Free To Speak

New Zealand banned it. So did France, Australia and South Africa, and every American publisher who saw the manuscript in 1954 turned it down. Brian Boyd, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Auckland and the world's leading Nabokov scholar, joins Dane Giraud to trace the censorship history of the twentieth century's most contested masterpiece.  They cover Nabo...

This winter, Ani O'Brien is taking the Good Faith Yarns Tour around the country: honest, good faith conversations with locals in towns and cities across New Zealand, on the topics we usually just shout about.  She sits down with Dane Giraud to walk through the full lineup, stop by stop, and explain why she wanted conversations rather than combat. No debates, no point scoring. Just a willingne...

ACT MP Laura McClure joins Dane Giraud to talk about her Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill, which passed its first reading unanimously and is now before select committee. The bill amends the Crimes Act 1961 and the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 so that AI-generated sexual images are treated the same in law as non-consensual intimate recordings. McClure explains why she made a d...

Dr Ben Jones, Director of Case Management at the UK Free Speech Union, joins host Dane Giraud to discuss his new book, Island of Strangers, and a question that should trouble anyone who values open debate: how did Britain - the country that gave the world so much of its free-speech tradition - become a place where the police knock on your door over a Facebook post? Jones has spent five years on th...

"I have always been the big-mouth Māori that says things we're not supposed to say." Corina Shields — better known online as Aunty Heihei (@AuntyHeihei) — returns to Free to Speak to talk with host Dane Giroud about her move from social-media commentary into the producer's chair at Radio Aotearoa, where she now produces "Shubz Says So" with Shubz Live. ABOUT THIS EPIS...

Is it now a criminal offence to pray for someone struggling with gender confusion? Could a parent face prosecution for affirming their child's biological sex?  Bob McCoskrie of Family First joins Dane to unpack the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022 — and why he believes it should be repealed immediately.  Bob explains how the law's vague definitions, the removal of co...

Young men drifting to the Right is the half of the story everyone is reporting. The other half — young women radicalising Left at an even faster rate — is barely discussed. And when politics becomes completely gendered, Michael Johnston warns, it spells disaster. In this episode of Free to Speak, Dane Giroud sits down with Michael Johnston — Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative and leader o...

Pulotu Tupe Solomon-Tanoa'I served four years on the Broadcasting Standards Authority. With the BSA now set to be abolished by the Coalition Government following the Sean Plunket / The Platform jurisdictional decision, she sits down with FSU Council member Dane Giraud for an open exchange on what the BSA actually does, where free speech and protection from harm collide, and whether scrapping...

"There is a crisis of honesty — and we're seeing the consequences in every sphere of life."  American philosopher Peter Boghossian — author of How to Have Impossible Conversations and the mind behind Spectrum Street Epistemology — joins host Dane Giraud for a wide-ranging conversation on free speech, polarisation, religion, antisemitism, the trans medicalisation scandal, the breakdo...

We weigh the push for an under-16 social media ban against what it would take to enforce it and what it would cost in privacy, anonymity, and open debate. We use Australia and the UK as cautionary examples and argue that empowering parents and teaching digital literacy beats outsourcing speech rules to the state. • Australia’s ban in practice, including high rates of circumvention and account shut...

We talk with Irish organiser Laszlo Manafi about why class-first socialism is clashing with the liberal left, and how that split shapes everything from campus politics to protest rights. We dig into Marxism as a way of analysing power, then trace why free speech matters even when the cause feels righteous.  • Class-first organising and why self-criticism on the left matters  • what Laszlo means by...

We explore who gets to set the rules for online speech in New Zealand, from InternetNZ’s direction shift to the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s expanding remit. Dr David Harvey and Douglas Brown argue for reforms that protect freedom of expression while still addressing real online harm. • what InternetNZ controls through the .nz domain and why that power matters  • the post-Christchurch Call s...

We sit down with Professor Ben Saul, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, to unpack Australia’s post-crisis push for tougher hate and extremism laws and what that signals for democratic debate. We dig into where international human rights law draws the line on speech and why vague drafting and executive power can chill legitimate political criticism while failing to stop rea...

