This Week In Free Speech with Jacob Mchangama

In George Orwell’s 1946 work, “The Prevention of Literature,” he wrote: [O]rganised lying … is … integral to totalitaria... Read more

Rome was the most powerful empire in antiquity. But were the Romans free to speak truth to power? Did history’s first su... Read more

In this episode, we do a bit of time travel and leave the 17th century for a discussion of free speech on American colle... Read more

Why did the medieval Abbasid Caliphs have almost all ancient Greek works of philosophy and science translated into Arabi... Read more

Why did the polytheist Ancient Romans persecute the followers of the new Jewish sect of “Christians” in the first three ... Read more

In our first expert opinion segment, Jacob Mchangama talks to Emeritus Professor of Greek Culture at Cambridge Universit... Read more

The First Amendment of the US Constitution was adopted as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791. This “Great bulwark of lib... Read more

1685 was a watershed year for events that would lead to what we call the Enlightenment. France´s Sun King Louis XIV revo... Read more

In episode 6, we get medieval! Find out why the Middle Ages were as much a period of reason and inquiry as inquisition a... Read more

18th century America was impacted and influenced by the so-called Glorious Revolution in the Motherland. And no-one had ... Read more

In the second half of the 18th Century American, Patriots showed that freedom of the press was a potent weapon against a... Read more

In 1787, the newly authored U.S. Constitution was sent out to the states for ratification. Despite fierce objections fro... Read more

The Enlightenment´s emphasis on science, progress, tolerance and rationality not only attracted philosophers. Even absol... Read more

On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson, the newly elected president, gave his first inaugural address. Jefferson eloquently ... Read more

We enter the early modern age with an expert opinion featuring Teresa Bejan, associate professor at Oriel College, Oxfor... Read more

In our second expert opinion episode, Jacob Mchangama talks with Peter Adamson, who is a professor of philosophy at Ludw... Read more

From the High Middle Ages, Europe developed into a “persecuting society,” obsessed with stamping out the “cancer” of her... Read more

In his famous essay “What is Enlightenment?” the Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant declared: “[E]nlightenment requires ... Read more

data-contrast="auto">After a brief detour into the present, we return to Ground Zero of the Enlightenment in 18th cen... Read more

The disruptive effects of the internet and social media on the spread of information are unprecedented. Or are they?   I... Read more