Show Notes
How do you future-proof freedom of speech? In this episode, Karlin Lillington helps us to navigate the changing digital environment shaping freedom of expression since the early days of the internet. We find out more about the origins, evolution, and practices of cancel culture with Eve Ng and we discuss the dangers of selective application of the principle of Free Speech with Jacob Mchangama.
Karlin Lillington is a columnist with the Irish Times focusing on technology, with a special interest in its political, social, business and cultural aspects. She has also written for The Guardian, New Scientist, Wired.com, and Salon.com, served on the board of RTÉ, and is the chairperson of New Music Dublin. She holds a PhD in Anglo-Irish Literature from Trinity College Dublin.
Eve Ng is Associate Professor at Ohio University where she teaches courses on media representations, gender and globalisation, feminist studies, and queer theory. Her research examines questions of media, culture, and power. She is the author of Cancel Culture: A Critical Analysis (2022).
Jacob Mchangama is a lawyer and CEO of Justitia, a think tank focusing on human rights, where he directs the Future of Free Speech Project. He is the author of Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media (2022) and the producer and presenter of the Clear and Present Danger: A History of Free Speech podcast. Clips from the show Fahrenheit 451 (1966) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaLJ10v4xUA
John Perry Barlow, The Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace (1996) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WS9DhSIWR0&t=210s
Apple Mac: 1984 (1984) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIE-5hg7FoA
Jacob Mchangama, A Global History of Free Speech (2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc3tP2yFJ2E
Jack Dorsey interview with WIRED's Nicholas Thompson (2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9z8924QJl0&t=11s
The History of the Future podcast is co-created and co-hosted by Mark Little and Ellie Payne and produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand. The Schuler Democracy Forum is an initiative of the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute, Trinity College Dublin. The Forum is generously supported by Dr Beate Schuler. For more information, see:https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/Schuler-Democracy-Forum.php
More from The History of the Future
Can we be better digital citizens? In the concluding episode, we reflect on a theme that emerges throughout the series: the power of the individual. We return to our conversation with Sophia Smith Galer to discuss accountability and digital footprints. We learn about the confidence mindset with Ian Robertson. And finally, we talk about the importance of engaging critically with media and technology with Jennifer Edmond.
Does the age of identity mean the end of community? In this episode, we find out about how media has shaped identities, created communities, and fractured and polarised societies in the past with Adrian Bingham. We discuss all things TikTok with Sophia Smith Galer and ask how the media can reinvent itself in a world of radical decentralisation. We talk to Leon Diop about their experience of identity and working to build community from the ground up. Adrian Bingham is Professor of Modern British History at the University of Sheffield and has written extensively on the popular press, gender and sexuality. His works include Gender, Modernity, and the Popular Press in Inter-War Britain (2004); Family Newspapers? Sex, Private Life and the British Popular Press 1918-1978 (2009); and United KIngdom (2022).
How do we find the right kind of fear? In this episode, we talk about horror stories and what we are scared of with Bernice Murphy. We discuss the effect fear has on the brain with Ian Robertson, and we examine the relationship between the media and fear with Bruce Shapiro.
How do we navigate the age of information overload? In this episode, we learn about polluted information systems, bad actors, and the importance of community with Claire Wardle. We also discuss truth and how we decide what to believe with Julian Baggini. Claire Wardle is Professor of the Practice and co-founder and director of the Information Futures Lab at Brown University. She is considered a leader in the field of misinformation, verification and user-generated content, co-authoring the foundational report, Information Disorder: An interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy for the Council of Europe.
Why are we so bad at predicting the future? In this episode, we talk to Jennifer Edmond about our failure to understand the future, the pros and cons of technology, and why imagination is the key to a better tomorrow. Jennifer Edmond is Associate Professor of Digital Humanities at Trinity College Dublin and a former Director of DARIAH-EU. She is an internationally recognised expert in the application of arts and humanities insight to academic and societal challenges arising at intersection of information and communication technologies and culture.