The Free Speech Union
Welcome to the Free Speech Union's podcast. Listen to our weekly episodes with great guests speaking about the cornerstone of our democracy which is under attack. The Free Speech Union is a non-partisan, mass membership public interest body that stands up for the speech rights of its members and campaigns for free speech more widely. We champion the right of people from all walks of life to express themselves without fear of punishment or persecution. We often come to the defence of our members who get into trouble for exercising their right to lawful free speech, whether in the workplace, at university or on social media. Join the FSU: https://freespeechunion.org/join.html
Episodes
Is Donald Trump undermining press freedom?
Veteran US journalist and SpyTalk editor and podcast host Jeff Stein joins David Rose on the Free Speech Union podcast to discuss Trump’s clashes with the media and the million-dollar defamation lawsuit that could have cost Stein his home. He explains how Substack Defender funded his successful legal defence, why costly libel actions can silence independent journalists and what his c...
A shocking video of police turning up on the doorstep of a teenager's home went viral in 2025. Officers demanded devices, barged into the house, and seized a young girl's phone over an unverified social media allegation.
Jake Hurfurt of Big Brother Watch investigated what happened next. What he uncovered is shocking.
In this episode of the Free Speech Union podcast, Jake joins the FSU's David Rose to unpack what really happened in ...
In this episode of The Free Speech Union podcast, Connie Shaw speaks with Reverend Dr Bernard Randall, who underwent a seven-year battle after delivering a sermon encouraging pupils at Trent College in Nottinghamshire to think critically and respect diverse viewpoints on sex and gender.
Trent College was a Christian school and had employed Bernard as its chaplain. But the school had adopted a woke agenda. After Bernard's sermon, he...
Stephen Gray, a retired police officer and foster parent, tells Connie Shaw how a reposted Facebook joke led to police at his door, the seizure of his shotgun certificate, a prosecution under the Communications Act and a criminal conviction.
He explains why he believes the joke made a political point about child marriage in Islam, why he is appealing the conviction with the Free Speech Union’s support, and what his case says ...
The death of Jason Arday has triggered calls for press regulation and censorship, including an “Arday’s Law” to limit the number of articles written about one person.
Graeme Wood is a free speech absolutist and a staff writer at The Atlantic. He joins the Free Speech Union’s Director of Research and Policy, David Rose, to discuss the Jason Arday plagiarism scandal, the backlash against journalists, and why c...
Collin May had a successful academic and professional career, culiminating in his appointment in 2022 as chair of the Human Rights Commission for the Canadian province of Alberta.
But May's 2009 review of an academic book about Islam was about to destroy his career.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims, a lobby group with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, claimed that passages in May's review were offensive and Islamophobic. May...
The Charlie Hebdo attack divided Prof Matei Candea's friends. It also prompted him to embark on an anthropological study of free speech.
The result is "Reason, Carnival and Honour: An Anthropology of Free Speech", a book which explores the hidden assumptions behind free speech debates.
Professor Candea discusses his book with Dr Jan MacVarish, the Free Speech Union's director of national engagement.
#freespeech #censorshipdebate
Su...
Comedian, author and commentator Andrew Doyle joins FSU General Secretary Lord Young to discuss a little-noticed government-commissioned report on misinformation and its implications for public debate.
The report's Orwellian proposals include "psychological inoculation", "pre-bunking" and game-based "interventions" to steer the public towards state-approved political messages.
Andrew Doyle and Lord Young also discuss:
- Why Andr...
Sentenced to 31 months in prison for a tweet posted in anger after the Southport murders in 2024, Lucy Connolly pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred. But should she have opted for a jury trial instead? One year after her release from prison, she talks to the FSU's Connie Shaw about her new life as a free speech campaigner and the author of A Tweet Too Far?
#freespeech #twotierpolicing
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Leaked documents obtained by investigative journalist Paul Holden revealed an anti-free speech project at the heart of the Starmer government.
In this edition of the Free Speech Union's podcast, Holden tells the FSU's David Rose why he fears free speech and online privacy could be further eroded under incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
#freespeech #onlineprivacy #labourparty
Support the Free Speech Union: https://freespeechunion...
The latest threat to free speech on trans issues has been published by the government.
The draft Conversion Practices Bill purports to protect gay and trans people from abuse. It creates a new criminal offence, punishable with up to five years in prison.
Minister for Equalities, Emily Bailey MP, claims it won't stop parents and therapists talking openly to children with identity issues. She says it only crimnalises conversion pract...
Investigative reporter Nick Wallis played a leading role in exposing the Post Office scandal. His BBC documentaries helped uncover the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history and led to a public inquiry. Now Nick's turning his journalistic skills to exposing the medical and safeguarding harms caused by trans ideology. But this time, he doesn't have the backing of the BBC. "I got involved when it became a free speech...
Former UK government Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho MP reveals how civil service "group think" stopped questioning of Net Zero. From misleading costings to attempts to silence dissent, Coutinho reveals why she believes the Climate Change Act needs a total reset. #freespeech #netzero #climatechange
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Is the 'vibe shift' real? Or are we kidding ourselves that we are past “peak woke”?
Bestselling novelist Lionel Shriver joins the Free Speech Union’s general secretary Lord Young to explain why the 'long war' on free speech is just beginning.
They discuss
*Immigration: the subject of Lionel’s latest novel “A Better Life” and why immigration has become the litmus test for progressives.
*The Trans ...
Ex-cop Rick Prior worked in the Met police's Culture, Diversity and Inclusion department. He reveals how he witnessed the adoption of the sort of woke ideologies that lead to two-tier policing and situations like the arrest of dying victim Henry Nowak. #freespeech #twotierpolicing #henrynowak
Read the Free Speech Union's briefing "With Fear and Favour: Britiain's Policing Emergency": https://freespeechunion.org/publications/fear-an...
Former BBC editor Rob Burley talks about his recent Unherd investigation: "Inside the capture of the BBC How transgenderism killed impartiality."
This is an insider account of how bosses at one of Britain’s most important institutions became scared of young, woke employees and speaking freely. #freespeech #bbc #bbcnews
Read Rob's article for Unherd: https://unherd.com/2026/05/inside-the-capture-of-the-bbc/
Follow Rob Burley...
Journalist Janet Murray tells Connie Shaw how her views about trans impacted her community choir. The "Singing Striders" were dropped by disability charity Scope from performing at the London Marathon. Scope objected to Janet's views, even though they were unrelated to her work with the choir. Scope backed down at the last minute, but too late for the show to go on. The choir row is just the latest attack Janet has suffered in a lo...
After Independent Councillor John Edwards asked questions about a scheme for housing Afghan migrants, he found himself under investigation by the local council. Even though he was cleared by an independent investigator, he still faces a hearing and has had to launch a CROWDFUNDER to defend himself.
JOHN'S CROWDFUNDER: https://www.gofundme.com/f/silenced-for-telling-the-truth-about-an-afghan-hotel-scheme?attribution_id=sl:a3a0cd74-4...
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