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Ep. 237: A tech policy bonanza! The FCC, FTC, AI regulations, and more

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Release Date: 03/12/2025

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25:09 Argument #3: Hate speech isn’t free speech 31:06 Argument #4: About shoutdowns 37:18 Argument #5: Free speech is outdated 45:41 Argument #6 Free speech is right-wing 50:14 Argument #7:...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

info_outline Ep. 254: What is going on with the FCC? show art Ep. 254: What is going on with the FCC?

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

What is the Federal Communications Commission, and why does its chairman think the agency can regulate Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes? Note: Shortly after recording this episode, Nexstar and Sinclair announced they would return “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to their stations. Joining us: , FCC Commissioner  , FIRE General Counsel , FIRE Chief Counsel Timestamps:  00:00 Intro  04:46 What’s the FCC? 07:35 What’s the “public interest” standard? 14:20 What is the “fairness doctrine”? 25:21 What is the “broadcast hoax” rule? 28:55 What is “news distortion”? 35:31 Role...

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...

info_outline Ep. 250: Civil rights, hate speech, and the First Amendment show art Ep. 250: Civil rights, hate speech, and the First Amendment

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

2025 has not been kind to Harvard. To date, the Trump administration , demanding violations of free speech, academic freedom, and institutional autonomy in return for restoring the funding. In response, Harvard , raising First Amendment claims.  Helping us unpack all things Harvard are: , President Emeritus, professor (Harvard) & advisory council member (FIRE) , President & CEO (FIRE) Timestamps:  00:00 Intro 02:32 Harvard’s disputes with the Trump administration 08:29 The need for internal reforms at Harvard 42:50 Institutional neutrality debate 46:16 IHRA definition...

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

Does a cat stand on two legs or four? 

The answer to that question may tell you all you need to know about the government involving itself in social media content moderation.

On today’s show, we cover the latest tech policy developments involving the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, AI regulation, and more.

 

Guests:

- Ari Cohn, FIRE’s lead counsel, tech policy.

- Adam Thierer, a resident technology and innovation senior fellow at the R Street Institute  

- Jennifer Huddleston, a technology policy senior fellow at the CATO Institute

 

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:30 Section 230

06:55 FCC and Section 230

14:32 Brendan Carr and “faith-based programming”

28:24 Media companies’ settlements with the Trump

30:24 Brendan Carr at Semafor event

38:37 FTC and social media companies

48:09 AI regulations

01:03:43 Outro

 

Read the transcript.

 

Enjoy listening to the 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.

 

Show notes: