1216: Greg Lukianoff | Failing Arguments Against Free Speech
The Jordan Harbinger Show
Jordan Harbinger
4.8 • 12.1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 September 2025
⏱️ 75 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Free speech defenders are losing ground as government pressure mounts. Legal expert Greg Lukianoff reveals why the Kimmel case should terrify everyone.
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1216
What We Discuss with Greg Lukianoff:
- The Trump administration used FCC licensing threats and merger approval leverage to force ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel — a form of "jawboning" where government coerces private entities to censor speech the government itself cannot legally punish.
- Historically, free speech has been the primary tool for minorities and marginalized groups. Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Frederick Douglass, and Gandhi all relied on free speech to challenge the majority and the powerful.
- Hate speech laws don't change minds — they drive people into echo chambers where they radicalize further. When people can only discuss controversial views with those who already agree, extremism intensifies rather than diminishes.
- Over one-third of college students believe violence can be acceptable in response to speech. Two-thirds support shouting down speakers, representing mob censorship that undermines the marketplace of ideas and threatens intellectual discourse.
- Practice intellectual courage. When encountering disagreeable speech, engage rather than silence. Ask yourself: "Am I safer knowing less about what people think?" The answer is no — open dialogue reveals problems early, strengthens your arguments, and builds a healthier society.
- And much more...
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Transcript
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| 1:07.1 | Special thanks to Kamen Jack for sponsoring this episode of the Jordan Harbinger Show. Coming up next on the Jordan Harbinger Show. I think that there is a value in knowing what people really think full stop. I think it's a scientific value. I think it's an artistic value. I think it's a democratic value. You're not safer for knowing less about what people really think. And I think in a situation where people |
| 1:28.0 | are scared to say what they actually think because they think their job's going to be on the line, |
| 1:31.9 | whether that's cancel culture from the left or pressure from the right, that's not good for a democratic |
| 1:37.4 | society. |
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