Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

Censorship, cancel culture, and truth-seeking (with Iona Italia)

May 24, 2023

Iona Italia, editor-in-chief of Areo Magazine and a creative writer with a PhD from Cambridge, dives deep into the murky waters of censorship and free speech. She discusses the thin line between opinion and harmful speech, and the societal tendency to favor censorship. The conversation tackles the ethics of truth in a world rife with misinformation, and the role of religion as both a cultural asset and a moral conundrum. Iona advocates for civil discourse and the need for diverse opinions to foster healthier democratic dialogue.

01:06:09

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Episode guests

Iona Italia

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Episode notes

Intro

4min

Navigating the Landscape of Free Speech

17min

The Ethics of Truth: Balancing Knowledge and Harm

4min

Censorship and Critical Thinking

17min

Exploring the Intersection of Caste and Religion

3min

Religion in Modern Society: A Double-Edged Sword

18min

The Complex Benefits and Drawbacks of Insurance

2min

When is a certain speech act an opinion versus a call to action? Does that distinction matter for censorship purposes? Why does it seem that human behavior tends towards censorship rather than towards freedom of expression? Is feeling emotionally or politically harmed a valid reason for censoring certain speech acts? Will it always be the case that, given enough time, truth will win out over ignorance, bullshit, misinformation, and lies? What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for creating a society in which truth wins at the end of the day? Why are citizens so often attracted to populist and/or fascist ideologies and political parties? What value does religion provide to a society?

Iona Italia is the editor-in-chief of Areo Magazine and the host of its Two for Tea podcast. Iona is the author of two books: Anxious Employment (a study of eighteenth-century essayists) and Our Tango World (sociological and philosophical musings on dance and life). She holds a PhD in English Literature from Cambridge University and publishes weekly creative non-fiction pieces on her Substack, The Second Swim. Her background includes a decade in academe and a 12-year career as a tango dancer and teacher. Iona lives in London with four old friends. She loves dancing, running, choral singing, chess, dogs, and sci-fi.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Ryan Kessler — Audio Engineer
Uri Bram — Factotum
Miles Kestran — Marketing

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