
Ep. 256: Ten arguments against free speech
About this episode
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37:18 Argument #5: Free speech is outdated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: About that crowded theater and marketplace of ideas
59:27 Argument #9: Misinformation and disinformation
01:03:53 Argument #8: Free speech protects power
01:09:30 Argument #10: About the Holocaust and Rwandan genocide
01:13:35 Outro
Get the Book:
Purchase War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail.
Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today (https://www.thefire.org/) 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 [email protected].
Get every episode summarized
Each time So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Ep. 270: The fight for privacy and free speech in the surveillance age
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Ep. 269: Is free speech declining worldwide?
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Ep. 268: News and misinformation in early America
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Ep. 267: Social media = cigarettes?
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast