エピソード

  • The Battle over Free Speech in Brazil: With Artur Romeu | Bonus 3
    2026/09/18
    This is a particularly important episode, coming just two weeks ahead of the 1st round of high stakes presidential elections in Brazil.
    Host Michael Fox speaks with Artur Romeu. He’s a Brazilian journalist and the Latin American Director for Latin America of the international NGO Reporters Without Borders.
    They spoke ahead of Episode 6 of The Battle for Free Speech, about Brazil’s fight against disinformation. He has an important analysis, which helps to deconstruct how Trump, Silicon Valley and the far-right in the United States, and around the world is "instrumentalizing the idea of free speech for their own political purpose and abandoning key dimension of freedom of expression, which is this more social and collective dimension to receive plural, reliable, diverse, and free information from others.”
    This is the third bonus episode of The Battle for Free Speech. The Battle for Free Speech Podcast is a production of The Real News Network hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner.


    Guests:
    • Artur Romeu

    Resources:

    • You can check out the full Battle for Free Speech podcast series here.

    Many thanks to everyone who has supported this show.
    Follow The Battle for Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Support Michael Fox's reporting at patreon.com/mfox. Never miss an episode — sign up for The Real News newsletter at therealnews.com.


    Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

    Sign up for our newsletter and never miss an episode


    Follow us on:
    Bluesky: @therealnews.com
    Facebook: The Real News Network
    Twitter: @TheRealNews
    YouTube: @therealnews
    Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork
    続きを読む 一部表示
    53 分
  • Fearless Speech: With Mary Anne Franks | Bonus 2
    2026/09/11
    Today, host Michael Fox speaks with Mary Anne Franks.
    She is a professor of Intellectual Property, Technology, and Civil Rights Law at George Washington University and the President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.
    She is also the author of the book Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First Amendment,which was published in 2024, by Bold Type Books.
    She has an incredible analysis about free speech historically and today — the challenges and how we need to try to understand free speech beyond the 1st amendment.
    Michael and Mary Anne spoke last year — 2025.
    This is the second bonus episode of The Battle for Free Speech.
    The Battle for Free Speech Podcast is a production of The Real News Network.
    Hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner.

    Guests :
    • Mary Anne Franks
    Resources:
    • You can check out the full Battle for Free Speech podcast series, here.

    Many thanks to everyone who has supported this show.
    Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Support Michael Fox's reporting at patreon.com/mfox. Never miss an episode — sign up for The Real News newsletter at therealnews.com.

    Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

    Sign up for our newsletter and never miss an episode


    Follow us on:
    Bluesky: @therealnews.com
    Facebook: The Real News Network
    Twitter: @TheRealNews
    YouTube: @therealnews
    Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 7 分
  • What is Free Speech? With Fara Dabhoiwala | Bonus 1
    2026/09/03
    This is the first bonus episode of The Battle for Free Speech. Today, host Michael Fox speaks with Fara Dabhoiwala. He is a professor of History at Princeton University. And he’s the author of the book, What is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea.

    That book was published in 2025 by Penguin Random House and Harvard University Press. His book, in many ways, challenges the status quo about our understanding of free speech.

    Professor Dabhoiwala has a wealth of knowledge on the subject of free speech and he appeared throughout this podcast series. But there were many questions we weren’t able to fit into the series, in particular about the beginnings of what we understand as free speech in the United States, and the difference between free speech in the US and abroad.

    So today, we’re bringing you Michael’s conversation with him in its entirety. They spoke last fall.

    The Battle for Free Speech Podcast is a production of The Real News Network. Hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner.

    Guest
    • Fara Dabhoiwala

    Resources
    • You can check out the full Battle for Free Speech podcast series, here.

    Many thanks to everyone who has supported this show.

    Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
    Support Michael Fox's reporting at patreon.com/mfox.
    Never miss an episode — sign up for The Real News newsletter at therealnews.com.



    Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

    Sign up for our newsletter and never miss an episode


    Follow us on:
    Bluesky: @therealnews.com
    Facebook: The Real News Network
    Twitter: @TheRealNews
    YouTube: @therealnews
    Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork
    続きを読む 一部表示
    50 分
  • Introducing: Scene on Radio
    2026/08/20
    Today, we are pleased to share with you an episode from the podcast Scene on Radio. It’s hosted by longtime journalist John Biewen, with co-host journalism professor Chenjerai Kumanyika. It’s a series from the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University and distributed by PRX.

    This episode is Season 8, Episode 6, of Scene on Radio: What Could Have Been?

