Free To Speak

For the Free Speech Unions first Speakeasy webinar (presented on the 22nd of July) we sat down with Kathleen Stock author and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sussex. Kathleen has been aggressively targeted by the outrage mob for her insistence that the relationship between sex and gender can never be “beyond debate”. She has become a figurehead for the pushback against the censorious...

Imam Mustenser Qamar of the Wellington Ahmadiyya Muslim Community returns to the podcast to discuss alternative approaches to fighting racism and discrimination with the Free Speech Union's Dane Giraud. Imam Mustenser also discusses his attendance at a recent Ministry of Justice hui on the proposed 'Hate Speech' laws and his concerns for religious freedoms should the laws as present...

Free Speech Union spokesperson Dane Giraud speaks with political organiser and legend of the New Zealand Union movement (as well as new FSU member) Matt McCarten. In a candid and wide-ranging discussion Matt talks about the centrality of Free Speech to traditional Left-wing politics and societal progress, why we should reject any talk of Free Speech being a Left-Right issue, and how shutting down...

Absorb some of the most powerful arguments against the Government's proposed 'Hate Speech' laws with this spirited reading of the Free Speech Union's Public submission. And make sure to make your own submission (in well under 5 minutes) using the website www.freespeechsubmission.com because you have a right to be heard.  www.fsu.nz  www. Savefreespeech.co.nz  Support the show h...

Guest host Ani O'Brien speaks to renowned New Zealand Historian Paul Moon about navigating through the minefields of this contentious academic field, the health of free speech within our universities, and the challenge of critical theory and what makes it is so dangerous for the advancement of fact-based research.  A great and far-ranging discussion with one of New Zealand's greatest min...

Dane Giraud speaks to spokeswoman for 'Speak Up For Women' Daphna Kaye Whitmore about her groups stunning success in the High Court last week against Auckland and Palmerston North city councils. The rulings are a major accomplishment both for 'SUFW' and the 'Free Speech Union' who supported the group through their battle. Is the tide turning? Ideologically captured co...

The Free Speech Union's Dr. David Cumin and Dane Giraud dig into the six proposals being offered up as the government's new hate speech laws. And they are truly frightening! An in-depth episode that shines a light on numerous troubling aspects of what is currently being tabled, we also analyze Justice Minister Kris Faafoi's less-than-assuring interview with Tova O'Brien in whic...

Beth Johnson, a spokeswoman for women's rights group 'Speak Up For Women', returns after a short two weeks with a big announcement: after a series of unjustified and unlawful cancellations from various council venues for the crime of wanting to discuss a bill currently before parliament, 'SUFW' with the support of the 'Free Speech Union', will be heading to the c...

Dr. David Cumin interviews Beth Johnson of 'Speak Up For Women', a women's rights advocacy group that has had several public talks canceled by city councils over the past few weeks. It seems our councils still have no issue breaching the bill of rights and discriminating against certain interest groups, despite the 'Free Speech Union' having recently received a court rulin...

Patrick Corish interviews British journalist and founder of the Free Speech Union UK, Toby Young. In a wide-ranging conversation, Young discusses the desperate need for, and scope of the Union he established in early 2020, along with some of their early wins. A sister organization to the NZ Free Speech Union, this episode also serves as a helpful primer for the support we too will offer in the fig...

Jordan Williams, Stephen Franks and Patrick Corish discuss the Court of Appeal judgement, released this morning.  Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

Last week you heard from our panel of experts on the big ideas surrounding the recent advances made by big tech companies into their new role of arbiters of acceptable speech.  This week, we're bringing you the voice of one of those people swept up in the hysteria over the far-right. Former ACT candidate Stephen Berry talks us through his being permanently banned by Twitter in the platform&ap...

In the wake of the Capitol Hill riot on the 6th of January, American tech companies removed Donald Trump from a number of the most globally popular social media sites. In the following days thousands of other accounts were suspended or banned, with the fallout reaching to a number of mostly right wing New Zealand accounts. But is this really a threat to free speech? What are the legal or political...

Free Speech Coalition spokesperson Stephen Franks sat down for a conversation with New Zealand's Chief Censor David Shanks. Stephen and David discussed the classification of the manifesto, the role the censor has in protecting children, censorship in the digital age and the value war-time reporting has in communicating the horrors of war. Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZF...

Don Brash has been an outspoken advocate for free speech, democracy and open dialogue. In this speech, Mr Brash takes an in-depth look at the state of free speech in New Zealand, noting that while there have been a number of instances where the speech of individuals has been silenced, the voices in defence of this foundational principle are increasingly gaining prominence.   This is the recoding o...

In this episode of the Free Speech Coalition podcast, Patrick Corish interviews Victoria University of Wellington Senior Lecturer of Classical Studies James Kierstead. Dr Kierstead gives a unique perspective on free speech in ancient Greece and talks about his research work on diversity of thought in academia. They also tackle the question classical students often wonder: was Socrates an assh*le? ...

In this short think piece, Dane Giraud laments the trend of culturally shallow and naive attacks on comedy and creativity, and how it all seems reminiscent of every other attempt by authority figures to ban people from seeing works they personally dislike.   Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechuni...

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has never shied away from robust speech, so when he sat down on the FSC Podcast we wanted to get to the bottom of his position on the line between free speech and hate speech, what should be done about Universities which don't uphold their duty to academic freedom, and where Andrew Little's hate speech legislation has gotten to. Support the show https...

Elected officials should not have the power to choose who can speak in our public spaces. And yet, that will be the result if the High Court's decision in the Free Speech Coalition's case against Regional Facilities Auckland is not overturned this week.  To help us understand the stakes at play, and the significance of this case, Patrick Corish sat down with renowned public law expert, a...

A few weeks ago, Massey University lecturer Dr Steve Elers’s weekly column in the Manawatu-Standard sparked calls for disciplinary procedures to be invoked against him and an article by the Vice Chancellor qualifying Massey’s commitment to academic freedom. Dr Elers agreed to talk us through this most recent example of Massey University's intolerance of academic freedom. Links: - Dr Elers&apo...

In preparation for the Interfaith Panel on Free Speech, Patrick sat down with Imam Mustenser Qamar to discuss the position on free speech within Islam. A member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Imam Mustenser has a unique perspective on the value which free speech has to members of a minority community. Hear more from Imam Mustenser at the Perspectives on Free Speech Panel at 6pm on Wednesday th...

In a spirited conversation with Dane Giraud, Maori broadcaster and commentator Ward Kamo discusses Maori perspectives on Free Speech and how banning offensive speech denies Maori the opportunity to "set the record straight." Ward Kamo is a broadcaster (formerly of Native Affairs), a social and political commentator and popular MC who has held senior management roles for Ngai Tahu Holding...

This is the audio version of a blog post which you can find here .  Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

On this episode, Dane is joined by editor of Redline blog, Daphna Whitmore. Together they transcend the Left/Right divide and embark on an understanding of the free speech implications of issues like the Twitter mob, the Government's proposed emergency police powers, and the Israel-Palestine conflict.  Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/f...

Dr Steve Elers is a professor of communications and media at Massey University, who's article criticising the Prime Minister attracted corrections from the PM's office. Patrick Corish sat down with Dr Elers for this virtual episode of FSC Podcast, to discuss what this means for the media in the wake of the $50 million bailout package for news sites. You can read the article in question h...