The Mark Groves Podcast

#263: Why Free Speech Matters with Greg Lukianoff

02.23.2023 - By Mark GrovesPlay

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Themes: Freedom of Speech, Censorship, Social Media, Cancel Culture, Mental Health

Summary: 

Join me for an insightful conversation with Greg Lukianoff: attorney, New York Times best-selling author, and President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Greg co-authored one of my all-time favourite books, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, with Jonathan Haidt. This New York Times best-seller expands on their September 2015 Atlantic cover story of the same name and is an absolute MUST read. In this episode, we discuss some main themes from the book, including free speech, why it matters, the dangers of censorship, and more.

Discover:

The importance of free speech and why diverse viewpoints are essential for growth, peace and a thriving democracy

The dangers of censorship and why diverse thought, even when offensive, is necessary to develop critical thinking

Why society tends to put someone in a box based on an opinion or belief (and why it’s lazy)

00:00 Intro 

01:09 Why Greg is passionate about free speech

05:10 When is censorship okay?

08:15 Handling pushback to free speech

13:08 Being placed in a box for your beliefs

17:39 Moral certitude

19:54 Free speech and private companies

24:59 The noble lie

27:21 Lack of viewpoint diversity on campuses

29:52 The benefits of free speech

37:40 Disagreement and diverse thought

42:45 Biases in mainstream media

47:31 Conservative = evil?

53:38 Group polarization

56:39 Talking back to the voices in your head

1:00:34 Interpersonal trust

1:02:56 Conflicts and disagreements in relationships

1:08:01 How to be advocates of free speech

Links:

Website | thefire.org

Book | The Coddling of the American Mind

Instagram | @thefireorg

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