Censorship has been around since we learned how to communicate. Over that time it has taken many different forms and was used for different reasons. Although the connotation around censorship in modern times is rather negative, so is the now politicised idea of “freedom of speech”, once a hallmark of western civilization. Surely there must be a benefit to it to some extent? Why else do we still use it? Or is it all bad? Can we write books on how to build bombs to blow up 5g towers whilst simultaneously writing books on why you shouldn't? Listen in on the conversation with Joe Dunnighan the founder of the Banned Books Museum in the old town of Tallinn. Together we attempt to define censorship and freedom of speech, see how it differs all over the world, discuss interesting dilemmas in the field, and have fun whilst doing it 😊
This episode was brought to you by the TLU Student Podcast.
References:
Warburton, N. (2009). Free speech: a very short introduction. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.
Rauch, Jonathan, 1960-. (1993). Kindly inquisitors: the new attacks on free thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Rose, F. (2016). The Tyranny of Silence. Cato Institute.
Sedgwick, D. (2020). The FakeNews Factory: Tales from BBC-land. Sandgrounder.
Orwell, G. (2021). Nineteen Eighty-Four. Penguin Classics.
Herman, E. S., & Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. New York: Pantheon Books.
Strossen, N. (2018). Hate: why we should resist it with free speech, not censorship . Oxford University Press.
