DiscoverSo to Speak: The Free Speech PodcastEp. 255: Authoritarians in the Academy
Ep. 255: Authoritarians in the Academy

Ep. 255: Authoritarians in the Academy

Update: 2025-10-15
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Description

FIRE Senior Scholar Sarah McLaughlin discusses her new book, "Authoritarians in the Academy: How the Internationalization of Higher Education and Borderless Censorship Threaten Free Speech." 

Timestamps: 

00:00 Intro

01:17 Book origins

03:38 How China censored speech on American campuses

18:36 COVID's impact for international students' speech

22:05 What is sensitivity exploitation?

25:35 Free speech at international satellite campuses

31:28 Attempted deportations of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk

36:52 Sarah's free speech inspirations: literature and people

About the Guest:
Learn more about Sarah McLaughlin and her work.

Get the Book:
Purchase Authoritarians in the Academy here

Read the transcript here: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/so-speak-transcript-authoritarians-academy

Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today (https://www.thefire.org/) and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more. If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email sotospeak@thefire.org.



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Ep. 255: Authoritarians in the Academy

Ep. 255: Authoritarians in the Academy

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