JONATHAN ZIMMERMAN & SIGNE WILKINSON ON FREE SPEECH

Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

According to author Jonathan Zimmerman, in America we like to think we live in a land of liberty, where everyone can say whatever they want. Throughout our history, however, we have also been quick to censor people who offend or frighten us. We talk a good game about freedom of speech, then we turn around and deny it to others. Free speech allows us to criticize our leaders. It lets us consume the art, film, and literature we prefer. And, perhaps most importantly, it allows minorities to challenge the oppression they suffer. While any of us are censored, none of us are free. Join us when, historian Jonathan Zimmerman and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Signe Wilkinson discuss their perspective of free speech in America: who established it, who has denounced it, and who has risen to its defense, on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.