Civil Liberties

VID: The Biggest Threats to Free Speech

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Wednesday's attack at the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was a dark moment in the ever-worsening cultural climate against free inquiry.  

Reason's Matt Welch eloquently outlines the importance of Charlie and trends in the broader West to curb offensive speech here. But back in 2010, Reason TV asked some of the biggest names in politics and journalism about the greatest threats to free speech. Watch below to hear their answers.

Interviews by Michael C. Moynihan and produced by Jim Epstein. About 4 minutes. Original release date was December 16, 2010 and original writeup below. 

What's the biggest threat to free speech? Reason.tv asks a cavalcade of politicians, journalists, filmmakers and content creators ranging from former Gov. Gary Johnson (R-N.M.) to Fox News' Greg Gutfeld to The Atlantic's Megan McArdle to adult filmmaker John Stagliano to new media magnate Andrew Breitbart to call their shot.

Featured (in order of appearance):

Andy Levy, Fox News' Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld

Gov. Gary Johnson, Our America Initiative

Roger Stone, Political Strategist, Blogger, The StoneZone

John Stagliano, Evil Angel Productions

Cyan Banister, CEO, Zivity.com

Robert Corn-Revere, Davis Wright Tremaine

Kevin D. Williamson, Deputy Managing Editor, National Review

John Tierney, Science Columnist, The New York Times

Robert A. George, Editorial Writer, The New York Post

Kristin Davis, "Manhattan Madam" and NY Gubernatorial Candidate

Andrew Breitbart, Big Hollywood/Big Government/Big Journalism

Tunku Varadarajan, Editor, Newsweek International & NYU Professor

Rob Kampia, Executive Director, Marijuana Policy Project

Scott Ross, Editor, NBC's PopcornBiz

S.E. Cupp, New York Daily News and The Daily Caller

Bob Bowdon, Director, The Cartel

Tony Ortega, Editor in Chief, The Village Voice 

Fred Smith, President, Competitive Enterprise Institute

Joe Garden, Features Editor, The Onion 

John Papola, Producer-Director, "Fear the Boom and Bust"

Megan McArdle, Business and Economics Editor, The Atlantic

Greg Gutfeld, Fox News' Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld

The interviews were conducted on December 9, 2010, at The Box, a nightclub on Manhattan's Lower East Side. They took place during a Reason event designed to celebrate our work—and those of others across the political and ideological spectrum—in defense of free expression.

Interviews conducted by Michael C. Moynihan and filmed and edited by Jim Epstein. Approximately 3.30 minutes.

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