Written by 
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The First Amendment. Book bans, disinformation, the wild world of the internet. Free speech debates are all around us. What were the Founding Fathers thinking when they created the First Amendment, and how have the words they wrote in the 18th century been stretched and shaped to fit a world they never could have imagined? It’s a story that travels through world wars and culture wars. Through the highest courts and the Ku Klux Klan. Today on Throughline’s We the People: What exactly is free speech, and how has the answer to that question changed in the history of the U.S.? (Originally ran as The Freedom of Speech).
Guest:
Mary Anne Franks, Professor at the George Washington University Law School and author of The Cult of the Constitution
To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.