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Free To Speak
Free To Speak episodes
- Ananish Chaudhuri: 12 Angry Men, class and academic freedom
Economist Ananish Chaudhuri, Professor of Experimental Economics at the University of Auckland, joins Dane Giraud. He is one of the newest members of the Free Speech Union Council. He starts with 12 Angry Men, Sidney Lumet's 1957 film about a jury pushed to examine its biases by one man asking questions.
Ananish argues the China shock hollowed out manufacturing jobs and community life in the United States. In his view, the left answered a class problem with a culture war, and that is the ground Donald Trump sprang from. Dane and Ananish trace woke politics back to that failure. They also cover price controls, left-wing authoritarianism and why every leader needs a devil's advocate.
On campus, Ananish says there is a free speech crisis at the University of Auckland. He points to the 2021 Listener letter on mātauranga Māori and science, and to the treatment of the Covid Plan B group he was part of. He also cites the equity office asking Dame Elizabeth Rata to change her teaching on biological sex.
Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud.
Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/join
Support our work: https://www.fsu.nz/donate
Newsletter: https://www.fsu.nz/subscribe
Website: https://www.fsu.nz
Got feedback or a guest suggestion? [email protected]
Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz47 min - Stella O'Malley: Gender, Psychotherapy and the Right to Ask Questions
Irish psychotherapist and author Stella O'Malley founded Genspect in 2021. She tells Dane Giraud why she believes young people in gender distress need psychological care first, and why she argues medical transition has become consumer-driven healthcare.
Stella describes her own childhood, when she wanted to be a boy from the age of three until puberty. She recounts the hostility that followed her 2018 Channel 4 documentary, Trans Kids: It's Time to Talk, and how it drew her into this work. She also explains the shift in therapy from patient-centred to patient-led practice, and what she hears from parents and detransitioners in Genspect's support groups.
Dane and Stella also discuss censorship in a democracy, proposed social media bans for young people, and New Zealand's Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022. Stella argues the law limits what therapists can explore with clients who want to medically transition.
Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud.
Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/join
Support our work: https://www.fsu.nz/donate
Newsletter: https://www.fsu.nz/subscribe
Website: https://www.fsu.nz
Got feedback or a guest suggestion? [email protected]
Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz47 min - Free Speech Union Election 2026: Paul Goldsmith (National) on hate speech and the BSA
Justice and Media Minister Paul Goldsmith rules out any new hate speech legislation: "We've been very clear about that."
He tells Free Speech Union Executive Director Jillaine Heather that the bill abolishing the Broadcasting Standards Authority is drafted and ready, and if National is re-elected, "the BSA will be no more". He explains why his first instinct on professional regulators is not to legislate, how National plans to take its under-16 social media bill through select committee, and why Melissa Lee's bill to reform the Harmful Digital Communications Act has the support of National's caucus.
Free Speech Union Election 2026: we invited every party in Parliament to talk free speech before the election. ACT, National and NZ First said yes. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori declined or did not respond.
Watch the interview on YouTube: [YouTube link]
Sign the No Blasphemy Laws petition: https://noblasphemylaw.nz
Tell regulators to stick to their knitting: https://licensetospeak.nz
Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/join
Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz34 min - Free Speech Union Election 2026: Winston Peters (NZ First) on the social media ban
NZ First leader Winston Peters says National's under-16 social media bill and Labour's digital duty of care won't stop at children: "it'll be 20-year-olds, it'll be 30-year-olds, it'll be all of us."
In this pre-election interview with Free Speech Union Executive Director Jillaine Heather, he confirms NZ First will oppose both. He says opposing any expansion of hate speech law has been NZ First's position since its founding, and floats a small, almost voluntary panel of experts to warn politicians about the hidden risks in new laws. He won't discuss the Brian Tamaki case while it's before the courts, but calls the pattern of prosecutions "massively selective".
Free Speech Union Election 2026: we invited every party in Parliament to talk free speech before the election. ACT, National and NZ First said yes. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori declined or did not respond.
