In the years leading up to the American Revolution, newspapers and pamphlets overflowed with essays signed "Publius," "Brutus," and "A Farmer." Those arguments helped shape a nation, but the authors' real names were nowhere to be found.

Americans have long relied on anonymous speech to challenge the powerful, protect dissenters, and keep the focus on ideas rather than identities. That tradition has endured into America's digital age, even as anonymous speech has become more controversial.

To explore America's history with anonymity, we are joined by Jeff Kosseff, a nonresident senior legal fellow at The Future of Free Speech and author of The United States of Anonymous. Preorder his forthcoming book, The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential Freedom.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:01 What is anonymity?

04:38 Anonymous speech in Colonial America

15:58 Does the First Amendment protect anonymity?

20:35 Anonymous speech in the Civil Rights Era

31:17 The internet and anonymity

35:44 Modern anonymity debates: DHS subpoenas, age verification, social media regulation, and VPN bans

51:53 Outro

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One year into Trump 2.0, we examine the administration's record on free speech and how it compares to the president's campaign pledge to "bring back free speech to America."

We also discuss recent ICE protests, including the right to carry a gun and to film law enforcement, and what these encounters reveal about protest rights today.

Today we are joined by:

• Clark Neily, senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute

• Timothy Zick, professor of government and citizenship at William & Mary Law School and author of the new book Trump 2.0: Executive Power and the First Amendment

• Conor Fitzpatrick, supervising senior attorney at FIRE

Zick is also the author of Public Protest and Governmental Immunities, Managed Dissent: The Law of Public Protest, and Arming Public Protests.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:47 ICE protests: Alex Pretti, filming police, and the right to carry a gun

13:30 How to hold law enforcement accountable

19:10 Don Lemon's arrest

23:27 Trump's retribution politics and the "domestic terrorist" label

35:05 FCC pressure and attacks on the media

39:40 Free speech for noncitizens

53:49 Attacks on higher education

58:40 Trump 1.0 vs. Trump 2.0

01:02:25 What reforms are needed?

1:09:13 Outro

Read the transcript here.

Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email sotospeak@thefire.org.

Recent protests in Iran have drawn renewed attention to dissent under the country's authoritarian government. The demonstrations have been met with mass arrests, internet restrictions, and even accusations of murder.

While large-scale demonstrations appear to have subsided for now, reporting from Iran describes a tense calm, a heightened security presence, and widespread "disappointment and disillusionment" among Iranians.

Today we are joined by Pouya Nikmand, an Iranian-born writer who escaped Iran at 18. He writes about how his experiences have shaped his understanding of expression, freedom, and belonging on his Substack, Outliving Iran.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:17 What's happening in Iran now?

10:47 What does life look like under an authoritarian regime?

20:33 Growing up in Iran

24:48 The influence of Western media in Iran

32:55 Escaping Iran

37:05 Life after escape

40:55 Being trafficked to Poland

54:45 Escaping captivity and coming to America

01:01:53 An immigrant's perspective on US immigration

1:07:24 Outro

Read the transcript here.

Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.

If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email sotospeak@thefire.org.