A Dark and Stormy Week for Free Speech: Podcast
While America gawks at tales of consensual Trump-spanking, Internet freedom is coming under legislative and cultural attack
There's no question that the legal dispute between President Donald Trump and adult actress/filmmaker Stormy Daniels has been good for television ratings. 60 Minutes last night scored its highest audience share in a decade. But is it good for America?
On today's Reason Podcast, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, Peter Suderman and yours truly pivot quickly from the shiny object of pre-presidential sex to the neglected—and far more disgusting—free-speech assault passed by the Senate last week with only two dissenting votes. In addition to covering the "Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act" (FOSTA) and concomitant social media panic, we discuss the terrible omnibus spending bill, the ungood nomination of John Bolton as national security adviser, and the various questionable cultural products they are currently consuming.
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Audio production by Ian Keyser.
Relevant links from the show:
"Don't Let President Trump Distract You with Stormy Daniels," by Nick Gillespie
"FOSTA Passes Senate, Making Prostitution Ads a Federal Crime Against Objections from DOJ and Trafficking Victims," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
"Hours After FOSTA Passes, Reddit Bans 'Escorts' and 'SugarDaddy' Communities," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
"YouTube Plans to Shut Down Gun Instructional Videos," by Brian Doherty
"Mark Zuckerberg Is Calling for Regulation of Social Media To Lock in Facebook's Position," by Nick Gillespie
"Omnibus Bill Chips Away at Citizens' Abilities to Protect Data from Government Snoops Across the World," by Scott Shackford
"Your Friday Cliffhanger: Will Trump Sign or Veto the Omnibus?" by Scott Shackford
"Rand Paul Reads the Omnibus Spending Bill (Because Someone Has To)," by Brian Doherty
"9 Ridiculous Things About the Omnibus Budget Bill," by Eric Boehm
"5 Things About John Bolton That Are Worse Than His Mustache," by Jacob Sullum
"My Conversations with John Bolton," by Matt Welch
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