Ep. 233: Rethinking free speech with Peter Ives

Is the free speech conversation too simplistic? 


Peter Ives thinks so. He is the author of “Rethinking Free
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: 


00:00 Intro


02:25 The Harper’s Letter


05:18 Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan


08:15 Free speech culture


09:53 John Stuart Mill


12:53 Alexander Meiklejohn


17:05 Ives’s critique of Jacob Mchangama’s “History of Free
Speech” book


17:53 Ives’s definition of free speech


19:38 First Amendment vs. Canadian Charter of Rights


21:25 Hate speech


25:22 Canadian Charter and Canadian universities


34:19 White supremacy and hate speech


40:14 Speech-action distinction


46:04 Free speech absolutism


48:49 Marketplace of ideas


01:05:40 Solutions for better public discourse


01:13:02 Outro 


Show notes:




The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982)




“A Letter on Justice and Open Debate” Harper’s Magazine
(2020)




“On Liberty” John Stuart Mill (1859)




“Free Speech: 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)




“When is speech violence?” The New York Times (2017)




Section 230 (Communications Decency Act of 1996)