So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

Long before the First Amendment, John Peter Zenger stood trial for publishing criticisms of New York's then colonial governor. Although the law seemed to guarantee a guilty verdict, a jury refused to convict him...

In May 2026, the Office of Management and Budget proposed sweeping changes to how the federal government administers billions of dollars in federal research grants. That funding fuels scientific discovery, medical...

Censorship is often associated with authoritarian governments. But throughout history, efforts to control ideas have taken many different forms — and they haven't always come from the state. In this episode, Nico sits...

Over the past five years, book bans and book challenges have become a major flashpoint in American politics. School boards, parents, librarians, and lawmakers are fighting over what students should—and shouldn't—have...

Debates over religious freedom have shaped American life for centuries. From Quakers facing persecution in colonial America to The Crucible to South Park , fights over religious expression have repeatedly tested the...

What is financial censorship? Rainey Reitman joins the show to discuss what happens when people are denied access to financial services because of their lawful speech and conduct. Reitman is the author of Transaction...

In 2010, two landmark decisions transformed American campaign finance law. The first was Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission . The second was SpeechNow.org v. FEC . Together, these cases cleared the way for...

Shouting down speakers, UCLA free speech, heckling, AI, doxxing, cancel culture, and more! Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:40 Get your tickets to Soapbox now! 06:30 Congratulations to Will on 20 years at FIRE 07:31 How is...

Editorial note: This conversation was recorded on Friday, April 24, the day before the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Both Nico and Clayton attended the event, where a gunman breached security and opened fire...

We break down the legal case against James Comey over an alleged "true threat" and how far the government can go in prosecuting speech. Plus, we examine renewed FCC pressure on ABC and Jimmy Kimmel. Timestamps: 00:00...

The early internet opened unprecedented avenues for speech, creativity, and connection without traditional gatekeepers. But it also raised civil liberties questions: Do our offline freedoms exist online? And if so, how...

Free speech has long been a cornerstone of democratic society. But today, its principles face increasing pressure. Around the world, governments are expanding speech restrictions in the name of combating misinformation...

In 18th century America, news traveled slowly across the Atlantic. Newspapers reprinted secondhand reports, private letters, and unverified stories from abroad, leaving readers with multiple versions of reality. In a...

In March, juries in California and New Mexico delivered seminal verdicts holding Meta and YouTube liable for failing to protect young users from harm. Both verdicts found that the companies were negligent in the design...

Governments around the world have increasingly sought to regulate online speech well beyond their borders. If global platforms are forced to comply with the world's most restrictive laws, whose speech standards win? And...