Articles
Transgender ideology and free speech – Stella O’Malley, Arty Morty
Panelists: Stella O’Malley, Arty Morty
Moderator: Sasha White
Description: Stella and Arty discuss the difficulties of speaking up and being heard on the topic of transgender ideology.
Stella O'Malley is an Irish psychotherapist and author, with three books on parenting and mental health. She is a regular contributor to Irish national newspapers, podcasts, and TV. Her latest book is What Your Teen is Trying to Tell You.
Stella O'Malley's BBC documentary 'Trans Kids - it's time to talk': https://vimeo.com/304866757
Arty Morty is a commentator, writer and YouTuber who reports on gender ideology and its effects on children, women and the gay rights movement. Arty co-hosts an online show called The Mess We're In with Graham Linahan and Helen Staniland. He's known for his clarity and breaking down complex and contentious issues, and for his strong advocacy for gender non conforming individuals. He's written for Plebity, Lesbian and Gay News and on his substack artymorty.substack.com.
Sasha White became a free speech advocate in 2020 after being fired for her personal comments on transgender ideology. She has written for Spiked online, Tablet Magazine, and 4W. She co-founded the Plebity Free Speech Fund and hosts interviews on the Plebity Youtube channel.
Holocaust Denialism and the Limits of Free Speech with Norman Finkelstein and Daniel Ben-Ami
Panelists: Daniel Ben-Ami, Norman Finkelstein
Moderator: Sasha White
Description: Norman Finkelstein and Daniel Ben-Ami exchange opinions about Holocaust denialism, hate speech laws and the boundaries of permissible speech.
Daniel Ben-Ami runs the Radicalism of Fools website, which is about rethinking antisemitism. In over 30 years as a journalist, he has written for many publications, including The Australian, The Economist, Financial Times, The Guardian and Spiked. He has also written two books and contributed to several others.
Norman Finkelstein is a long time scholar and author of numerous books, including the Holocaust Industry, which generated significant controversy when it came out in the year 2000. Norman has written and spoken extensively on the Israel Palestine conflict, and his latest book is called I'll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It! Heretical Thoughts on Identity Politics, Cancel Culture, and Academic Freedom and can be purchased here: https://www.sublationmedia.com/books/i'll-burn-that-bridge-when-i-get-to-it.
Sasha White became a free speech advocate in 2020 after being fired for her personal comments on transgender ideology. She has written for Spiked online, Tablet Magazine, and 4W. She co-founded the Plebity Free Speech Fund and hosts interviews on the Plebity Youtube channel.
Nadine Strossen on the History and Importance of Free Speech
Panelists: Nadine Strossen
Moderator: Sasha White
Description: Nadine Strossen, former president of the ACLU, responds to a range of questions regarding the historical and enduring importance of the principle of free speech.
Nadine Strossen is past president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1991-2017. She is Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School, Senior Fellow of FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) and author of the book HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship. Her latest book is: Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press fall 2023).
Sasha White became a free speech advocate in 2020 after being fired for her personal comments on transgender ideology. She has written for Spiked online, Tablet Magazine, and 4W. She co-founded the Plebity Free Speech Fund and hosts interviews on the Plebity Youtube channel.
Left is Not Woke author Susan Neiman in conversation with Freddie deBoer
Panelists: Susan Neiman
Moderator: Freddie deBoer
Description: Susan and Freddie discuss issues of racism, identity and U.S. politics and why today’s woke has veered so far from traditional principles that identify the Left.
Susan Neiman is an American philosopher and writer. She has written extensively on the Enlightenment, moral philosophy, metaphysics, and politics. She is director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam. She is the author of nine books, translated into 15 languages, which have won prizes from, among others, PEN, the Association of American Publishers, and the American Academy of Religion. Her shorter pieces have appeared in The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Globe and Mail, The Guardian, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and many other publications. Her latest book, the subject of this discussion, is Left is not Woke.
Freddie deBoer is an independent journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. He’s the author of The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice, and his newest book is How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement. Freddie is a self-styled old-school Marxist and writes regularly on his Substack about politics, Marxism, education, police reform and other topics.
*Note: Participation by any panelist does not indicate their agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of any other conference participant. The presence of any panelist does not mean Plebity endorses or shares their opinions.
Race, Identity politics, and the Traditional Left with Norman Finkelstein and Sabrina Salvati
Panelists: Sabrina Salvati, Norman Finkelstein
Moderator: Jyotishman Mudiar
Description: Recently on her podcast, Sabrina reacted to comments Norman made, which in her view minimized the relative differences in the lives and experiences of blacks and whites in the United States today. In that podcast, Sabrina expressed strong disagreement and mentioned an interest in talking directly with Norman about these issues. Today we bring them together as part of Plebity’s Conference.
