Greg Lukianoff of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression discusses the coddling and canceling of the American mind

In this conversation, we're joined by Greg Lukianoff, the President of FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. As illiberal tendencies are on the rise among extreme factions of our democracy, it was refreshing to speak with Greg whose organization is on the front lines of protecting the basic freedoms outlined in the First Amendment. We discussed:

• Greg's own background and how he came to form his views on free speech;
• a benchmark Supreme Court case from the late 70s when the ACLU defended Nazi's right to march in Skokie, IL;
• the "bedrock principle" as well as the limitations of free speech;
• contemporary issues such as whether Donald Trump was within his rights on January 6th as well as whether protesters on college campuses shouting "from the river to the sea" at Jewish students are protected under the freedom of speech;
• and advice for leaders of organizations who are the targets of cancel culture mobs.

 

Greg Lukianoff is President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, aka FIRE, and one of the country’s most passionate defenders of free expression. He is an accomplished author of several books including Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, The Coddling of the American Mind with Jonathan Haidt and his most recent book The Canceling of the American Mind with Rikki Schlott. He has also written on free speech issues on his Substack and for such outlets as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, and was executive producer of the documentaries Can We Take a Joke? and Mighty Ira. Greg earned his undergraduate degree from American University and his law degree from Stanford.

 

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