So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast Ep. 233: Rethinking free speech with Peter Ives
Is the free speech conversation too simplistic?
Peter Ives thinks so. He is the author of “Rethinking Free Speech,” a new book that seeks to provide a more nuanced analysis of the free speech debate within various domains, from government to campus to social media.
Ives is a professor of political science at the University of Winnipeg. He researches and writes on the politics of “global English," bridging the disciplines of language policy, political theory, and the influential ideas of Antonio Gramsci.
Enjoying our 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.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:25 The Harper’s Letter
05:18 Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan
08:15 Free speech culture
09:53 John Stuart Mill
12:53 Alexander Meiklejohn
17:05 Ives’s critique of Jacob Mchangama’s “History of Free Speech” book
17:53 Ives’s definition of free speech
19:38 First Amendment vs. Canadian Charter of Rights
21:25 Hate speech
25:22 Canadian Charter and Canadian universities
34:19 White supremacy and hate speech
40:14 Speech-action distinction
46:04 Free speech absolutism
48:49 Marketplace of ideas
01:05:40 Solutions for better public discourse
01:13:02 Outro
Show notes:
-
“A Letter on Justice and Open Debate” Harper’s Magazine (2020)
-
“On Liberty” John Stuart Mill (1859)
-
“Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media” Jacob Mchangama (2022)
-
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
-
Canadian Criminal Code (1985)
-
“When is speech violence?” The New York Times (2017)
-
Section 230 (Communications Decency Act of 1996)