Free speech is not particularly fashionable these days. Indeed, this summer NPR’s On the Media dedicated an entire episode to the topic without interviewing a single defender of free speech.
With free speech skepticism on the rise, the new book Free Speech And Why It Matters could not be more timely, or more important. British comic Andrew Doyle initially found fame with his hilarious social justice warrior Twitter parody, Titania McGrath. But he’s since become known as a crusader for free speech and the host of Free Speech Nation. In his thoughtful, well-argued, and well-written polemic, Andrew Doyle walks through key arguments in favour of free speech, and makes the case that the erosion of speech rights we’ve witnessed in recent years is destructive for democracy and human rights — and awful for art. Here is episode two of the Lean Out podcast, featuring Andrew Doyle.
Free Speech
Ironic, don't you think? This is the type of interview CBC would have done years ago on one of their current affairs radio shows. The denial of free speech is an historical feature of fascism. We all thought the military defeat of the Nazi version of fascism meant democracy had won for all time. Meanwhile, the fascists set up international corporations to conceal and promote their ideology now quite evident in the rise of global authoritarian regimes; unwittingly aided by the protofascism of the woke left. I claim my right to think, speak and write freely and debate ideas.
I am a long time fan of Doyle. Good catch. Hope to see you on Triggernometry and Dark Horse and on Bari Weiss and with Meghan Murphy and oh heck, you can make the rounds. Speaking of Meghan Murphy, the way she was treated by the CBC caused me to lose faith in that institution.