Norman Finkelstein is a longtime author and scholar. His academic career has spanned many decades since his PhD from Princeton University in 1987. He has written numerous books, among them The Holocaust Industry, which generated significant controversy. Norman has written and spoken extensively on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Norman is a lifelong scholar and activist of the left. His latest book, I Will Burn That Bridge When I Get to It, is a critique of current day identity politics and can be purchased here:
https://www.sublationmedia.com/books/i'll-burn-that-bridge-when-i-get-to-it
Sabrina Salvati is the host of Sabby Sab's podcast and the co-host of Revolutionary Blackout Network. She is an activist and former educator. Sabrina writes on her substack https://sabbysabs.substack.com/ and provides leftist commentary and interviews on her youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/sabbysabs.
Jyotishman Mudiar is a co-founder of the YouTube podcast India & Global Left (IGL).
Media ownership, censorship and hate speech laws – with Paul Jay and Freddie deBoer
Panelists: Paul Jay, Freddie deBoer
Moderator: Jyotishman Mudiar
Description: A discussion about independent media and ownership, censorship, self-censorship in media AND a discussion about hate speech laws.
Paul Jay is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is the founder, editor-in-chief, and host of theAnalysis.news - a site of political commentary and interviews. He is currently working on a documentary entitled series with Daniel Ellsberg titled “How to Stop a Nuclear War” which is based on Ellsberg’s book, “The Doomsday Machine.”
Freddie deBoer is an independent journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. He’s the author of The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice and his newest book is How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement. Freddie is a self-styled old-school Marxist and writes regularly on his Substack about politics, Marxism, education, police reform and other topics.
Jyotishman Mudiar is a co-founder of the YouTube podcast India & Global Left (IGL).
Is the Left Still Relevant?: A Conversation with Professors Clara Mattei and Rick Wolff
Panelists: Clara Mattei, Rick Wolff
Moderator: Daphna Whitmore
Description: Economics professors Clara Matttei and Rick Wolff discuss the relevancy of the left in today's context.
Rick Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at the New School University in New York City. He's the founder of Democracy at Work, the host of the nationally syndicated show Economic Update and author of numerous books on Marxism and socialism.
Professor Clara Mattei is Assistant Professor in the Economics Department of the New School for Social Research. She is the author of the book Capital Order, How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism.
Daphna Whitmore writes for the site Redline and resides in Auckland, New Zealand.
Noam Chomsky on What Defines the Left and on the Principle of Free Speech
Panelists: Noam Chomsky
Moderator: Mark White
Description: Noam Chomsky offers his thoughts on what defines the left and on the enduring principle of free speech. Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic.
Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic.
Personal experiences and thoughts on identity politics, cancel culture and free speech
Moderator: Tara Henley
Panelists: Amna Khalid, Jeff Snyder
Description: Tara Henley leads a discussion with Professors Amna Khalid and Jeff Snyder on their personal thoughts and experiences with identify politics, cancel culture and free speech.
Tara Henley is a Canadian writer and podcaster, and the author of the national bestseller Lean Out: A Meditation on the Madness of Modern Life. Over the past two decades, her work has appeared on CBC Radio and TV, and in dozens of newspapers and magazines across the country and around the world.
Amna Khalid is a history professor at Carleton College and writer on her substack Banished.
Jeff Snyder is a history professor at Carleton College with a strong interest in the issues of academic freedom and free speech.
Nadine Strossen: Conference Keynote
Nadine Strossen reviews the history and importance of free speech as she welcomes participants and viewers of Plebity's Free Speech and the Left conference.
Nadine Strossen is past president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),1991-2017. She is Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School, Senior Fellow of FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) and author of the book HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship. Her latest book is: Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press fall 2023)
Canada’s censorship bill becomes law
After years of contentious debates, Bill C-11, Canada’s Online Streaming Act has become law.
As we’ve written here (Senate Passes Controversial Internet Censorship Bill) and here (Canada’s Plans to Regulate the Internet), this bill poses many dangers for Canadian users and creators alike.
The woke left is to left as ersatz coffee is to coffee
One of the hallmarks of today’s woke left is to conflate speech with violence. Fearful of the ‘harm’ that might be experienced from hearing certain words, the woke left has become widely confused about the issue of free speech in general and between speech and literal, physical violence.
In New Zealand this week, Posie Parker was assaulted as she tried to speak–a mob surrounded her and forced her off the stage and ultimately out of the country. The group that prevented her from speaking has taken to social media to declare a great victory.