Living Freedom

Free speech on campus: winning young hearts and minds
2023-08-09 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | Ideas Matter Club, 5-8 The Sanctuary, London, England, SW1P 3JS, United Kingdom
This event is free but please book a place in advance via Eventbrite.
The new Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act passed in May puts more responsibility on universities to ensure students are able to speak freely in and out of the classroom. But since then, the refusal to show the film Birthgap in Cambridge University and attempts to cancel Kathleen Stock at the Oxford Union suggests that much remains to be done to develop a new culture of free and open debate at universities.
Many students – and even academics – report they self-censor and fear ostracisation for speaking out. Student societies often encounter problems when wanting to discuss ‘controversial’ topics or invite diverse speakers. Given the new duty of free speech, how can students use this to their advantage? Can students who support academic freedom be encouraged to champion free speech on campus? Given the apparent sensitivity to discomfort among young people, how can we win students themselves to the cause of critical inquiry, free expression, and open debate?
SPEAKERS
Jack Barwell student; founder, Speak Easy, University of Exeter
Felice Basbøll project assistant, Ideas Matter, history student, Trinity College Dublin.
Stani Huepfl politics and international relations student, London School of Economics
Omar Loubak Mohamed student; founder, Speak Easy, Royal Holloway, University of London
CHAIR
Alastair Donald convenor, Living Freedom
BACKGROUND READING
Now woke universities are ditching boozy Freshers Weeks because they are not ‘inviting and inclusive’ enough!,
Dawn Thompson, MailOnline, 30 July 2023
The Oxford kids are alright
Kathleen Stock, UnHerd, 1 June 2023
Freedom of Speech Act: How it will affect university students
The Education Hub, 30 May 2023

The information wars: who verifies the verifiers?
2023-07-12 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/London) | Ideas Matter Club, London, England, SW1P, United Kingdom
The recently launched BBC Verify promises to combat the proliferation of fake news and deep-faked images and videos online. We live in the age of the fact-checkers: groups and individuals who take on the responsibility of determining what is true, what is false, and what is fake online. With all of the dis-, mis- and even mal-information, there are indeed serious challenges to the ideal of a democratised public sphere. But who determines what’s true and false?
The Twitter Files revealed how ideology can influence the ‘objective’ verification process and how unaccountable bodies become gate keepers of truth. With shadow banning, algorithmic manipulation and suppression of sheer opinion, is the media accountable? Can verification ever be non-partisan?
This salon discussion tackles the growing role of fact-checking in the media, and the implications for freedom of speech, truth and journalism. Are initiatives like BBC Verify a welcome extension of the watchdog role of journalism, or do they do more harm than good? Who fact-checks the fact-checkers?
SPEAKERS
Poppy Coburn freelance commentator and journalist
Sam Rubinstein history student and writer
Max Sanderson editor of weekly podcasts, Guardian
CHAIR
Felice Basbøll project assistant, Ideas Matter
REGISTER
This event is free, but places are limited, so please book via Eventbrite.
BACKGROUND
Explaining the ‘how’ – the launch of BBC Verify
Deborah Turness, 22 May, BBC News
‘Fundamentally dangerous’: reversal of social media guardrails could prove disastrous for 2024 elections
Kari Paul, 10 Jun, Guardian
The BBC isn’t exposing disinformation. It’s peddling it
Jonathan Cook, 2 Jun, Middle East Eye
The tyranny of ‘misinformation’
Tim Black, 26 Oct 2020, Spiked
What Were the Twitter Files
Branko Marcetic, 26 Apr, The Nation
Gary Lineker: free speech, political debate and impartiality
Alastair Donald, Claire Fox, Ella Whelan and Rob Lyons, 13 May, Podcast of Ideas

Living Freedom Summer School 2023
2023-06-29 18:00 - 2023-07-01 17:00 UTC | London, United Kingdom
Our three-day residential school is open to anyone aged 18 to 30 regardless of whether you are based in the UK or beyond.
Attend to hear talks from experts on the history and philosophy of freedom, helping us to understand freedom of conscience and free will in the 21st century. With Progress now seen as dangerous, we’ll debate the implications for freedom, and explore innovations such as generative technologies and ChatGPT. There will plenty of opportunities to explore complex moral issues such as the case for reparations and the morality of borders, to revisit classic texts and debate contemporary hot topics from sensitivity readers to the hecklers veto.
If you would like to find out more about the Summer School, and find out how to apply, you can find all the details on the Summer School page.

What can we learn from...? Oriel College, Oxford, May 2023
2023-05-03 19:00 (Europe/London) | Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College, Oriel Square, Oxford, OX1 4EW, United Kingdom
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM…? John Milton/Liberty and John Locke/Toleration
Speakers: Andrew Doyle and Dr Tiffany Jenkins
The rise of cancel culture has made many nervous about free expression and open debate, even though academic freedom is a core value – and legal duty of universities. Many students – and even academics – report they self-censor; student societies often encounter problems in terms of inviting diverse speakers.
However, if universities are to fulfil their purpose as spaces in which to freely explore ideas and develop knowledge, then nothing should be beyond question or outwith the scope of debate. Today, while values of tolerance and liberty are rhetorically espoused, increasingly it is often argued that free expression has its limits.
One way to understand better the predicaments around freedom today is to turn to important figures of the past and to explore their thinking and how it might help us now. ‘What can we learn from…?’ events take as a starting point important thinkers and cultural figures from history. After short, accessible talks, there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.
REGISTER
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *FirstLastEmail *Submit
EVENT
Wednesday 3 May, 7.00pm-9.00pm
Historically liberty and toleration have been staples of liberal society. Join us to explore the historic roots and contemporary realities of these important ideals.
1: Milton and Liberty
Andrew Doyle, broadcaster; author, The New Puritans
‘Give me liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience’, declared the poet John Milton in Areopagitica. Often associated with seventeenth-century non-conformist Puritans, Milton rejected licensing of printed texts and rebuffed the notion that prohibitions, bans or force could create virtuous men. Today, amidst the rise of a new puritanism, being offensive can be deemed a crime, demands for ‘social justice’ brook no dissent and uttering uncomfortable truths can lead to public shaming. From the ages of the Puritans, old and new, what can we learn about the case for freedom of belief and expression?
2: John Locke and Toleration
Dr Tiffany Jenkins, writer and broadcaster
It was only in the seventeenth century that Western society started to seriously consider the philosophical foundations of toleration of competing religions and beliefs. Today, values of tolerance and respect are regularly upheld. But some argue that tolerating free expression has its limits and society should not be placed at risk of intolerant ideas or even overly judgemental views. Should we tolerate free expression, or retain a right to be intolerant of intolerance?
VENUE
Oriel College
Harris Lecture Theatre
Oriel Square, Oxford, OX1 4EW
See Google Maps for location.
SPEAKERS
ANDREW DOYLE
presenter, Free Speech Nation, GB News; author, The New Puritans: how the religion of social justice captured the Western world
Andrew Doyle is a writer, comedian, and a presenter on GB News. He is the author of Free Speech and Why It Matters (2021) and The New Puritans: how the religion of social justice captured the Western world (2022). He is the creator of the satirical character Titania McGrath, who has published two books – Woke: a guide to social justice (2019) and My First Little Book of Intersectional Activism (2020). He began presenting his show Free Speech Nation on GB News in June 2021. Before then he was a columnist for spiked, a panellist on the BBC’s Moral Maze and regularly reviewed the papers on Sky News.
DR TIFFANY JENKINS
writer and broadcaster; author, Strangers and Intimates: the rise and fall of private life
Tiffany Jenkins is a writer, author and broadcaster. Her last book, Keeping Their Marbles: How Treasures of the Past Ended Up in Museums and Why They Should Stay There, was published in 2016 to critical acclaim. Her next book, Strangers and Intimates: the rise and fall of private life, will be published in 2023 by Picador. Tiffany is an honorary fellow Art History at the University of Edinburgh, and is host of the podcast Behind the Scenes at the Museum, in which she talks to key figures about the big ideas rocking the cultural world, charting the trends and dissecting the controversies. She has written and presented several programmes for BBC Radio 4, including the series A Narrative History of Secrecy.
CONVENORS
ALASTAIR DONALD, convenor, Living Freedom
DR MARIE KAWTHAR DAOUDA, Oriel College, University of Oxford
DR ROGER P L TEICHMANN, St Hilda’s College
DR ALBERTO GIUBILINI, Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics

Locke and Liberty: why toleration still matters today
2023-05-02 20:00 - 22:00 (Europe/London) | Science Lecture Theatre, Radley College, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2HR
Living Freedom university primer at Radley College.
The rise of cancel culture has made many nervous about free expression and open debate, even though academic freedom is a core value – and legal duty – of universities. Many students – and even academics – report they self-censor; student societies often encounter problems in terms of inviting diverse speakers.

However, if universities are to fulfil their purpose as spaces in which to freely explore ideas and develop knowledge, then nothing should be beyond question or beyond the scope of debate. For students who want to take discussion and debate seriously and make the most of university life, tolerating different views will be essential.

But what does toleration mean? Today, while values of tolerance and respect are rhetorically espoused, increasingly it is argued that tolerating free expression has its limits and society should not be placed at risk of intolerant ideas or even overly judgemental views. Should we tolerate free expression, or retain a right to be intolerant of intolerance?
In this special university primer event, Tiffany Jenkins will look at the emergence of the important ideal of toleration and explore why it remains important today. After a short, accessible talk, there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.

SPEAKER
DR TIFFANY JENKINS, writer and broadcaster; author, Strangers and Intimates: the rise and fall of private life
Tiffany Jenkins is a writer, author and broadcaster. Her last book, Keeping Their Marbles: How Treasures of the Past Ended Up in Museums and Why They Should Stay There, was published in 2016 to critical acclaim. Her next book, Strangers and Intimates: the rise and fall of private life, will be published in 2023 by Picador. Tiffany is an honorary fellow in Art History at the University of Edinburgh, and is host of the podcast Behind the Scenes at the Museum, in which she talks to key figures about the big ideas rocking the cultural world, charting the trends and dissecting the controversies. She has written and presented several programmes for BBC Radio 4, including the series A Narrative History of Secrecy.

MODERATOR
ALASTAIR DONALD, convenor, Living Freedom
Alastair Donald is convenor of Living Freedom, the initiative organised by educational charity Ideas Matter to encourage young adults to explore the meaning and ideals of freedom. He is also associate director at Academy of Ideas and co-convenor of Battle of Ideas festival.

ANY QUESTIONS?
For more information, contact Alastair Donald: info@livingfreedom.org.uk

Why debating matters in an era of cancel culture
2023-04-26 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/London) | Cambridge University – The Pitt Building, Trumpington St,, Cambridge, United Kingdom
This event is free, but please register using the form below.
The rise of cancel culture has made many nervous about free expression and open debate. Even though academic freedom is a core value – and a legal duty – of universities, many students – and even academics – report they self-censor; student societies often encounter problems in terms of inviting diverse speakers.
In one such example of the constraints on debate and free speech on campus, last year, Academy of Ideas director, Claire Fox was invited to speak at Royal Holloway’s Debating Society. Yet an invite to talk about the importance of debate was then turned into a bureaucratic nightmare – with risk assessments, safeguarding checks and other onerous procedures enforced by the students’ union. Eventually, the students’ union successfully put the Society under pressure to cancel the event – ostensibly because Claire retweeted a clip of Ricky Gervais satirising the gender wars.
In this special Living Freedom University Salon at University of Cambridge, Claire will give the talk on ‘why debating matters’ that was intended for Royal Holloway students. This is followed by a conversation with Omar Loubak, a student and former organiser of the debating society at Royal Holloway.
SPEAKERS

Claire Fox
director, Academy of Ideas; independent peer, House of Lords; author, I STILL Find That Offensive!
Omar Loubak
Debating Society, Royal Holloway University of London
CHAIR
James Orr
associate professor of Philosophy of Religion, University of Cambridge
VENUE
Newton Room, The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1RP
REGISTER
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *FirstLastEmail *Submit