Watch the interview on YouTube: [YouTube link]
Sign the No Blasphemy Laws petition: https://noblasphemylaw.nz
Tell regulators to stick to their knitting: https://licensetospeak.nz
Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/join
Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz24 min - Free Speech Union Election 2026: David Seymour (ACT) on blasphemy laws and regulators
ACT leader David Seymour says sections 61 and 131 of the Human Rights Act "really ought to be gone", and that ACT has "no intention of ever supporting blasphemy laws".
In this pre-election interview with Free Speech Union Executive Director Jillaine Heather, the Deputy Prime Minister commits to legislation stopping professional regulators from punishing lawful speech, and explains ACT's opposition to National's under-16 social media bill and the online regulator that comes with it. He'd consider banning smartphone sales to under-16s instead. He also wants the Harmful Digital Communications Act's tests made objective, because right now they're so subjective "you can drive a bus through them".
Free Speech Union Election 2026: we invited every party in Parliament to talk free speech before the election. ACT, National and NZ First said yes. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori declined or did not respond.
Watch the interview on YouTube: [YouTube link]
Sign the No Blasphemy Laws petition: https://noblasphemylaw.nz
Tell regulators to stick to their knitting: https://licensetospeak.nz
Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/join
Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz43 min - David Harvey & Ani O'Brien: The Return of the Online Regulator | Free to Speak
In 2023, more than 18,000 Free Speech Union supporters told the Government they didn't want a single regulator for online content. The Minister dropped the plan in 2024. Two years on, it's back. Labour is promising a "digital duty of care" enforced by a new online regulator, and National's under-16 social media restrictions would hand new powers to Internal Affairs. Both are being sold as child safety. Both would reach every adult who goes online.
Free Speech Union Executive Director Jillaine Heather is joined by retired District Court Judge David Harvey and political commentator Ani O'Brien. Harvey traces the idea from the Harmful Digital Communications Act to the Safer Online Services proposal, and explains why a digital duty of care is prior restraint under another name. O'Brien explains how the public service keeps reshaping the same plan until it sells, and why child safety polls so well in an election year.
They also ask whether any of it would work for kids, why age verification means checking everyone, and what parents can do instead.
Before you vote, ask your electorate candidates where they stand on lawful speech and age checks: https://fsu.nz/campaigns/online-freedom
Why Labour's Digital Duty of Care sets no limit on adult speech: https://fsu.nz/publications/digital-duty-of-care-adult-speech
Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. This episode is hosted by Free Speech Union Executive Director Jillaine Heather.
Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz46 min - David Smylie: One Email, a Medical Council Complaint, and Why a GP Left New Zealand
GP David Smylie tells Dane Giraud how one late-night email to a pharmaceutical sales rep, sent in November 2022, became a Medical Council of New Zealand investigation. He says the complaint was made by the rep's manager.
David says he apologised early and offered to meet the rep, but the Council never passed his apology on. He says a committee then told him in writing that he was racist, on the strength of that one email. He was required to complete 12 months of supervised sessions, at his own cost, on implicit bias, colonialism and institutional racism.
He did the sessions but would not write the two essays that came at the end, and chose to leave New Zealand. David argues the Council should get back to protecting the public from dangerous doctors. Dane connects his story to the Free Speech Union's campaign on professional regulators.
Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud.
Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/join
Support our work: https://www.fsu.nz/donate
Newsletter: https://www.fsu.nz/subscribe
Website: https://www.fsu.nz
Got feedback or a guest suggestion? [email protected]
Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz43 min - Cath Simpson: Suspended by the Tribunal, Sacked by Health NZ | Free Speech Union
Health NZ sacked mental health nurse Cath Simpson on 9 October over posts she made on X in her own time and deleted more than a year ago. The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal had suspended her for two months and let her keep nursing.