    Ever thought about whether America's overwhelmingly corporate, for-profit news system is working as it should? It didn't have to be this way. In the 20th century, reformers fought for a more democratic and more accountable news media in the United States. They won victories, including the creation of the nation's public broadcasting system. What happened next?

    By John Biewen, with co-host Chenjerai Kumanyika. Interviews with John Lowery, Dan Schiller, Victor Pickard, and Mark Lloyd.

    Story editor: Diane Hodson. Assistant Producer, Arlene Arevalo. Fact-checking by Anna Pujol Mazzini. Music by Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band, Michelle Osis, Lili Haydn, Alex Weston, James Nathan Jones, and Jason Hill. Music consulting by Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.

    Links
    Their website - https://sceneonradio.org/
    Latest season - https://sceneonradio.org/the-news/



    Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

    Sign up for our newsletter and never miss an episode


    Follow us on:
    Bluesky: @therealnews.com
    Facebook: The Real News Network
    Twitter: @TheRealNews
    YouTube: @therealnews
    Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork
    続きを読む 一部表示
    52 分
  • Marc Steiner: A Life Standing for Free Speech | Ep. 8
    2026/07/23
    “Existence is struggle,” says Marc Steiner. “It always has been, and always will be.”In this podcast series, we’ve looked at the attacks on free speech rights today in the United States. We looked at the history and how movements and organizations have stood up for and exercised free speech in their work. We looked at how social media, AI, and disinformation are undermining our free speech, and at how people are responding in the United States and abroad.In the final episode of this series, we’re focusing on what free speech means within the context of the life of one person who has been through it all — co-host Marc Steiner. He turned 80 earlier this year. In this episode, Michael Fox sits down with Marc to discuss all of these incredible layers of his life, from fighting civil rights and community organizing to underground newspapers, street theater, education, and journalism. What do they all mean for him, how do they all add up to nearly seven decades standing up and fighting for free speech, and how they fit into the battle for free speech today?“You have to step back and really listen to what people are saying so you can bring out their truth so others can wrestle with it,” says Marc. “And if they need confronting in their process, you confront it and push back. Which is why when I think about what we do, how important it is — We have a critical role to play in bringing understanding to the world. The truth lives in every corner. And you have to listen. No one has a hold on it.”In our conversation, Marc says right now the battle for free speech is more important than ever. “I think we’re politically facing the most dangerous moment in my lifetime,” says Marc, “where the right is seizing power across the country — the racist right is seizing power. And that now the battle for free speech is more critical than ever. We cannot let them take it away. We have to stand up to that.”The Battle for Free Speech Podcast is a production of The Real News Network.Hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner. Theme music by Michael Fox, Jordan Klein and Daniel Nuñez. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound. Production and Sound Design by Michael Fox and Stephen Frank. Editorial support by Kayla Rivara. Research by Ben Schweiger. Guests Marc SteinerResources You can hear more from Marc on the Marc Steiner Show on The Real News Network.You can see Marc’s archives at the Center for Emerging Media.Marc Steiner’s Peabody-award winning documentary series, Just Words.Marc Steiner’s documentary series Shared Weight, which looks back at the Vietnam War and its legacy.Many thanks to everyone who has supported this show.Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Support Michael Fox's reporting at patreon.com/mfox. Never miss an episode — sign up for The Real News newsletter at therealnews.com. Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple PodcastsSign up for our newsletter and never miss an episodeFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetwork
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 18 分
  • Fighting Disinformation in Europe: Media Education, Regulation, & Organizing | Ep. 7
    2026/07/16
    Disinformation is impacting our lives. Much of it is being pushed by unregulated Silicon Valley tech companies and their billionaire owners. But people in Europe are pushing back.In this episode, Michael Fox goes to Spain, to look at how members of the Spanish far right have been inspired by Charlie Kirk. Then we look at grassroots organizing against Big Tech in Ireland, media education initiatives in Finland, and European measures regulating Big Tech. “This has now been a topic of discussion very much in Europe,” says Finnish educator Saara Salomaa. “Should we actually trust any US tech companies, or should we try to get rid of US tech companies as soon as possible?”Michael is joined in the episode by Laura Flanders. She is the host of Laura Flanders and Friends on public television — formerly known as the Laura Flanders show.The Battle for Free Speech Podcast is a production of The Real News Network. Hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner. Theme music by Michael Fox, Jordan Klein and Daniel Nuñez. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound. Production and Sound Design by Michael Fox and Stephen Frank. Editorial support by Kayla Rivara. Research by Ben Schweiger. Guests: Sergio VillanuevaJude FarrellSaara SalomaaIva NenadicMany thanks, also, to Ilona Taimelafor taking the time to speak with me about media education in Finland.Resources: Here is a link to TikTok about the Puchaina Avocado videos.Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple PodcastsSupport Michael Fox's reporting at patreon.com/mfox. Never miss an episode — sign up for The Real News newsletter at therealnews.com.The Battle for Free Speech is a production of The Real News Network.Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple PodcastsSign up for our newsletter and never miss an episodeFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetwork
