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Ep. 233: Rethinking free speech with Peter Ives

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Release Date: 01/09/2025

Ep. 257: Conversion therapy at the Supreme Court show art Ep. 257: Conversion therapy at the Supreme Court

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

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...

info_outline Ep. 256: Ten arguments against free speech show art Ep. 256: Ten arguments against free speech

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

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.” 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25:09 Argument #3: Hate speech isn’t free speech 31:06 Argument #4: About shoutdowns 37:18 Argument #5: Free speech is outdated 45:41 Argument #6 Free speech is right-wing 50:14 Argument #7:...

info_outline Ep. 255: Authoritarians in the Academy show art Ep. 255: Authoritarians in the Academy

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

FIRE Senior Scholar Sarah McLaughlin discusses her new book, “Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech.”  Timestamps:  00:00 Intro 01:17 Book origins 03:38 How China censored speech on American campuses 18:36 COVID’s impact for international students’ speech 22:05 What is sensitivity exploitation? 25:35 Free speech at international satellite campuses 31:28 Attempted deportations of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk 36:52 Sarah’s free speech inspirations: literature and people About the...

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So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

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info_outline Ep. 253: Pam Bondi says hate speech is not free speech — is she right? show art Ep. 253: Pam Bondi says hate speech is not free speech — is she right?

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

FIRE staff also take your questions on Charlie Kirk's assassination, President Trump's lawsuit against The New York Times, cancel culture, and more. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:42 Attorney General Pam Bondi's comments that "hate speech" is distinct from "free speech" 02:23 Is it OK for the Department of Justice to target people for "hate speech"? 05:42 How have “hate speech” laws played out overseas? 07:19 President Trump's response to Pam Bondi's “hate speech” remarks 08:50 Are “fighting words,” “incitement,” and “true threats” free speech? 11:22 What about doxxing? 15:15...

info_outline Ep. 252: America’s first free speech crisis — the Sedition Act of 1798 show art Ep. 252: America’s first free speech crisis — the Sedition Act of 1798

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

We’re joined by award-winning author, , to discuss his book, .  Slack focuses on the infamous , which sparked the first major controversy over freedom of speech in America. Timestamps:  00:00 Intro (including note about Charlie Kirk) 03:59 Book origins 12:05 What were the Alien and Sedition Acts? 16:00 Prosecutions under the Act and their free speech implications 25:35 Free speech during the Revolutionary era 28:14 Adams’ perspective on the Sedition Act 46:02 Was Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase a partisan hack? 53:57 Sedition Act fallout 01:01:02 Outro Read the transcript:...

info_outline Ep. 251: Free speech and ‘the executive power’ with Advisory Opinions show art Ep. 251: Free speech and ‘the executive power’ with Advisory Opinions

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

What are the limits of presidential power? How many days has it been since President Trump’s TikTok ban moratorium went into place? What is the state of the conservative legal movement? And where did former FIRE president go on his first date? French and of the popular legal podcast “” join the show to answer these questions and discuss the few free speech issues where they disagree with FIRE. Timestamps:  00:00 Intro 02:18 Origin story of “Advisory Opinions” 08:15 Disagreements between FIRE and AO 15:04 Why FIRE doesn’t editorialize on the content of speech 24:27 Limits of...

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So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

We know the First Amendment protects hate speech. But has it always done so? And how have civil rights groups responded when their members are the target of hate speech? University of Iowa Law Professor Samantha Barbas is the author of a new law review article, “.” Timestamps:  00:00 Intro 04:04 “The Birth of a Nation” movie controversy 12:44 Henry Ford’s anti-Semitic “Dearborn Independent” 22:41 American Jewish Committee’s “quarantining” solution 28:41 ACLU’s Eleanor Holmes Norton defending a racist in court 33:42 Racist Senate candidate J.B. Stoner 37:28 Neo-Nazis...

info_outline Ep. 249: FIRE Reacts — Where does Harvard go from here? With Larry Summers show art Ep. 249: FIRE Reacts — Where does Harvard go from here? With Larry Summers

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

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info_outline Ep. 248: Commercial speech and the First Amendment show art Ep. 248: Commercial speech and the First Amendment

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Imagine the government forcing you to label your all-natural milk product as “imitation.”  Florida tried to make one dairy farm do just that, sparking a First Amendment question: Where’s the line between a business’s right to speak and protecting consumers from deception? In this episode, we explore how far free speech protections go for commercial speech with: , managing attorney (Institute for Justice) , chief counsel (FIRE) , Thomas M. Siebel senior fellow (Hoover Institution, Stanford) Timestamps:  00:00 Intro 05:03 What exactly is commercial speech? 08:25 The...

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More Episodes

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.

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Read the transcript.

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: