So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
News:Politics
In late 2013, some of us at FIRE started noticing a change on college campuses. Students, who were previously the strongest constituency for free speech on campus, were turning against free speech. They began appealing to administrators more frequently for protection from different speakers and using the language of trauma and safety to justify censorship.
During the 1964 Berkeley Free Speech Movement, students demanded more free speech. Now, they were demanding more censorship.
What changed?
Neil Howe may have an answer. He is a historian, economist, and demographer who speaks frequently on generational change. He has co-authored several books with William Strauss, including “Generations” and “The Fourth Turning.” His most recent book, “The Fourth Turning is Here,” was published last year. Howe argues that history has seasonal rhythms of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth and that different generations take on different attributes reflecting their place in the cycle.
Joining Howe and host Nico Perrino for the conversation is FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff, co-author of “The Canceling of the American Mind” and “The Coddling of the American Mind.”
Note: Nico’s lavalier microphone was too close to his mouth during this recording, producing what we in the biz call “clipping.” Hence, Nico sounds a bit crunchier than normal. We apologize if it’s distracting, but we hope it’s not!
Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
6:10 Neil’s intent with his book, “Generations”
13:12 Pattern in American history
17:08 The nomad archetype
25:00 Covid and the younger generation
27:28 Do people shape events?
35:35 Gen-Xers and Millennials
41:45 The Fourth Turning
50:24 William James’ “The Moral Equivalent of War”
57:08 Are Gen-Z actually Millennials?
58:10 Dominant generations
01:06:40 How do generational cycles impact civil liberties?
01:10:57 Summary of Millennials
01:18:15 Peaceful periods lead to greater inequality
1:19:16 Outro
Show Notes
Neil Howe’s Substack, “Demography Unplugged”
Greg Lukianoff’s Substack, “The Eternally Radical Idea”
Ep. 99 John Stuart Mill’s ‘On Liberty’
Ep. 98 ‘The First Amendment in the Trump Era’ w/ Professor Timothy Zick
Ep. 97 There’s no such thing as free speech, argues Stanley Fish
Ep. 96 Who was Hayden C. Covington?
Ep. 95 Twenty years of FIRE with co-founder Harvey Silverglate
Ep. 94 Kevin Williamson’s ‘The Smallest Minority’
Ep. 93 ‘Coddling’ one year later
Ep. 92 Free speech, privacy, and President Trump’s Twitter account w/ Alex Abdo
Ep. 91 ‘The Grievance Studies Affair’
Ep. 90 ‘David French-ism’
Ep. 89 Prof. Samuel Abrams wrote an op-ed encouraging viewpoint diversity. Then came the fallout.
Ep. 88 Defending libraries with James LaRue
Ep. 87 Intellectual property 101
Ep. 86 Words, Violence, and Censorship at Williams College
Ep. 85 Wen Fa of the Pacific Legal Foundation
Ep. 84 The fight to publish Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’
Ep. 83 Mustafa Akyol on jailing journalists in Turkey, ‘re-educating’ Uyghurs in China, and cultural conformity in America
Ep. 82 ‘Can free speech be progressive?’
Ep. 81 Techdirt’s Mike Masnick
Ep. 80 Ten Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2019
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