‘The most powerful publishers the world has ever seen’: Fara Dabhoiwala on the real battle over free speech
Today, host Michael Fox speaks with Fara Dabhoiwala. He is a professor of History at Princeton University. And he’s the author of the book, What is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea.
That book was published in 2025 by Penguin Random House and Harvard University Press. His book, in many ways, challenges the status quo about our understanding of free speech.
Professor Dabhoiwala has a wealth of knowledge on the subject of free speech and he appeared throughout this podcast series. But there were many questions we weren’t able to fit into the series, in particular about the beginnings of what we understand as free speech in the United States, and the difference between free speech in the US and abroad.
So today, we’re bringing you Michael’s conversation with him in its entirety. They spoke last fall.
This is the first bonus episode of The Battle for Free Speech.
The Battle for Free Speech Podcast is a production of The Real News Network.
Hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner.
Guests:
Fara Dabhoiwala
Resources:
You can check out the full Battle for Free Speech podcast series, here.
Many thanks to everyone who has supported this show.
Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Support Michael Fox’s reporting at patreon.com/mfox. Never miss an episode — sign up for The Real News newsletter at therealnews.com.
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.Michael Fox:
Hi folks. I’m your co-host, Michael Fox, and this is The Battle for Free Speech. So as promised, this is the first of a number of bonus episodes we’ll be rolling out in the coming weeks. Today, I speak with
Fearless Speech: Examining myths around the First Amendment
https://www.spreaker.com/show/7063186/episodes/feed
Today, host Michael Fox speaks with Mary Anne Franks. She is a professor of intellectual property, technology, and civil rights law at George Washington University and the president of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. She is also the author of the book Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment,which was published in 2024 by Bold Type Books.
She has an incredible analysis about free speech historically and today — the challenges we face protecting it and how we need to try to understand free speech beyond the First Amendment. Michael and Mary Anne spoke last year, in 2025.
This is the second bonus episode of The Battle for Free Speech. The Battle for Free Speech Podcast is a production of The Real News Network hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner.
Guests:
Mary Anne Franks
Resources:
You can check out the full Battle for Free Speech podcast series here.
Many thanks to everyone who has supported this show.
Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Support Michael Fox’s reporting at patreon.com/mfox. Never miss an episode — sign up for The Real News newsletter at therealnews.com.
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.Michael Fox:
Hi folks. I’m your co-host, Michael Fox, and this is the Battle for Free Speech. This is the second bonus episode in this series, and I’m really excited about this one. Today, I’m bringing you my full conversation with Marianne Franks. You will likely remember her from this series as I reached out to her in numerous episodes. She’s a professor in intellectual property technology and civil rights law at George Washington University and the president of the Cyber
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