{"podcast":{"title":"The Real News Podcast","slug":"the-real-news-podcast-1085016","podcast_index_feed_id":1085016,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/2952221/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-real-news-audio-on-demand","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/2811bd18a6fab58d3edbf143e96023cb.jpg","author":"The Real News Network","episode_count":4503,"summary":"Daily Reports, specials, and podcasts by The Real News Network (TRNN). TRNN makes media connecting you to the movements, people, and perspectives that are advancing the cause of a more just, equal, and livable planet. TRNN is a nonprofit media organization. We do not accept advertising revenue or corporate sponsorship. Sign up for our newsletter at therealnews.com Text us at (410) 431-0868 Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support .","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T06:18:20.085560+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast-1085016"},"episode":{"title":"A History of Free Speech from Abolitionists to Berkeley","slug":"a-history-of-free-speech-from-abolitionists-to-berkeley","published_at":"2026-06-11T10:00:03+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast-1085016/a-history-of-free-speech-from-abolitionists-to-berkeley","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast-1085016","url":"https://therealnews.com/the-battle-for-free-speech","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72465378/the_battle_for_free_speech_ep2_srf_mstr_01.mp3","summary":"Free speech in America was never given — it was fought for, bled for, and died for. In this episode, hosts Marc Steiner and Michael Fox dive into the history of the movements that built and defended the right to speak out: the abolitionists who continued to speak — even as mobs attacked the building where they gathered — Ida B. Wells, who exposed the truth about lynching in Jim Crow Memphis, and the students at UC Berkeley who launched the Free Speech Movement of 1964. Michael takes us to Sproul Plaza, ground zero of the Berkeley free speech movement, and Marc shares his own story of carrying that fight from the civil rights movement to campuses on the East Coast. Together they trace a brutal pattern that runs from Elijah Lovejoy — the abolitionist editor murdered by a mob in 1837 — to the burning of Pennsylvania Hall, to today's crackdowns on student protest and the firing of professors for their political views. Featuring law professor Mary Anne Franks, author of Fearless Speech, on the crucial difference between fearless speech and reckless speech — and why America has so often protected the wrong one. Plus UC Berkeley historian David Hollinger on why universities are \"the hill to die on,\" and Princeton historian Fara Dabhoiwala on why free speech has always been a battle over power. This is the second episode of The Battle for Free Speech. In this podcast series, in the lead-up to the country’s 250th anniversary, journalists Michael Fox and Marc Steiner look at the battle for our free speech rights today, and the attacks on people speaking out in the United States. 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…","meta_description":"Free speech in America was never given — it was fought for, bled for, and died for. In this episode, hosts Marc Steiner and Michael Fox dive into the hist…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4327,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-real-news-podcast-1085016/episodes/a-history-of-free-speech-from-abolitionists-to-berkeley/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast-1085016/a-history-of-free-speech-from-abolitionists-to-berkeley.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}