Chat GPT and Artificial Intelligence: implications for freedom
2023-04-17 19:00 - 20:30 UTC | Ideas Matter Club, 5-8 The Sanctuary, London, England, SW1P 3JS, United Kingdom
London Freedom Forum
Generative AI like ChatGPT and Midjourney have captured the public imagination and barely a day now passes without claim and counter-claim as to benefits or threats posed by artificial intelligence. On the one side stand those who see in these new technologies as a means to liberate humanity through a new, potentially boundless source of human creativity. Do we stand on the cusp of transforming education, healthcare, manufacturing, artistic endeavours and more? On the other, stand those who see AI as degrading science, debasing ethics and denuding humans of agency. To what extent are we faced with a potential threat in the search for truth, not to mention the risk of manipulation and censorship that place freedom of speech and other freedoms in peril?
Given all the hype, what actually is generative technology? Given the potential risks and multiple claims on behalf of Chat GPT and generative technology, is this technology overhyped or undervalued? Is creeping automation about to make workers obsolete? For example, should journalists fear being replaced by machines now that some newspapers use AI to write articles? And what of the wider implications of this technology? Are we realising the potential for liberation, or a threat to liberty?
SPEAKER
Sandy Starr, deputy director of the Progress Educational Trust
RESPONDENTS
Tom Collyer, researcher, Ideas Matter
Ella Nixon, art historian
CHAIR
Jacob Reynolds, convenor, The Academy
REGISTER
The event is free but registration is required. Please complete the form below.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *FirstLastEmail *Submit

What can we learn from...? Cambridge, March 2023
2023-03-16 19:15 - 20:15 UTC | Knox-Shaw Room, Sidney Sussex College, Sidney Street, Cambridge, CB2 3HU, United Kingdom
INTRODUCTION
‘What can we learn from…?’ events take as a starting point important thinkers and cultural figures from the past. They offer an opportunity to understand the emergence of key ideals related to freedom and to explore and debate if and how they remain important in the present.

This event is supported by Free Speech Champions

Each salon starts with short, accessible talks from thought-provoking experts and critics who will offer insights into key thinkers in history. Talks are followed by plenty of time for discussion, with the chance to ask questions and put forward points. Together we will interrogate why these thinkers and the ideas they promoted can offer valuable insights that help us understand freedom then and now.
REGISTER

EVENT

Thursday 16 March, 7.15pm-9.15pm
Historically freedom of conscience has been a staple of liberal society. Join us to explore the historic roots and contemporary realities of this important ideal.
1: Roger Williams: Freedom’s Prophet
Dr James Orr, assistant professor of philosophy of religion, University of Cambridge
Amidst the heady religious ferment of the seventeenth century in North America, Roger Williams – a minister, theologian, and alumnus of Pembroke College, Cambridge – soon emerged as a central figure in the brewing conflicts over freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. Expelled by Puritan leaders from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Williams founded the Colony of Rhode Island with the express purpose of providing a space for the free expression of contested religious and political perspectives. A fierce and early critic of chattel slavery and the callous treatment of Native Americans, Williams sowed the seeds for the idea that the freedom to criticise authorities and majorities is an indispensable enabling condition for civic flourishing. A reappraisal of his legacy and work offers us an opportunity to assess and contest the many and various fetters on free expression that have emerged across our institutional landscape today.
2: Richard Wagner: Can we separate art from the artist?
David Cotter, academic, musician and writer
The work of Richard Wagner is captivating, but also challenging and unsettling. He believed art could be a unifying force for society. But like his operatic characters, Wagner often rejected social norms and his notoriously anti-Semitic views have promoted some critics and institutions to argue his music should no longer be played. Today, from writer JK Rowling to the recent award-winning film Tár, the beliefs, moral character or personality traits of artists are regularly asserted as key to judging the value of their work. But whatever an artists’ controversial or deeply unpleasant views, should we be more willing to focus on the work itself? Or can we never really separate art from the artist?
VENUE
Sidney Sussex College
Knox-Shaw Room
Sidney St, Cambridge CB2 3HU
See Google Maps for location.
SPEAKERS
DR JAMES ORR
assistant professor of philosophy of religion, University of Cambridge
James Orr is assistant professor of philosophy of religion at the University of Cambridge. He is Chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation UK, a trustee of the St Paul’s Theological Centre and the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation and a member of the Advisory Councils of the New Social Covenant Unit, the Free Speech Union, History Reclaimed, and Briefings for Britain.
DAVID COTTER
academic, musician and writer
David Cotter is an academic and musician who has performed and spoken in 22 countries around the world. David’s recent publications include ‘The Creative Musical Mediation of Order and Chaos’ in Jordan Peterson: Critical Responses and ‘The Guitar Reimagined’ (co-authored with Marc Estibeiro) in Rethinking the Musical Instrument. David has also written for The Critic. He is currently completing his doctorate on co-performer collaboration in musical performance.
CONVENORS
ALASTAIR DONALD, convenor, Living Freedom
DAVID COTTER, academic, musician and writer
CHARLIE BENTLEY-ASTOR, English undergraduate, freelance writer

