State (2025)
- “Mahmoud Khalil. Notice to appear.” Habeeb Habeeb via X (2025)
- “Alien and Sedition Acts” National Archives (1798)
- Ed Martin’s letter to Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor. (2025)
- Dean Treanor’s response to Ed Martin. (2025)
- “Trump, Perkins Coie and John Adams” The Wall Street Journal (2025)
- “Suspension of Security Clearances and Evaluation of Government Contracts” The White House (2025)
- “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP” The White House (2025)
- “Addressing risks from Paul Weiss” The White House (2025)
- “Lawyers who anger the Feds face new penalties by decree” The CATO Institute (2025)
- “Today, President Donald J. Trump agreed to withdraw his March 14, 2025 Executive Order regarding the Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP law firm (‘Paul, Weiss’), which has entered into the following agreement with the President…” President Trump via TruthSocial (2025)
- “Head of Paul, Weiss says firm would not have survived without deal with Trump” The New York Times (2025)
- “House resolution relating to the censure of Representative Laurel D. Libby of Auburn by the Maine House of Representatives” Maine House of Representatives (2025)
- “Maine’s censure of lawmaker for post about trans student-athlete is an attack on free speech” FIRE (2025)
- “Maine State Rep. Laurel Libby disagreed with biological males competing in women’s sports, and now, the Maine State House is censuring her.” Sen. Kennedy via X (2025)
- “The open society and its enemies” Karl Popper (1945)
- “Cyber rights: Defending free speech in the digital age” Mike Godwin (1995)
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast 
