While the idea of freedom of speech may be closely associated with the American constitutional tradition under the First Amendment today, its origins go back thousands of years, and its ideals have been expressed in civilizations around the world. Joining president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss that storied history—from Martin Luther’s posting his 95 Theses, to state laws regarding social media—and examine defenses of free speech are Jacob Mchangama, author of Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media, and David Cole, National Legal Director of the ACLU.
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This episode was produced by Melody Rowell and engineered by Dave Stotz. Research was provided by Sam Desai, Lana Ulrich, and Colin Thibault.
Participants
Jacob Mchangama is the founder and executive director of Justitia, a think tank focusing on human rights and a Visiting Scholar at Columbia’s Global Freedom of Expression Center. He is the author of Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media (2022) and the award-winning History of Freedom of Expression in Denmark.
David Cole is the National Legal Director of the ACLU. He has litigated many constitutional cases in the Supreme Court, including Texas v. Johnson and United States v. Eichman, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. He is on leave from Georgetown University, where he has taught constitutional law and criminal justice since 1990, and is the Hon. George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy. His most recent book, Engines of Liberty: How Citizen Movements Succeed, published in 2016, examines the strategies civil society organizations employ to change constitutional law.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- Read Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media, by Jacob Mchangama
- Read “The ACLU Never Stopped Defending Free Speech” by David Cole in The Nation
- Listen to or watch “Why the First Amendment Matters Today,” a panel celebrating the installation of the First Amendment tablet at the National Constitution Center
- Read Areopagetica by John Milton
- Read On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
- Read “The Kansas-Nebraska Bill” speech by Frederick Douglass from October 20, 1854
- Listen to “How Free Speech Under the First Amendment Developed” on We the People
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
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