Living Freedom Xmas Bash Balloon Debate
2022-12-15 19:00 - 22:00 (Europe/London)
On behalf of Living Freedom and Free Speech Champions, we would like to invite you to join us for a drink, some good company and a fun Xmas balloon debate.
This invitation only gathering will take place at the fabulous new Westminster home of UnHerd. Join us for drinks at the pay bar from 7pm.
What: Living Freedom Xmas Balloon Debate
When: Thursday 15 December 2022, 7:00pm
Where: UnHerd, 6 Old Queen Street, Westminster, London,SW1H 9HP
Entry strictly by RSVP: alastair@ideasmatter.org.uk
What is the greatest representation of freedom in culture?
A panel of six valiant freedom lovers will seek to convince you of their choice, selected from cultural worlds, whether art or the classics, comedy or film, literature or music.
Each contestant will have just three minutes to present their case, followed by a round of questions from the audience. Then there is a vote, and the top three will be given an additional one minute to convince you to back their choice.
Which cultural representation of freedom – and its defender – deserves to stay in the balloon? You decide!
Our brilliant panel comprises:

Charlie Bentley-Astor freelance writer; theatre director; English undergraduate. Charlie is defending the Supermarine Spitfire.
Nick Dixon comedian; presenter, GB News; host, The Weekly Sceptic; co-host, The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters. Nick is defending Brass Eye.
Ralph Leonard writer and commentator; contributor, Areo, author, Letter on Liberty: Unshackling Intimacy. Ralph is defending Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate.
Rob Lownie editorial trainee, UnHerd; founding member, Free Speech Champions; contributor, Free Speech: defending the fundamental liberal value. Rob is defending Team America: World Police.
Dr Maren Thom lecturer; writer; acting and vocal trainer; contributor, The Conformist Rebellion. Maren is defending Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus
Emma Webb director, Common Sense Society, UK branch; host, Newspeak; commentator; writer; co-founder, Save Our Statues. Emma is defending the cross

Host: Alastair Donald convenor, Living Freedom
Entry is free, but space is limited. So get your invitation now by replying to this email or emailing Alastair: alastair@ideasmatter.org.uk

What can we learn from…? Cambridge, 29 November 2023
2022-11-29 19:15 - 21:15 (Europe/London) | Gonville and Caius College, Trinity Street, Cambridge, CB2 1TA, United Kingdom
‘What can we learn from…?’ events take as a starting point important thinkers and cultural figures from the past. They offer an opportunity to understand the emergence of key ideals related to freedom and to explore and debate if and how they remain important in the present.

