Welcome to another episode of Conversations with Coleman. My guest today is Jacob Mchangama. Jacob is a lawyer and writer based in Denmark. He's the founder of Justitia, a think tank focused on human rights and freedom of speech. Jacob is also the producer and narrator of the excellent podcast called Clear and Present Danger. Jacob and I discuss his brilliant new book: Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media. We talk about the Danish cartoon controversy and Charlie Hebdo. We also discuss the so-called "Milton's curse"; which is the habit of hypocritically defending free speech for some, but not for others. I think this point is relevant to some of the bans that we've been seeing on Russian state news. We talk about the notion of power relations and its relationship to free speech, the relationship between censorship and human nature, the importance of having a culture of free speech in addition to having laws that nominally protect it. We also talk about the origins of what Jacob calls "egalitarian free speech" in ancient Athens, the First Amendment and its evolving interpretation over time, and the alleged exceptions to protected speech such as hate speech or shouting fire in a crowded theatre. We go on to discuss whether censorship actually works, big tech companies and their role in censoring speech, similarities between the rise of the printing press and the rise of the Internet, cancel culture, the threat to free speech posed by China and the CCP, and much more. This was one of my favorite conversations that I've had so far this year, and I hope you enjoy it. #Ad When it comes to caring for your plants, know-how matters. That’s why Fast GrowingTrees.com’s experts curate thousands of plant varieties that will thrive in your specific climate, location, and needs. There’s no waiting in lines and no messy cars from hauling plants all over town because you order online or over the phone and your plants are shipped to your door in 1-2 days. Plus, their growing and care advice is available 24/7. Every plant Fast GrowingTrees.com sells is raised and cared for by their team of expert growers, so all you have to do is put it in the ground. Plus, with their THIRTY DAY Alive and Thrive Guarantee, you can trust everything will be healthy for years to come. Check out FastGrowingTrees.com/COLEMAN right now, and you can get 15% off your entire order today #Ad Outer makes the world’s most beautiful, comfortable, innovative, and high-quality outdoor furniture - ALL from sustainable materials - and is the ONLY outdoor furniture with a patented built-in cover to make protecting it effortless. Outer’s better in every way because they’ve spent years perfecting outdoor products: with stunning modular designs to customize your space, life-proof material with a nano-coating that’s water, mold, bleach, and stain-resistant and triple-memory foam cushions that are comfier than most indoor sofas. You can check out Outer’s stunning furniture with a virtual tour or in-person at one of their 1000 neighborhood showrooms. This is Outer’s BEST OFFER anywhere - ONLY available to podcast listeners - and only for a limited time - get $300 off and FREE shipping at https://www.liveouter.com/coleman Terms and conditions apply. #Ad If you’re hiring, you need Indeed. Because Indeed is the hiring partner where you can Attract, Interview, and Hire all in one place. Indeed partners with you on every step of the hiring process. Find great talent through time-saving tools like Indeed Instant Match, Assessments, and Virtual Interviews. With Instant Match, as SOON as you sponsor a post, you get a shortlist of quality candidates--with resumes on Indeed that match your job description--and you can invite them to apply right away. Plus you only pay for quality applications that meet your must-have requirements. Join more than THREE MILLION BUSINESSES worldwide that use INDEED to hire great talent fast. Get started RIGHT NOW with a free $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post at https://www.indeed.com/CONVERSATIONS The Offer is valid through April 30th. Terms and conditions apply. FOLLOW COLEMAN YouTube - http://bit.ly/38kzium Twitter - http://bit.ly/2rbAJue Facebook - http://bit.ly/2LiAXH3 Instagram - http://bit.ly/2SDGo6o Podcast -https://bit.ly/3oQvNUL Website - https://colemanhughes.org/ Limited Edition Merch - https://bit.ly/CWCMerch FOLLOW JACOB Twitter - https://twitter.com/JMchangama Website - http://jacobmchangama.com/ Justitia - http://justitia-int.org/om-justitia/jacob-mchangama/ Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media - https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/jacob-mchangama/free-speech/9781541620339/ Podcast - https://www.freespeechhistory.com/ Image Credit: Chris Kjobech, photographer. Gelatin silver print. Collection of Oakland Museum of California. The Oakland Tribune Collection. Gift of ANG Newspapers. #ConversationswithColeman #CwC #ColemanHughes #JacobMchangama #FreeSpeech