*December 2024!! Regardless it’s been too long…
I really wanted to be snarky with a video, but I think you’d have to be an expert on Free Speech to get most of my jokes, and I realize most of you are not, but you value it.
So, instead, I give you a straightforward podcast on a very important topic and if you watch this great YouTube video (not mine) that explains John Milton’s pursuit to publish Areopagitica, you can go ahead and make your own.
Whoever you are, you should be concerned about Free Speech because
The Right is Killing Free Speech, The Left is Killing Free Speech, and hell - even AI is Killing Free Speech.
However you look at it: Free Speech is receding.
The problem Adam Conover reports is true, ADVERTISERS and sponsors are what regulate free speech. Self-censorship is the act of not saying shit that would get you in trouble or irritate your audience or benefactors. He even says “People with more money get to speak more.”
The biggest problem I see is that this creates a global monoculture, and as a biologist you probably understand why I think diversity is important. Human flourishing depends on plurality.
I hope you enjoy this podcast, and check out Jacob’s book.
Time Stamps:
07:06 How to be a free speech girlie
12:55 The history of free speech
14:58 Elite Gatekeepers of free speech
16:30 The Modern free speech recession
18:04 From the River to the Sea Speech must be Free
20:04 Free speech in Europe
25:28 The university monoculture and free speech
36:24 The Limits of free speech
38:29 Misinformation as free speech
45:24 AI and free speech
48:35 Money as speech
58:33 Utopian information society and how the some groups feel protected by restricting speech
01:03:49 The potential pitfalls of principled free speech
Don’t forget to check out the Big Nerve Question where you can earn money for your ideas!
20. Who Cares about Free Speech?