In her first public interview, Cath tells Free Speech Union Executive Director Jillaine Heather how one man's complaint to the Nursing Council became a fight for her career. She talks through the posts, on abortion, COVID, Rawiri Waititi, immigration and gender, and where she regrets the language she used. She describes the Council going through her account and adding posts the complainant never raised. The Tribunal's penalty included a programme covering everything from cultural safety and colonisation to gender and sexual diversity.
Health NZ knew about the posts for 18 months and kept her working with patients until the Tribunal ruled. Its own dismissal letter accepted her remorse was genuine and raised no clinical concerns about her work. It sacked her anyway.
Cath is appealing the Tribunal's decision in the High Court. Help fund the expert legal work: https://fsu.nz/donate/cath-simpson/
Read the Tribunal's full decision: https://fsu.nz/documents/cases/cath-simpson-hpdt-decision-2026-09-10.pdf
Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud.
Join the Free Speech Union: https://fsu.nz/join
Support our work: https://fsu.nz/donate
Newsletter: https://fsu.nz/subscribe
Website: https://fsu.nz
Got feedback or a guest suggestion? [email protected]
Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142
Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz48 min - Paul Henry: Interviewing, the Campaign Trail and the Future of Media
Broadcaster Paul Henry joins Dane Giraud on the art of interviewing and what separates a good journalist from a bad one. Henry argues the best interviewers listen hard and go in ready to be surprised, while the worst arrive with an agenda.
Now on the campaign trail, he reflects on the broadcasting skills he has taken into politics and what voters tell you when you are willing to listen.
The conversation turns to media and free speech: the Government's plan to scrap the Broadcasting Standards Authority, and what, if anything, should replace it. Dane points out that the tyre changer in Takanini is never the one shoulder-tapped to judge what is acceptable.
They finish on how podcasts and phone-made content have given working-class and South Auckland voices a platform. Both argue a broadcasting regulator could have put those voices at risk.
Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud.
Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/join
Support our work: https://www.fsu.nz/donate
Newsletter: https://www.fsu.nz/subscribe
Website: https://www.fsu.nz
Got feedback or a guest suggestion? [email protected]
Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz51 min - Stephen Franks and Kirsten Murfitt: Lawyers, Letters and the Law Society
Free Speech Union Council Chair Stephen Franks and Tauranga lawyer Kirsten Murfitt compare notes on being investigated by the New Zealand Law Society. Both faced complaints over letters they wrote for clients. Both say the complaints system was turned against them.
Stephen's case began with a letter sent for a client to clinics offering gender-affirming care to minors, setting out the legal risks after the Cass Review. A Standards Committee censured and fined him. The Legal Complaints Review Officer reversed that finding. Kirsten's case followed an open letter she published for her client, Lobby for Good, seeking information about a Tauranga City Council property purchase.
They cover the cost of defending a complaint, rules that treat causing distress as misconduct, and what that means for clients who need a lawyer to speak for them. Professional regulators are an election campaign issue for the Free Speech Union. This special episode looks at the public and private cost of processes that seem more interested in groupthink than in protecting consumers.
Free to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union. Uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud.
Join the Free Speech Union: https://www.fsu.nz/join
Support our work: https://www.fsu.nz/donate
Newsletter: https://www.fsu.nz/subscribe
Website: https://www.fsu.nz
Got feedback or a guest suggestion? [email protected]
Promoted by Free Speech Union, PO Box 91811, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142Support the show
https://www.fsu.nz/
https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech
https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/
https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz46 min
About Free To Speak
From the publisher's feed
Free to Speak is the New Zealand podcast that goes beyond headlines to explore the principles behind our most contentious debates.
Produced by the New Zealand Free Speech Union, it examines…
freedom of expression and why it matters to a free and democratic society.
Expect interviews with guests from New Zealand and around the world, plus deep dives with our Council into the cases and policy work shaping free speech today.
Expect interviews with guests from New Zealand and around the world, plus deep dives with our Council into the cases and policy work shaping free speech today.
Any questions, queries or feedback? Email: [email protected]
www.fsu.nz