# #184 - Helen Pluckrose - Liberalism, Free Speech & the Authoritarian Turn

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-peter-mccormack-show-525419/184-helen-pluckrose-liberalism-free-speech-the-authoritarian-turn
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-peter-mccormack-show-525419/184-helen-pluckrose-liberalism-free-speech-the-authoritarian-turn.md
Podcast: [The Peter McCormack Show](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-peter-mccormack-show-525419)
Published: 2026-06-17T16:47:10+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/the-peter-mccormack-show/episodes/184-helen-pluckrose-liberalism-free-speech-the-authoritarian
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69d4f193b76468caacc5068f/e/6a318870101389aa3d566da5/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-peter-mccormack-show-525419/episodes/184-helen-pluckrose-liberalism-free-speech-the-authoritarian-turn
Duration seconds: 5212

## Resource

Helen Pluckrose joins me to discuss how liberalism was lost and why free speech, individual liberty and viewpoint diversity need to be defended from both the authoritarian left and the authoritarian right. Helen explains why liberalism does not mean “left wing”, why it is better understood as the opposite of authoritarianism, and how critical social justice, identity politics and language policing have changed the way people think, speak and behave. We discuss woke ideology, DEI, equality vs equity, trans rights, queer theory, free speech, institutional capture and why suppressing ideas usually makes them more powerful. We also get into whether Britain needs a liberal revolution, how the anti-woke movement can become authoritarian itself, and why the future may depend on liberals on the left and right defending freedom within their own tribes. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 - What Liberalism Really Means 00:00:48 - How Did We Lose the 90s? 00:03:13 - Phones, Algorithms and Anxiety 00:08:11 - What Has Changed? 00:11:16 - Woke and Language Policing 00:13:57 - Liberalism vs Authoritarianism 00:20:57 - How Liberalism Was Lost 00:23:39 - Why Freedom Must Be Maintained 00:25:33 - Can Institutions Stay Liberal? 00:28:43 - Who Represents Liberalism Today? 00:31:28 - DEI and Discrimination 00:35:10 - Equality vs Equity 00:39:29 - Is Pro-Trans Misogynistic? 00:41:38 - Reality, Safety and Liberalism 00:46:03 - Queer Theory and Biological Reality 00:49:26 - How Civil Rights Became Language Policing 00:55:06 - A Radical Defence of Freedom 00:58:51 - Woke Corporatism 01:03:21 - The Problem With Anti-Woke 01:10:48 - Why Suppressing Speech Backfires 01:13:37 - Do We Need a Liberal Revolution? 01:…

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