I'm

I'm going to be able to be. Ash Kazarian is here.

These days, she is a senior legal fellow at the future of free speech.

But devoted listeners will know her better as the former host of this podcast.

Ash is making her triumphant return to talk about her new paper.

I built this algo brick by brick, why you should care about algorithms, free speech, and Section 230.

She is going to stick up for that much maligned boogeyman, the algorithm, as well as for the legal

structure, above all the First Amendment and Section 230 that allow it to flourish. Ash, welcome.

Thank you for having me. I hate what you've done with a place. I am what I am. I have to accept my

limits. Before we get down to business, you owe us a life update. Think of yourself as if you're at the

five-year reunion. That is actually how long it has been. How have you been? What have you been up to?

Oh my God. Now that I think about it, I think my last day was November 6th of 2020. So we are at the five-year mark, which is crazy because I still

think I'm 28. I'm doing good. I am now at the Future Free Speech at Vanderbilt. My journey here

led me through the small startup that is meta. I was their section 230 person. I also covered

their content regulation work in North and Latin America.

I learned a lot.

Met a lot of great people, ate a lot of great free food.

And yeah, it's nice to be back in the civil society.

I also have worked at Stand Together before coming to fully back to a civil society.

And it's been a good time to be a free speech

lawyer and a bad time to be a free speech lawyer. Good because I'm very passionate about what I do.

And now people care to listen more and bad because I think we see a lot of a lot of frets

...