Profs & Pints Nashville: An Essential Talk on Free Speech

Profs and Pints Nashville presents: “An Essential Talk on Free Speech,” a look at the past, present, and future of the right to speak out, with Jacob Mchangama, research professor at Vanderbilt University, founder and executive director of the think tank The Future of Free Speech, and author of Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media.

[Doors open at 6 pm. Talk starts at 7.]

Free speech is not just one among many rights. It is the very foundation of democracy.

Gain a deep understanding of this freedom’s importance and its evolution over time with Jacob Mchangama, award-winning scholar of free-speech and human-rights law, frequent writer and media commentator on speech issues, and producer and narrator of the podcast “Clear and Present” Danger: A History of Free Speech.

In an encore of a thought-provoking talk delivered to a sold-out audience in April, Mchangama will trace the enduring power—and fragility—of freedom of speech from the trial of Socrates to social media bans, from medieval heretics to modern whistleblowers.

Along the way, he’ll tackle key questions such as: Why has free speech so often been the first casualty of fear and power? What lessons can history offer us in navigating today’s digital controversies? And how can we defend free expression without abandoning responsibility in an age of Artificial Intelligence?

Drawing on his acclaimed global history of free speech, Mchangama will explain why societies that protect expression tend to thrive, while those that silence dissent often descend into repression. He’ll make the case that the freedom to speak, write, and dissent is what allows all other rights to flourish.

A compelling advocate for liberal democracy, he’ll show why free speech remains our best defense against tyranny and a vital tool for progress, even when it's messy, uncomfortable, or unpopular. You’ll emerge from your evening with him with plenty to talk about. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID.)

Image: From “The Death of Socrates,” painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1787 (Metropolitan Museum of Art / Wikimedia Commons).