Connie’s Campus Strife

That’s Debatable!’ is the weekly podcast of the Free Speech Union. Hosts Tom Harris and Jan MacVarish – both staffers at the FSU – talk about the free speech controversies that have erupted in the past week. Please like, subscribe and share.

With Tom still abroad, Jan is joined by recent UK graduate Connie Shaw who has firsthand experience of campus culture and cancellation. Connie describes her time at university and how she came to need the services of the Free Speech Union. She and Jan go on to discuss some of the trends that have shaped Gen Z, such as growing up in lockdown, the high emotionalism of contemporary social justice movements, intergenerational conflicts and the deadening attachment to a moralised left/right framework within academia.

Jan refers to a video of a recent debate at Cambridge University where free speech was discussed with speakers including Lionel Shriver, Professor Kehinde Andrews and historian Fara Dabhoiwala. You can watch it here.

Edited by Jason Clift