So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by The Atlantic magazine Staff Writer Caitlin Flanagan and FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff to discuss a wide range of topics, including Caitlin’s articles that touch on free speech, her growing up in Berkeley, Calif. the daughter of a professor, and newsroom orthodoxies and censorship. Show notes: Transcript Caitlin’s The Atlantic article archive “Can We Take a Joke?” documentary “That’s Not Funny!” by Caitlin Flanagan “The Dark Power of Fraternities” by Caitlin Flanagan Dave Chappelle’s “The Closer” Columbia University: Ideological litmus tests at Teachers College Emerson College: Conservative student group investigated for distributing “China Kinda Sus” stickers “Advancing Health Equity: A Guide to Language, Narrative and Concepts” by the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges “Letters to a Young Contrarian” by Christopher Hitchens www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Pano Kanelos believes higher education is broken. But he isn’t waiting for colleges and universities to fix themselves. He’s starting his own. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Kanelos who is the inaugural president of the University of Austin, a new university devoted to free speech and open inquiry. Its initial programming, a Forbidden Courses summer program, aims to foster spirited discussion about the most provocative questions that often lead to censorship or self-censorship at many other universities. Kanelos is a Shakespeare scholar and the former president of St. John's College in Annapolis, Md. He co-founded the University of Austin with Niall Ferguson, Bari Weiss, Heather Heying, and Joe Lonsdale. Show notes: Transcript University of Austin website “We Can’t Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We’re Starting a New One.” by Pano Kanelos New York Times: “They Say Colleges Are Censorious. So They Are Starting a New One.” “I’m Helping to Start a New College Because Higher Ed Is Broken” by Niall Ferguson www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Censors almost never think they are censors. They often see themselves as heroes, saving the world from the destructive effects of rock ‘n’ roll, movies, comic books, pornography, video games, the internet, etc.  On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, author Robert Corn-Revere joins us to discuss how censors operate and why they never occupy the moral high ground. Robert is an attorney and partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and the author of the new book, “The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder.” Show notes: Transcript www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

A consensus has emerged from a growing pile of scholarly research: Trigger warnings don’t work. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Carleton College associate professors Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Snyder to explore what the latest research says about the efficacy of trigger warnings. We also discuss one of the more contentious debates surrounding academic freedom: the rising prevalence of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion statements for college faculty job applications and evaluations. Show notes: Transcript “How to Fix Diversity and Equity” by Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Snyder “The Data Is In — Trigger Warnings Don’t Work” by Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Snyder Why We Don’t Use Trigger Warnings — An Animated Guide www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

September 25 was First Amendment Day in America — the anniversary of the date in 1789 when Congress approved 12 amendments to our Constitution, including what we today call the Bill of Rights.  On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we discuss the origin story and history of America’s First Amendment and its five freedoms. To do so, host Nico Perrino is joined by Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University Akhil Reed Amar. Amar is the author of “The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840” and the host of the podcast “Amarica’s Constitution.” Show notes: Transcript “The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840” by Akhil Reed Amar “The First Amendment’s Firstness” by Akhil Reed Amar “How America’s Constitution Affirmed Freedom of Speech Even Before the First Amendment” by Akhil Reed Amar www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Last month, On the Media, a popular radio program from New York City’s WNYC, aired an episode that questioned free speech values and challenged so-called “free speech absolutism.” On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Matt Taibbi, Nadine Strossen, and Amna Khalid, who provide direct responses to many of the free speech critiques made in On the Media’s program. Show notes: Transcript On the Media’s free speech episode: “Constitutionally Speaking” “NPR trashes free speech. A brief response” by Matt Taibbi Famous Christopher Hitchens lecture defending free speech Tra lalalala song from Soviet Union Documentary: Mighty Ira www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Are America’s schools becoming too political?  FIRE’s Director of High School Programs argues, “Yes.” Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder is an educator with over 20 years of experience, and she’s worried by what she sees. Amidst controversies surrounding so-called critical race theory, school walkouts, and standardized tests, Snyder increasingly hears reports of children “being indoctrinated, bullied, and harassed by their fellow students and teachers for not falling into line on various topics.” On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we discuss Snyder’s new book, “Undoctrinate: How Politicized Classrooms Harm Kids and Ruin Our Schools—And What We Can Do About It.” Show notes: Transcript West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

Hollywood’s Motion Picture Production Code, popularly referred to as the Hays Code, loomed over films in every stage of movie production from 1934 to 1968. Scripts were reviewed and altered. Actors and filmmakers were forced to redo entire scenes. Editors were asked to cut dialogue and scenes from films. Music was changed. Ultimately, directors had to be cognizant of the censors at all times. In this episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we interview three prominent guests to track the history of film censorship and the eventual demise of the Hays Code. John Billheimer, author of “Hitchcock and the Censors (Screen Classics),” explains Alfred Hitchcock’s unique methods for dealing with controversial subject matter. Laura Wittern-Keller is a professor in the History department at the University at Albany and author of several books on film censorship, including “Freedom of the Screen: Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981” and “The Miracle Case: Film Censorship and the Supreme Court.” Bob Corn-Revere, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, is a frequent guest on the show. His forthcoming book “The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder: The First Amendment and the Censor’s Dilemma,” is due out in October. Show notes: Transcript Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Comm’n of Ohio Joseph Burstyn v. Wilson United States v. Paramount Pictures Hitchcock and the Censors (Screen Classics) by John Billheimer Freedom of the Screen: Legal Challenges to State Film Censorship, 1915-1981 by Laura Wittern-Keller The Miracle Case: Film Censorship and the Supreme Court by Laura Wittern-Keller The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder: The First Amendment and the Censor’s Dilemma by Bob Corn-Revere Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration by Thomas Doherty

Morris Ernst may be the most influential free speech lawyer you’ve never heard of. He was the longtime general counsel for the ACLU, helped found the National Lawyers Guild, and just about single-handedly whittled away at obscenity laws in the United States — even litigating the famous “Ulysses” case, which overturned a 13-year ban on James’ Joyce’s renowned novel. But he was an enigma: A staunch anti-communist and sometimes red-baiter, a close confidant of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, an unofficial PR agent for the FBI, and, later in his life, a crusader against the relative sexual permissiveness of the 1960s and ‘70s. On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by University at Buffalo School of Law Professor Samantha Barbas to discuss her new book, “The Rise and Fall of Morris Ernst, Free Speech Renegade.” Show notes: Transcript “The Rise and Fall of Morris Ernst, Free Speech Renegade” by Samantha Barbas www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org

On today’s episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we are joined by Stetson University Professor of Psychology Christopher J. Ferguson for a wide-ranging conversation about the psychology of censorship, the role of madness and eccentricity in shaping history, the effects of social media, the growing polarization and politicization of modern institutions, including academia, and more. Ferguson is the author of the new book “How Madness Shaped History: An Eccentric Array of Maniacal Rulers, Raving Narcissists, and Psychotic Visionaries.” He also co-authored “Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong,” which was the subject of a past So to Speak episode. Show notes: Transcript “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies” by Jared M. Diamond “Repressive Tolerance” by Herbert Marcuse “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness” by Cass Sunstein www.sotospeakpodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org