E481 - Origins of Free Speech

Free speech is today more contested than ever before. In many places, differing views about politics, sex, and religion are suppressed and punished. In the West, debates rage over its limits and meaning. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Fara Dabhoiwala to trace the roots of this conflict back to the 18th century, when America embraced the First Amendment, while most of the world adopted a different principle: rights balanced by responsibilities. Together Suzannah and Fara explore the surprising and often troubling origins of free speech, from medieval punishments for slander and Henry VIII’s treason laws to th...