Ep. 233: Rethinking free speech with Peter Ives

Is the free speech conversation too simplistic?

Peter Ives thinks so. He is the author of "RethinkingFree Speech," a new book that seeks to provide a more nuanced analysis of the free speech debate within various domains, from government to campus to social media.

Ives is a professor of political science at the University of Winnipeg. He researches and writes on the politics of "global English," bridging the disciplines of language policy, political theory, and the influential ideas of Antonio Gramsci.

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Read the transcript.

Timestamps:

00:00Intro

02:25The Harper's Letter

05:18Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan

08:15Free speech culture

09:53John Stuart Mill

12:53Alexander Meiklejohn

17:05Ives's critique of Jacob Mchangama's "History of Free Speech" book

17:53Ives's definition of free speech

19:38First Amendment vs. Canadian Charter of Rights

21:25Hate speech

25:22Canadian Charter and Canadian universities

34:19White supremacy and hate speech

40:14Speech-action distinction

46:04Free speech absolutism

48:49Marketplace of ideas

01:05:40Solutions for better public discourse

01:13:02Outro

Show notes:

• The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982)

• "A Letter on Justice and Open Debate" Harper's Magazine (2020)

• "OnLiberty" John Stuart Mill (1859)

• "FreeSpeech: A History from Socrates to Social Media" Jacob Mchangama (2022)

• Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

• Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021)

• Canadian Criminal Code (1985)

• Bill C-63 - An Act to enact the Online Harms Act (2024)

• McKinney v. University of Guelph (1990)

• "Whenis speech violence?" The New York Times (2017)

• Section 230 (Communications Decency Act of 1996)