Podcast: Why free speech is losing ground even in free societies
Dr Michael Johnston
Dr James Kierstead
1 May, 2026
In this episode, Michael and James talk with Sarah McLaughlin from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. They discuss attacks on free speech internationally, with governments from Washington to Beijing using deportation powers, financial leverage, and anti-terror laws to silence critics.
They analyse the censorship impulse across the political spectrum, the threat of social media age bans to internet anonymity, and the failure of even strong legal protections to protect free speech fail when citizens fail to defend their own rights.