Why Should We Protect Free Speech?

A Conversation with Professor Jack Balkin

In this episode, I spoke with Jack Balkin, the Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School. Professor Balkin holds an A.B. from Harvard University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Cambridge University. Professor Balkin is a leading expert on First Amendment law and has written extensively on justifications for protecting free speech. We discussed normative rationales for free speech, how developments in technology and media have shaped how we think about free speech, and where the Court is headed in First Amendment law.