This event is supported by Free Speech Champions
Each salon starts with short, accessible talks from thought-provoking experts and critics who will offer insights into key thinkers in history. Talks are followed by plenty of time for discussion, with the chance to ask questions and put forward points. Together we will interrogate why these thinkers and the ideas they promoted can offer valuable insights that help us understand freedom then and now.
Tuesday 29 November, 7.15pm-9.15pm
TALKS
Short, accessible talks from experts and critics will offer insights into Hannah Arendt and CLR James.
1: Hannah Arendt and Totalitarianism – Jacob Reynolds, convenor, Hannah Arendt Study Group
Whether prompted by concerns over draconian lockdowns, new authoritarian political leaders, policing of speech or outlawing demonstrations, there’s been a revival of interest in Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism. From views on the destruction of individuality to the desire for safety, Arendt was never shy of challenging orthodoxies and addressing profound moral questions. What can Arendt tell us about the problems with freedom today?
3: CLR James and Universalism – Ralph Leonard, writer
As a Marxist revolutionary and Pan-Africanist, critic of European colonialism and respecter of Western civilisation, classicist and lover of popular culture, CLR James specialised in confounding expectations. Today, when praise for ‘Western culture’ is often dismissed as ‘Eurocentrism’ and identity silos trump a sense of our shared humanity, is a universalist outlook and an emphasis on what we have in common worth defending? What can we learn from a man once labelled ’the black Plato’?
VENUE
Gonville and Caius College
Trinity St, Cambridge CB2 1TA
See Google Maps for location.
Lectures: Long Room
Seminars: Long Room, Senior Parlour Room
SPEAKERS
JACOB REYNOLDS
convenor, The Academy; external affairs manager, boi charity
Jacob is partnerships manager at the Academy of Ideas. He read the BPhil in philosophy at St Cross College, Oxford, developing an interest in political and continental philosophy, especially the work of Hannah Arendt. Before that, Jacob read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield and co-ran the Sheffield Salon, modelled on the salons of Enlightenment Europe. He spends his spare time drinking coffee, writing and arguing about philosophy.
RALPH LEONARD
writer; author, Letter on Liberty: Unshackling Intimacy contributor, Areo Magazine
Ralph is a British-Nigerian writer and commentator on international politics, culture and sex. He is the author of the Letters on Liberty pamphlet Unshackling Intimacy, writes for UnHerd, Areo and the Telegraph, and is a regular guest on the Zer0 Books podcast. He also writes on religion, human rights and international affairs. As an ardent secularist and leftist, Ralph believes it is crucial to uphold the legacy of the Enlightenment, and the project for the universal emancipation of humanity.

What can we learn from…? Cambridge, 1 November 2023
2022-11-01 19:15 - 21:15 (Europe/London) | Gonville and Caius College, Trinity Street, Cambridge, CB2 1TA, United Kingdom
‘What can we learn from…?’ events take as a starting point important thinkers and cultural figures from the past. They offer an opportunity to understand the emergence of key ideals related to freedom and to explore and debate if and how they remain important in the present.

This event is supported by Free Speech Champions
Each salon starts with short, accessible talks from thought-provoking experts and critics who will offer insights into key thinkers in history. Talks are followed by plenty of time for discussion, with the chance to ask questions and put forward points. Together we will interrogate why these thinkers and the ideas they promoted can offer valuable insights that help us understand freedom then and now.
Tuesday 1 November, 7.15pm-9.15pm
TALKS
Short, accessible talks from experts and critics will offer insights into key John Locke and John Milton
1: John Locke and Toleration – Piers Benn, philosopher, author and lecturer
It was only in the 17th century that society started to tolerate competing religions and beliefs. Today, values of tolerance and respect are regularly upheld. But some argue that tolerating free expression has its limits and society should not be placed at risk of intolerant ideas or even overly judgemental views. Should we tolerate free expression, or retain a right to be intolerant of intolerance?

2: Milton and Liberty – Andrew Doyle, author, The New Puritans
“Give me liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience”, declared the poet John Milton in Areopagitica. Often associated with 17th-century non-conformist Puritans, Milton rejected licensing of printed texts and rebuffed the notion that prohibitions, bans or force could create virtuous men. Today, amidst the rise of a new puritanism, being offensive can be deemed an offence, demands for ‘social justice’ brook no dissent while uttering uncomfortable truths can lead to public shaming. From the ages of the Puritans, old and new, what can we learn about the case for freedom of belief and expression?

VENUE
Gonville and Caius College
Trinity St, Cambridge CB2 1TA
See Google Maps for location.
Lectures: Long Room
Seminars: Long Room, Senior Parlour Room
SPEAKERS
ANDREW DOYLE
presenter, Free Speech Nation, GB News; author, The New Puritans: how the religion of social justice captured the Western world
Andrew Doyle is a writer, comedian, and a presenter on GB News. He is the author of Free Speech and Why It Matters (2021) and The New Puritans: how the religion of social justice captured the Western world (2022). He is the creator of the satirical character Titania McGrath, who has published two books – Woke: a guide to social justice (2019) and My First Little Book of Intersectional Activism (2020). He began presenting his show Free Speech Nation on GB News in June 2021. Before then he was a columnist for spiked, a panellist on the BBC’s Moral Maze and regularly reviewed the papers on Sky News.
DR PIERS BENN
philosopher and lecturer; author, Intellectual Freedom and the Culture Wars
Piers teaches philosophical ethics at Fordham University London Centre and his latest book is Intellectual Freedom and the Culture Wars. His interests include ethics, philosophy of religion and philosophy of psychiatry and he has taught at numerous universities including St Andrews, Imperial College London and King’s College London. During the 1990s, he organised seminars for students in Poland and the Czech Republic, in collaboration with host institutions struggling to rebuild education after the communist period. He is a regular media commentator.