We argue that real free speech requires the courage to criticise the radicals on our own side without sliding into denunciation or cancellation. We test where open debate ends and coercion begins, from political correctness and taboo research to hate speech laws and contested definitions of antisemitism.  • why “never criticise your right” weakens debate and traps movements in loyalty tests  • med...

We break down the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s claim that it can regulate online platforms under the Broadcasting Act 1989, even though Parliament never updated the law for the internet. We talk through why that change threatens open debate, why the standards are so subjective, and why we think this fight matters for free speech in New Zealand.  • the BSA asserting jurisdiction over online s...

📌 Buy Tickets for Sarah's NZ Tour: https://www.fsu.nz/events/mclaughlin-tour  📅 Tour dates:  📍 Auckland - Sun 19 April   📍 Tauranga - Tue 21 April   📍 Wellington - Wed 22 April   📍 Christchurch - Thu 23 April   📍 Dunedin - Fri 24 April  We talk with Sarah McLaughlin from FIRE about why free speech threats spread across borders faster than most people notice, especially online. We dig i...

We talk with Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (Posie Parker) about the Albert Park Let Women Speak event and the moments that turned a public talk into a violent crush-risk situation. We dig into what censorship looks like on the ground, why policing choices matter, and how fear makes ordinary people self-censor.  • why Kelly targets New Zealand as a case study for compliance and gender ideology  • effort...

We dig into the second COVID inquiry and why New Zealand still needs real accountability rather than polished narratives. Ani O'Brien argues that free speech, dissent, and honest scrutiny are not side issues but the core safeguards that stop crisis policy from sliding into coercion. • why adversarial challenge strengthens democracy and decision-making  • how media dynamics shape what can be q...

We speak with Forough Amin, founder of Iranian Women in New Zealand, about Iran’s contested past, the machinery of censorship, and why a renaissance is still possible. History, ideology, and free speech collide as we follow the path from the Shahs to the present regime and the fight for truth. • Pahlavi-era modernisation and White Revolution reforms • context for judging the Shah versus the theocr...

We examine the proposed nursing Code of Conduct through culture, law, and lived reality, asking how far regulation should reach into nurses’ private speech. Deborah Cunliffe and Dr Roderick Mulgan unpack conformity in institutions, the legal test for disrepute, and the chilling effect on whistleblowing and public debate. • institutional conformity shaping nurse behaviour • vague standards used to...

Eli discusses the rush to ban social media for under-16s and examines stronger evidence that school structures and heavy homework drive youth distress. Eli Stark Elster makes the case for autonomy, free play, and targeted fixes over blanket bans and digital IDs. • correlation versus causation in mental health research • consistent seasonal suicide patterns tied to school terms • shortcomings of sc...

We trace a working life in New Zealand journalism with Yvonne Van Dongen, exploring how subs, travel desks, and lively disagreements shaped stronger reporting, and why today’s monoculture and omissions threaten trust. We compare shoe-leather craft with hot takes and argue for free speech as the backbone of credible media. • Amsterdam detour to newsroom doors and a bruising AUT interview culture •...

We dig into the Nursing Council’s draft code with ACT MP Todd Stephenson, asking how far professional standards should reach into private speech. We argue for clear rules tied to patient safety, real whistleblowing paths, and strong protections for lawful off‑duty expression. • risks in Principle 4 on social media and private views • why vague words like offensive or ill‑informed invite misuse • t...

We trace Greg Fleming’s path from charity leader to MP and his decision to learn Te Reo Māori as an adult, linking language revitalisation with a culture of listening and free speech. We test tokenism, compulsion, and what realistic, hopeful goals for Te Reo might look like. • representing a highly mixed electorate and staying accessible • dialogue as a proven way to reduce radicalisation • awkwar...

This first “board roundup” episode focuses on a bigger pattern: regulators trying to extend their reach into online speech and private life.  The board unpacks the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s attempt to assert jurisdiction over internet live-streaming and podcasts (sparked by a complaint involving Sean Plunket), and what that would mean for alternative media and even ordinary people livestr...