🌊 When is "Free Speech" Illegal?

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When does “free speech” cease to be free?

People are reading less and less.

A recent Gallup poll found that between 2016 and 2021 alone, the average number of books read by an American adult per year fell by three (20%). In place of reading, people are consuming TV, social media, and video games.

Yet some books still hit. And our guest on this week’s We the 66 co-wrote what has been called the most influential book of the past decade.

Greg Lukianoff is the co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind (2018) and its follow-up, The Canceling of the American Mind (2023). These books have sought to answer some of the most pressing questions of our time, namely: Why have rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide soared in young Americans? What explains the growing unwillingness to hear divergent viewpoints? How are technology, culture, and adults shaping the minds of young people?

Lukianoff is well positioned to answer these questions for many reasons. Chief among them is that he is a leading attorney and the president of FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

FIRE is a fiercely nonpartisan organization committed to defending First Amendment rights. Once limited to free speech in education, the group has expanded to protect free expression nationally, not just in academia.

Through this work, Lukianoff identified a growing trend of young people trying to silence views they disagreed with. At times, this was through social media cancellations; at others through heckling speakers or physically blocking them from speaking. Lukianoff set out to answer why this was happening.

He’s since become one of the most prominent individuals advocating for free expression. He sat down with Roca to talk about what he’s learned.

The timing of our interview couldn’t have been better: We spoke to Lukianoff as campus protests roil the country and the US considers passing a bill that would formalize a controversial definition of antisemitism.

Among many topics, we asked him where he draws the line between protest and law-breaking on campuses; between harassment and free speech; and between antisemitism and anti-Israel opinions. There was also a fascinating discussion about which universities are the best and worst for free speech (that link goes directly to that segment).

It was an informative and thought-provoking conversation that we think you will enjoy. The podcast is live on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.

Sincerely,

–Max F and Max T

RocaNews Co-founders

If you believe in nonpartisan news and the importance of free speech, receive full access and support our mission by becoming a premium subscriber.