Think About It

What are the biggest threats to free expression today? Suzanne Nossel, the Executive Director of PEN America, talks to Think About It about how she views contemporary issues around speech in America today, from President Trump's descriptions of the press as "fake news" and "the enemy of the people" to alternative news outlets that no longer respect journalistic standards, and the dangers of letting the government regulate speech on campus. Nossel is a former Executive Director of Amnesty International US.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How should a university deal with its past complicities with slavery and 'scientific' racism? Salma Abdelrahaman is a junior at Harvard College studying sociology and African American studies, and a former member of the college's Undergraduate Council. She talked to Think About It about Harvard's history as a center for the development of ideas of 'scientific' racism, and the effort to organize a counter-event to the invitation of Charles Murray to campus.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What is at stake for the university in the speech debates? Prudence L. Carter is Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, and Professor of Sociology. She served as co-chair of the Commission on Free Speech for UC Berkeley with Jay Wallace, who’s also been on Think About It. Carter’s work focuses on issues of youth identity, culture, race, class, gender, urban poverty, and social and educational policy.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Does social justice need free speech? Akeel Bilgrami, Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University talks about the shifting approaches to free speech in progressive activism on campus and the culturalization of the politics of equality. Professor Bilgrami is the author of Beyond the Secular West (2016), and the co-edited the collection Who’s Afraid of Academic Freedom? (2014). He is also co-editor of Who’s Afraid of Academic Freedom?

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There’s No Such Thing As Free Speech! Stanley Fish, Visiting Professor at the Cardozo School of Law and author of "There is No Such Thing as Free Speech," makes the case that there isn't—at least not in an absolutist sense. And universities, among other institutions, have always regulated it. One of the leading voices in the American speech debates of the last three decades.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Who has the right to speak on campus? Joan Scott, Professor Emerita at the Institute for Advanced Study on Charlottesville, free speech on campus, and the role of the university.

Uli Baer teaches literature and photography as University Professor at New York University. A recipient of Guggenheim, Getty and Humboldt awards, in addition to hosting "Speaking of…” he hosts (with Caroline Weber) the podcast "The Proust Questionnaire” and is Editorial Director at Warbler Press. Email [email protected]; Twitter @UliBaer.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.