
Ep. 255: Authoritarians in the Academy
from So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
by FIRE
Published: Wed Oct 15 2025
Show Notes
FIRE Senior Scholar Sarah McLaughlin discusses her new book, "Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech."
Timestamps:
Intro
Book origins
How China censored speech on American campuses
COVID's impact for international students' speech
What is sensitivity exploitation?
Free speech at international satellite campuses
Attempted deportations of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk
Sarah's free speech inspirations: literature and people
Learn more about Sarah McLaughlin and her work.
Purchase Authoritariansin the Academy here.
Read the transcript here: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-transcript-authoritarians-academy
Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today (https://www.thefire.org/) and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more. If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email sotospeak@thefire.org.