Freedom Forum Theatre Club: 'Sticks and Stones', Tristan Bates Theatre, London
2020-03-19 19:45 - 21:45 (Europe/London)
We’ll meet at the Tristan Bates Theatre to see the new play ‘Sticks and Stones’ which explores some thorny questions related to identity politics, class and freedom of speech.
After the play, we’ll be going to a nearby bar for a drink with playwright Dameon Garnett who will be available to chat about Stick and Stones and the issues it raises around freedom – including why The Actors Centre cancelled the planned post-performance in-conversation at the theatre that was to explore the issues around freedom raised by the play.
Anyone coming to this meetup can take advantage of the Living Freedom group booking tickets at a reduced price of £5 (full price is £15). These must be booked through Paypal below.
‘STICKS AND STONES’ (2020)
see https://www.actorscentre.co.uk/theatre/sticks-and-stones
‘Under the law you are guilty, I would say, of a hate crime’.
Afua, a black senior manager in a secondary school, is asked to investigate online comments by a white colleague, Tina; a woman she thought was a friend. Do Tina’s comments constitute hate speech, and, if so, should the police get involved? Afua has always fought for women’s rights, and Tina is a wronged woman, but with an axe to grind that even Afua is not prepared for.
In an intensely claustrophobic setting, the clash between the two women becomes increasingly explosive; opening up questions around speech, power, race and class, that perhaps modern Britain is not ready to answer.
‘You can’t deny Garnett’s bruising energy’; Michael Billington, The Guardian

Freedom Forum Film Club: 'The Witch'
2020-03-03 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
‘The Witch’ is the Sundance prize-winning film from Robert Eggers who has just released ‘The Lighthouse’. Ahead of Living Freedom School 2020, this is an opportunity to chat about some themes that we’ll get to grips with at the school including demonology, heresy and moral panics.
Set in early 17th century, Robert Eggers’s Sundance prize-winning feature debut ‘The Witch: A New-England Folktale’ tells the story of a puritanical English family’s torment as they’re exiled to the wilderness from their New World community. This is the age when anxieties about witchcraft and anti-witch hysteria were gathering momentum. While the film is heavy on period detail, reviewers have said it also speaks to important issues our times. What does this 21st century take on the figure of the witch tell us about then and now?
After the film, there will be a short ‘in-conversation’ with Maren Thom, a researcher in film, freelance writer and director, acting workshops.
£3 entry payable on the door covers popcorn and a glass of wine / beer

Freedom Forum Xmas Bash Balloon Debate
2019-12-04 19:00 - 22:00 (Europe/London)
Join us for a drink, good company and a fun Xmas balloon debate.
What is the most important representation of freedom in culture? A panel of six valiant freedom lovers will seek to convince you of their choice, from art to non-fiction to literature.
They each have just three minutes to present their case, followed by a round of questions from the audience. Then there is a vote, and the top three will be given an additional one minute to convince you to back their choice.
Which cultural representation of freedom – and its defender – deserves to stay in the balloon? You decide!

Madalina Benderschi anthropology undergraduate, UCL and Living Freedom alumnus; defending ‘The Myth Of Sisyphus’ (1942) by Albert Camus
Manick Govinda independent arts consultant; defending ‘Convergence’ (1952) by Jackson Pollock
Dr Beth Guilding academic, Goldsmiths, University of London; defending ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy (1995-2000) by Philip Pullman
Atyab Rashid incoming vice president, King’s College London Liberal Democrat Society; defending ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ (2010) by Kanye West
David Bowden associate fellow, Academy of Ideas; defending ‘Paradise Lost’ (1667) by John Milton
Jessica Ní Mhainín policy research and advocacy officer, Index on Censorship; defending ‘Taste of Freedom’, Futurama (2002) by Matt Groening

£3 entry payable on the door – includes glass of wine / beer