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 18 分
  • Brazil’s Battle Against Fake News & the US War to Undermine it | Ep. 6
    2026/07/09
    This is really a tale of two countries: the United States and Brazil. In both countries, far-right presidents come to power — Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro. In both those countries, the presidents spent several years unraveling democratic institutions and public policy. Both presidents then ran for reelection. Both presidents lied about their country's voting systems in order to undermine the elections and whip up their base. Both those presidents lost their reelections — Trump in 2020. Bolsonaro in 2022. They both claimed fraud and tried to carry out a coup to stay in power. But that is where these two paths diverged. In the United States, President Donald Trump continued to peddle his lies about the elections. He created his own social media platform and he used it to push his agenda. He was reelected in 2024 and returned to power. In Brazil, however, the country’s Supreme Electoral Court blocked former President Jair Bolsonaro from running for office for eight years, because of the lies he told about the country’s electoral system.It wasn't censorship. it was a different interpretation of free speech. One that said the right to free expression must be balanced with the other rights in the country and the country’s democratic system. The United States doesn’t agree. And the Trump administration has been pushing to bend Brazil toward its definition of "free speech."In this episode, Michael Fox journeys to Brazil to understand the lengths that the country has gone to fight disinformation. Michael is joined in the episode by Maximillian Alvarez, editor-in-chief and co-executive director of The Real News Network and the host of the Working People Podcast.The Battle for Free Speech is a production of The Real News Network.Hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner. Theme music by Michael Fox, Jordan Klein and Daniel Nuñez. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound. Production and Sound Design by Michael Fox and Stephen Frank. Editorial support by Kayla Rivara. Research by Ben Schweiger.Guests: Fabio de Sa e SilvaArtur RomeuFernando PaulinoBrian MierResources: Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple PodcastsSupport Michael Fox's reporting at patreon.com/mfoxNever miss an episode — sign up for The Real News newsletter at therealnews.comFollow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple PodcastsSign up for our newsletter and never miss an episodeFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetwork
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 19 分
  • What Is Free Speech? America at 250 | Ep. 5
    2026/07/02
    On the eve of the United States' 250th birthday, Michael Fox sits down with Mansa Musa — longtime activist, former Black Panther, host of TRNN’s Rattling the Bars, and a man who spent nearly 49 years in prison — to ask a deceptively simple question: what does free speech actually mean?From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to Quito, Ecuador, to Frederick Douglass's 1852 address "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July," this episode unravels the gap between the promise of the First Amendment and the reality of who gets to speak in America — and who pays a price for it."There's a kind of narcotic effect of those words — free speech," says legal scholar Mary Anne Franks (Fearless Speech). "It's because we think we know it so well that we don't know anything about it."Historian Fara Dabhoiwala traces how the US broke from the rest of the world's balanced approach to free expression during the Cold War, and a forgotten 1986 Ursula K. Le Guin speech offers a radically different vision: speech as dialogue, not domination.Follow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple PodcastsSupport Michael Fox's reporting at patreon.com/mfox. Never miss an episode — sign up for The Real News newsletter at therealnews.com.The Battle for Free Speech is a production of The Real News Network. Hosted by Michael Fox and Marc Steiner.Theme music by Michael Fox, Jordan Klein, and Daniel Nuñez. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.Production and sound design: Michael Fox and Stephen Frank.Editorial support: Kayla Rivara. Research: Ben Schweiger.Many thanks to Sylvia Gross for providing her incredible voice acting skills in this episode.Photo Credit: Rosa FoxGuestsMary Anne Franks, author of Fearless Speech: Breaking Free from the First AmendmentKatherine Jacobsen, Committee to Protect JournalistsFara Dabhoiwala, author of What Is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous IdeaResourcesUrsula K. Le Guin, "We Are Volcanoes" — Bryn Mawr commencement, 1986Danny Glover reads Frederick Douglass — Voices of a People's HistoryFollow The Battle For Free Speech on Spotify or Apple PodcastsSign up for our newsletter and never miss an episodeFollow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetwork
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 10 分