FREE SPEECH

VIDEO (17 MIN)

Can Robust Free Speech Co-Exist with the Fight for Justice?

It’s a complicated and confusing time for the idea of free speech. On the one hand, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent months, exercising their rights to free speech in defense of justice, equality, and a more inclusive America. In some cases, however, they’ve been met with military-style police crackdowns. Meanwhile, hate speech and disinformation proliferate online about everything from COVID-19 to the 2020 election. And while some might argue that there’s never been a wider variety of opinions in the ether, others argue that a culture of silencing or cancelling unpopular or offensive speech is threatening to narrow the boundaries of American discourse. Is there a middle ground in these divided times? Can we protect free thinking while promoting a more inclusive culture and protecting against the harms of speech? PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel thinks we can. She joins Vivian Schiller, head of Aspen Digital, to talk about her new book Dare to Speak. Watch.

A Letter on Justice and Open Debate

Harper’s Magazine, July 7, 2020

Response to Harper's Letter

The Objective, July 10, 2020

Cancel Culture, Part 1: Where It Came From

The Daily, August 10, 2020

Cancel Culture, Part 2: A Case Study

The Daily, August 11, 2020

The Cancel Culture Checklist

Persuasion, August 6, 2020

Toward Stakeholder Capitalism

August 19

Last August, the Business Roundtable released an updatedStatement on the Purpose of a Corporation, reinforcing a commitment to a free market economy that serves all Americans. It was a bold declaration that reverberated across the business world. Business Roundtable’s president Joshua Bolten will discuss its impact, the extraordinary challenges of the past 12 months, and what the future may hold for Business Roundtable.Register.

Our Essential Work: Immigrants and Rural Economies Weathering the Pandemic Together

August 19

Rural communities that rely on the economic drivers of tourism and recreation and essential services like health care and food production have been hit hard. How are rural development organizations adapting what they do to align with, support, embrace and engage immigrants through the emergency and beyond? And how can policy help? Join this Rural Opportunity and Development (ROAD) Session to find out.Register.

Are Women the Most Powerful Political Force in America?

Podcast, August 11

Featuring Cecile Richards (co-founder of Superajority), Ai-jen Poo (executive director of the National Domestic Worker’s Alliance), and Karen Grainger (professor at New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service)